my shaking is steady

dear friends,

I've been busy legging it* so I missed my tuesday post. I'm thinking of changing my hours anyway so perhaps it's for the best.

contributor tina was the only one that came up with a rock apocalypse scenario (georgia & ira breaking up) so she won a mix from me. I know, I know, valuable stuff we give away here at soft communication! I try. because I did not purchase anything this week, I will talk about a few tracks from that upcoming mix. the chosen theme is "sitting contemplatively and looking out the window while it's thunderstorming". here goes...

1. yes, we've already raved & raved about diane cluck, but can you blame us? here's another sweet morsel for you. in my researching I've found herman dune which is made up of two scandinavian siblings, andre and david-ivar, who live in brooklyn & write & sing melancholy slices of gorgeous oddball pop. their country-ish (I love country-ish, it's different than straight country, it's faded & unadorned but so beautiful) live like the boys, featuring cluck on vocals, is the kind of song you wish your friends would warble around a campfire so that when they hit those harmonies, you could sigh quietly at the prettiness. or not. you might just chomp at your beef/tofu jerky in silence. but you'll certainly be more wistful about it.

2. loopy loopy love by the brunettes is as bouncy & pastel-colored a pop confection as one would hope to find. I don't have much to say about it other than it's as cute as contributor jessica & as those of you who have seen el jezel perform can attest, that's pretty darn cute.

3. I've talked about ryan adams before. I've been listening to his new album, cold roses, which is sort of a country return, as it were, full of dust & images of roadside flowers & women you've lost. magnolia mountain is a pedal steel lament about those very subjects & has some of adams most heartfelt singing in a while. he sounds battered & broken; dead tired but willing to mend if he could only lie in your arms for a moment. no wonder he gets so many ladies. sadly, that stuff often works.

4. the stranglers' singer hugh cornwell always sounds like dirty, soused perv even when he's trying to sing about nice things. peaches is not a song about nice things therefore the vocal is perfection. a sleazy slo-ska crawl along a boardwalk with a guy who's having one boring sweltering summer. he wants some violent action but for now he'll satisfy himself by looking at ladies sunning themselves. a song that belongs in a movie that hasn't been filmed yet 'cause that is what I think about when I stare out of windows looking at rain: soundtracks to imaginary films.

5. I will be writing about john martyn for soft communication next week. on a related note, I've been listening to jose gonzales, a singer/guitarist who sounds achingly like a cross between nick drake (vocals) & martyn (guitar) with touches of flamenco style thrown in. listen to stay in the shade off of his album veneer & enjoy the rain splashed greenery.

love, d

* I mean this. I suppose I should write "spine-ing it" but it doesn't have the same ring.

songs to seek: to live like the boys/herman dune & diane cluck, loopy loopy love/the brunettes, magnolia mountain/ryan adams, peaches/the stranglers, stay in the shade/juan gonzales