beneath the weeping willow tree...

{the magical bicyclette, illuminated by chris}

This is just to pass along a musical recommendation -- this past week as I've found myself in the middle of grant-writing, conference-paper-finishing, presentation-making, not-entirely-unenjoyable chaos, I have been listening to quite a mélange of music. One artist I've newly discovered is M. Ward. I previously knew of him only peripherally, through collaborations with Cat Power and Beth Orton, but recently I've become quite enchanted by his songs.

His voice is all warm & crackly & papery like leaves, & his songs are cozy, perfect to listen to while lying on the floor wearing cross-country ski socks & drinking chamomile tea, which is pretty much what I'm up to now. He writes simply but poetically, very much evoking the traditional folk song structure:

I sailed a wild, wild sea, climbed up a tall, tall mountain, met an old, old man beneath the weeping willow tree... He said, now if you've got some questions go & lay them at my feet, but my time here is brief, so you'll have to pick just three... & I said, what do you do with the pieces of a broken heart?

You really really must listen to the song & watch the video for his song 'Chinese Translation'. It's a little animated film with the sweetest watercoloury animation -- little pink birds! wise old grand-fathers & -mothers! faces illuminated in the bark of a tree, little cicada-like bugs with tiny lighters! Very, very sweet, I don't know what to do.