mp3: In Shock
website: http://www.throwingmusic.com/

On the way back from a horribly rainy lunchtime this afternoon, I walked into the lift and ‘In Shock’ came on my mp3 player.

And it cast me back to the old days, when I would frequent Throwing Music Online, Kristin Hersh’s internet home, where around the time of new releases, something akin to the most intense parts of The Crucible would occur in text form - individual posters would reel backwards clutching their eyes, screaming in a shrill manner, while glaring at the ceiling, “I saw The Devil put 4 songs from Sky Motel on Soulseek!” or “Jesus and his saints will cast out those who fileshare Works in Progress 2, you are stealing the sacred communion from the mouths of her babes!” and so on, but these days, we’re all a bit more insouciant about such things. I mean, as a fan, I would buy Kristin’s new album if it consisted of a recording of her accidentally dropping things on the floor and apologising, to be honest, but it’s always nice to have a preview.

This waiting around just seems so…’90s. But to stay on the safe side, here’s an already broadcast radio version of the song, ‘In Shock’. I don’t want to be burned as an mp3 witch by the marginalised hordes. If I’m pretending I haven’t got the whole album, I’d say “it bodes well for the album”. But as I do already have it, you may as well know that I think the album is great, and a lovely surprise in places.

And so there I was in the lift, rained on, cold. ‘In Shock’ cheered me right up. I like the way the piano and guitar have a duel, geographically, somewhere about 10cm between my ears, which tickled my little brain. It made me jiggle about like some sort of dislodged egg for 15 seconds until someone came into the lift and I turned it down. I might sometimes get excited, but I’m also polite. I like listening to loud music, but I don’t want anyone having to witness me listening to loud music. Goes to show, there are limits, you know.

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