We’ve Updated the California Soundtrack

For several months now, we’ve been regularly adding songs to our California playlist, and the eclectic collection has grown beyond 250 tracks. But your suggestions just keep coming.

For the uninitiated, the California Soundtrack is our ever-evolving playlist that tries to reflect the Golden State’s endless complexity in music. We started with the hits — “California Dreamin’” and “(I Left My Heart) in San Francisco” — and then, with your help, began diving into deeper cuts.

Today, I’ve added about 20 songs to the playlist based on your recommendations. Among the most requested this round were “Topanga Windows” by Spirit (1968), “More Bounce (In California)” by Soul Kid #1 (2005) and “This Town” by The Go-Go’s (1981).

You can peruse the full list of California songs here (the latest additions are in bold) or listen here.

As always, the California Soundtrack is a work in progress that we’ll continue to curate. Email your song recommendation and a few lines about why you think it deserves inclusion to CAToday@nytimes.com. Please include your name and the city where you live.

And now for some of your latest choices:

“Grey in L.A.” by Loudon Wainwright III (2007)

“This song is a fun counterpoint to the typical praise of the sunshine. It captures a lot about life in Los Angeles — sig alert nightmares, mudslides, broken dreams. And anyone who has lived there long enough knows that sometimes the sunshine is just too much, and those rainy days can be quite nice.” — Nick Strazzabosco, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

“Adios” by Linda Ronstadt (1989)

“It is a stunningly gorgeous song with Ronstadt singing in the absolute prime of her spectacular voice. I get chills just remembering it even! It’s all about a lost love who she has to leave on the California coast. No words can really describe the beauty of her singing it. Just listen.” — Mary Smathers, Carmel

“California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade” by The Decemberists (2002)

“I love the dreamy way this one progresses, like a slow tour down Highway 1 through the sunny mists of the coast:

‘And the road a-winding goes

From Golden Gate to roaring cliffside

And the light is softly low

As our hearts become sweetly untied

Beneath the sun of California one’”

— Justin Mears, San Francisco

“Palmdale” by Afroman (2000)

“Here is a three-act movie of a song that reminds me of Warner Brothers gangster flicks, an action-packed road to doom paved with honesty, stereotypes and morality lessons. Also, you can dance to it.” — Sue Perry, Carpinteria

“Still in Hollywood” by Concrete Blonde (1986)

“It has always described the addictive allure of Hollywood that draws so many of us to California. But the realities of living here can be tough for newcomers and many don’t make it through the first few years. But for the rest of us, once you’ve found your niche, it becomes impossible to imagine living anywhere else.” — Jeremy Wagener, Los Angeles

For more:

• Why Adele tapped a San Francisco director for her surreal “I Drink Wine” video, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• How to make the perfect playlist.

• The songs getting us through the pandemic.

If you read one story, make it this

A painting scarred by the 2020 blast in Beirut turned out to be a long-lost work by Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th-century Italian painter and feminist hero. The piece is now being repaired at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The rest of the news

• Ice baths: Cold-plunge enthusiasts are spending big on home tubs and spa classes. Is it worth it?

• Earthquake warning system: On Tuesday, 2.2 million Bay Area residents got phone alerts warning that an earthquake was coming before it hit, the first use of a new statewide warning system that goes straight to people’s smartphones, CNET reports.

• Test scores: Why some schools saw their test scores soar despite Covid, EdSource reports.

• Sierra Nevada: Devastating bouts of drought, drought-related bark beetle infestations and record-breaking wildfires have killed 30 percent of California’s Sierra Nevada forests, The Sacramento Bee reports.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Rosalind Wyman: The prominent California Democrat, who was a pioneering woman in Los Angeles city government and was instrumental in bringing the Dodgers to town, has died, The Associated Press reports. She was 92.

• San Diego: A San Diego doctor was charged Wednesday with manslaughter after she was accused of neglecting a critically ill young woman who was incarcerated, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

• Kanye West: The artist was escorted out of the Manhattan Beach headquarters of shoemaker Skechers on Wednesday, the company told The New York Times.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Midterms: The congressional race in California’s 13th district is one of the most closely contested House seats in the nation, The Los Angeles Times reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Arrests: Three people were arrested in connection to a recent shooting near U.C. Berkeley, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• Charity concerns: A city review of San Francisco’s decades-old annual employee charity drive found the program lacked sufficient clarity about where money from some workers’ paychecks winds up, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

What we’re eating

Our best Halloween recipes.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s tip comes from Kate Dreger, who recommends a hiking trail in the Oakland Hills:

“My favorite place to visit on a weekend or a quiet afternoon is the Serpentine Prairie Trail departing from the Richard C. Trudeau Conference Center in the Oakland Hills.

It’s only got a small parking lot but you can also park along the road. The views are spectacular, it’s dog-friendly, and there are even fenced-off wildlife areas with educational signage. You would never imagine you were in Oakland — it reminds me of Ireland. You can go for a short 20-minute hike or take some of the side trails and make it a longer adventure.”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

Are you being flooded with text messages from congressional candidates or groups trying to sway your vote on ballot initiatives? Have you tried to opt out of receiving these texts?

If so, the Times tech reporter Natasha Singer is working on a story about political campaign texts and wants to hear about your experiences.

And before you go, some good news

As fascism spread in Europe in the 1930s, Jewish artists and composers struggled to have their music heard. They faced persecution by the Nazis, and were banned by orchestras and cultural institutions because of their Jewish identity. Many fled abroad.

As a result, hundreds of works by promising composers were lost or neglected. But researchers and publishers are now working to ensure that their music is heard again.

G. Schirmer, a major music publishing house, and Exilarte, an organization at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, on Thursday announced an initiative to publish more than 400 pieces by Jewish composers whose careers were disrupted by the Holocaust.

Among the composers is Walter Arlen, a 102-year-old who was born to a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna. He longed to study music professionally in Austria, but he and his relatives fled in 1939 to escape persecution by the Nazis.

In a telephone interview from his home in California, Arlen told The Times that he was humbled that his works would reach a broader audience. “It’s a lovely experience,” he said. “It’s not easy to be published. I lived long enough to be part of it, to see it happen.”

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Monday. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.

Briana Scalia and Miles McKinley contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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