Thunderstorm.

Have we needed this! It'll knock the pollen and pollution out of the air a bit. But besides that, in my top ten of favorite things is a Spring thunderstorm.

It's cooled off considerably. The air feels fresh, new, charged. Maybe it's that I love opposite forces confronting each other. Two different weather fronts meeting, battling it out. One of my favorite photos ever is an aerial shot of fresh water meeting salt water. Can't remember where it was taken. It's on these frontiers that amazing things can happen.

My mother used to tell me a story about my reaction to my first thunderstorm. We were in Virginia, in Winchester. My father was teaching at Shenandoah before getting hired at UT Austin. There was a massive storm stuck between the Appalachians and the Atlantic. My parents were watching TV in the other room when they realized that with all the crashing thunder, I was probably awake and terrified. When they peeked in on me, I was standing up in my crib, wide-eyed and smiling. I turned to them and whispered in ecstasy, "Rain booms."

Downloadabubble.

Friends! Friends! You can now download the request line songs at Virb.com!!!

Go here. Downloads are go!

Unprocessed blues on Vox.

Newest request is up. "Since I Fell for You" has been covered by Dinah Washington, Mose Allison, Nina Simone, Big Mama Thornton, and, and, and...a lot of other people. I did it in one track, one take. Simple felt best. Overprocessed blues feels, well, wrong to me. Do it, and if it's dirty, so much the better.

Disclaimer: I am not a blues guitarist, but I can shout.

Also managed to record basic tracks of four of my own songs (they're all in French). Was proud of myself for pushing through and doing it, taking mini-breaks along the way. Did you know that a square of fancy chocolate relaxes and resets your left hand after too many bar chords on a classical guitar? Did you? Well, now you do. So there.

First batch finished.

Oh you lucky, lucky people. The first round of requests is done, second round to come.

The two most recent I recorded in the bedroom as opposed to the huge livingroom. Smaller space and more textiles to eat unwanted noise and reverb. I'm learning. Also finally getting the finer points of Garageband. Patience is key, but not difficult. I lose myself and time in the process. I mix to the best of my abilities, and then remind myself that this is not product that I'm hoping someone will purchase, and load it up. It's for fun. It's to make my friends and family happy. It's stress release after dealing with the fucking French government for a year (and still no fucking carte de séjour) and knowing that my dog may have to go in for a major surgery. It forces me to focus and breathe. That's good.

First batch.

The first batch o' requests is almost complete. I put some songs up with a couple my brother helped me record in 2005 in this collection, Music I Make, on my Vox account. We've just exited the Geese City Limits and are moving on toward the Gulf of Fleetwood Mac for "Goat Dust Woman" -- oh sorry -- "GOLD Dust Woman."

Loads more to come.

More music, more music, more music....

Put up one of my own requests. This one goes out to my mother. A month before she passed, we discovered we were both huge Joni fans. How did we not know this about each other after almost 3 decades of family bonds and friendship?

Song up on Vox.

Was taking requests on my Vox blog from friends for recording projects to share with the world. The first one is up, if anyone (ahem) wants to hear it (ahem, wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Expect in coming weeks:

"Blackbird" by the Beatles (requested by my very best friend)
"Aquamarine" by Geese (requested by the songwriter himself)
"Gold Dust Woman" by Fleetwood Mac (requested by a new friend here in Paris who keeps me sane with baked goods)
"Desert Island" by the Magnetic Fields (requested by my fiancé)
"Since I Fell For You" -- loosely based on the Nina Simone version (requested by a fellow blogger)
"The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats (requested by a dear friend who loves a laugh)
"Gone for Good" by the Shins (requested by another very dear friend who is the only British person I know who can accurately impersonate a Texan)

And, er, Mr. Tow-, er, Pete. I didn't follow the tips you left in comments, but I will this weekend. Thanks! Also, I obviously can't speak about Keith, but, whenever Kim and I would talk, I would have moments of total awe thinking, "How. On. Earth. Did. She. Survive. That. Marriage?" She and I discussed the Who once. I knew about her past -- at least what rock journalists had written -- I wanted to know about her present and what she was doing in the moment. The rest of the time we talked about dogs. I remember when she got mange after taking in some strays she found on the way to Manor. Such a big heart. We met through mutual friends who knew her in L.A. She was very supportive and always made me feel at ease. Once Mac was playing as a Bloke with Billy Bragg in Austin. She dragged me backstage and told anyone who would listen that I was this amazing singer. That meant a lot to me because I think she'd only heard me once. What she and Mac had is something I hoped for in my own life with all my heart, and I think I found it by accident! Mac is also such an inspiration. And, to this day, I stop myself before I dog-ear a page in a book! Glad to know that he's hanging in there.

Also, do you have a request? Or does Rachel? Either or both of you?