With silence and tears

Have you noticed that things have looked a bit weird round here recently?

Naughty blogger has had some kind of upgrade and made all the formatting go a bit skew whiff. Now, this isn't the kind of thing that keeps me up at night, but I am genuinely a bit upset that it's eaten all of our comments.


Yep, every single one of the notes that you've left for us, the hidden tracks we've left for you, the ruminations and general whimsy - all gone. Gah.

So here's a few songs to mull over whilst we're getting used to the new quiet.

And if you're out there and like these songs, please delurk, say hello, maybe let us know your favourite song about silence and make a girl feel better.

Listen: Lefty Frizzell - Silence

Listen: Jim Noir - A Quiet Man

Listen: Porter Wagoner - Be A Little Quieter

Listen: Two Dollar Pistols - All the Good's Gone

Listen: Fairport Convention - Quiet Joys of Brotherhood (10 minutes of life well spent).

Buy Lefty, Jim, Porter, Two Dollar Pistols, and Fairport.

Graham Coxon - The Spinning Top

What was the last song you had on repeat?

This one has kept me company on a series of very long and cold train journeys this week - I've heard it umpteen times and yet I keep finding myself pressing repeat. It's eight and a half minutes of acoustic, finger-plucky, Graham-y/Martin-y clever clogs pleasure, with added glasses. And birdsong.

I'm a bit of a late-comer to this album, which seemed to get a bit of a rough ride in the reviews - it's a step away from the archetypal indie boy towards a bigger and broader musical heritage. Come on in, I say.

I think this could well be Coxon's Weekender (which, I think we can agree, is a very good thing).

Listen: Graham Coxon - In the Morning.

Buy

PS Happy Birthday Howard XXXX

Richie Lawrence - Melancholy Waltz

I love records that are a bit nuts. Like the Ruth Minnikin last year, this album was a total off-kilter and off-radar surprise. I think that might be a concrete piano on the cover - I once went to a church in Denmark that was made totally out of concrete, hmm...

Anyway, the quirky cover art is just a taster of the random mix of what's inside. It's a pick'n'mix of folky ballads, woozy piano instrumentals, chansons and country. Give it a whirl.

Listen: Richie Lawrence - I Am Weary

Listen: Richie Lawrence - Danielle

Buy it.