Man, I hate piles. I hate piles of paper, piles of CDs (although I like the fact that there are lots of CDs in that pile), piles of letters I have to address and send, piles of nameless junk that I have to go through….and those are all on my desk right now. Changing stuff is tough.

But music is getting me through- I’ve been listening to Jose Gonzalez’s Veneer to keep from going nuts. He’s one of those new-folk people who adhere to the “Quiet is the new loud” mantra supplied by the Kings of Convenience- the only instruments on his whole album are acoustic guitar, voice, and a trumpet on the last track “Broken Arrows”. Even the percussion is supplied by slapping his guitar. His voice is low, humble, and soothing- perfectly matching his low-slung, rolling guitar style. Definitely one of my favorites in the new-folk scene, although I’m a big fan of Sufjan and Elijah Wyman as well….