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It may have taken some time, but now the quintet of musicians who make up the U.K.-based band, Asking Alexandria, have finally realized what’s most important when it comes to the music they make: each other. And in so doing, the five members of the metal band have realized that each is more than just a musician. Each is a whole human being with a life and interests outside of their instrument. But while realizing these truths about one another and their group might lead some artists in the same position to drift away or go off into other parts of their own worlds, for the members of Asking Alexandria, acknowledging this reality, has only made their unit stronger, more cohesive, and their forthcoming album, See What’s On The Inside, which is out October 1, that much more formidable.

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Even if you’re not a fan of the National Basketball Association, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Muggsy Bogues. The man still holds the record for the shortest player ever to suit up in the NBA— at five-foot-three. Remarkable in a sport that prides height over most else.

Bogues, who was also on the very memorable 1990’s-defining Charlotte Hornets team, is a basketball gold medalist. He’s appeared on Saturday Night Live in an episode with Charles Barkley, RuPaul, and Nirvana. Bogues has helped lead several NBA teams to the playoffs and in 1993-1994, he averaged a double-double (10.8 points and 10.1 assists).

Today, his name is synonymous with “heart over height,” or with just beating the odds. If the NBA was Goliath, Bogues is the ultimate David. He’s also starred alongside Michael Jordan in the original Space Jam movie and made an appearance in a Hootie & The Blowfish music video.

So, we thought, who better to ask than Bogues, who has a new memoir coming out about his life in 2022 (available for pre-order here), for a playlist of Top 10 inspirational songs? He is, after all, a man who has beaten all the odds. And of the list of songs, Bogues says:

“I had to pick Tribe because he mentioned me in there in the song. And Hootie & the Blowfish, me and Alonzo [Mourning] have a Grammy plaque hanging up because we were part of the video. Migos because that’s what you’re listening to today. But I’m also an old-school guy, so Michael Jackson is always going to be there. He’s the king of Pop. And then, Teddy! He’s going to turn off the lights!”

Without further ado, here are Muggsy Bogues’ Top 10 inspirational tracks:

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At the time, Michael Bacon had never been on a date before. The future co-founder, along with his movie star brother, Kevin, of the Americana duo, the Bacon Brothers, says he was a “weird kid” growing up. In high school in Philadelphia, Michael, who is nine years older than Kevin, found himself gravitating towards the British Invasion bands whereas his compatriots would flock regularly to Motown and R&B. Michael played cello growing up and loved fretted instruments. This drew him to the pop sounds from across the Atlantic. One day, venturing to a British Invasion-style concert, Michael saw a beautiful young woman sitting alone at the show. He’d never asked anyone out before, but Michael got up the gumption to do just that and she said yes.

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September 11, 2001 — a day that will live in infamy. A day that every American saw an attack on our own soil the likes of something never before seen in this country. It was an act that, as Alan Jackson put it in song, stopped the world from turning.

In the words of Alan Jackson, Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day? / Were you in the yard with your wife and children / Or working on some stage in L.A.? Did you stand there in shock / At the sight of that black smoke / Risin’ against that blue sky? / Did you shout out in anger / In fear for your neighbor / Or did you just sit down and cry?

Every one of us has a story and will forever remember where we were on September 11, 2001. The President of the United States’ Chris Ballew, Malina Moye, The Black Tones’ Eva Walker, Melvins’ King Walker, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Polyrhytmics Ben Bloom, Ednah Holt, Lynn Mabry, and George Birge tells American Songwriter in their own words, how they remember the tragic events of 9/11.

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The two founding members of the New York City-born group, A Great Big World, have found their method, their songwriting strategy. In an age when it’s practically second nature to look elsewhere, outward or to someone else when in need of something, bandmates, Ian Axel and Chad King, instead look deeply inward, and for them, it’s made all the difference. For the songwriting duo, who rocketed to fame and fortune with their 2013 hit, “Say Something,” which later featured a version with Christina Aguilera that’s been streamed over half-a-billion times on YouTube, to look internally and to dive deep into their own proverbial pools of vulnerability turned out to be the key to success. And this is especially so on the band’s new album, Particles, which is out today (August 27).

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Twin sister singer-songwriters, Felisha and Fallon King have always had an unspoken connection. How could they not? The two started as womb-mates and have since grown up together singing, writing, and participating in music groups since they could talk—or even before that. As infants, Felisha (who recently married and is now Felisha King-Harvey) and Fallon were always humming, warbling, or intoning. When they asked their mother for a snack, it was in-melody. Seeing talent in his daughters by the age of six, the twins’ father, Charles, began to manage them. They formed the group, Cherish (with older sisters Farrah and Neosha), and have since gone on to work with artists like Justin Bieber and earned No. 1 songwriting spots on Billboard.

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