What does it mean for an album to change your life?

We asked that question to some of our favorite writers last year in a series of essays that

are part of our ongoing Turning the Tables project.

In that project, we set out to challenge people's ideas about what matters in music and what

makes music great, and we do it by centering the voices and stories of women and non-binary

artists and writers.

Artists like Tracy Chapman, who we're listening to right now, and whose debut album had a really

meaningful impact on one of our guests today.

You get a fast car.

I want to take it to anywhere.

Maybe we make a deal.

Maybe together we can get somewhere.

And it places better.

Starting from zero got nothing to lose.

Maybe we'll make something.

Me myself, I got nothing to prove.

Sometimes an album changes your life because it reflects yourself back to you as you are.

But sometimes you don't know exactly who you are, or who you want to be, and a really

great piece of music can help you figure all of that out.

That's what we're talking about in today's conversation.

I'm Marissa Lurusso.

I'm an associate editor for NPR Music and an editor for our Turning the Tables project.

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