The weather I�ve been caught under has been muddled as of late. Sunny skies have been greeted by rain, thunderstorms and as though flustered by the surly welcome offered, they decided to bring along something which resembled a tornado, for their last visit, a number of days ago. I have no real quarrels with such weather, and I often enjoy watching a thunderstorm pass me by. With this being said, I�ve been slowly relocating a number of songs to tape, so that I might be ready for the rains next visit. Here�s what I�ve put together as of this moment:

*Sigur Ros - Vaka (Of all the songs Sigur Ros have crafted, Vaka, is one of my favourites. I especially appreciate the version in which Jonsi�s vocals are left bare, that is, not altered to sound like a child, and wherein he strains his vocal chords to reach those high notes upon the climax. The version of which I�m speaking may be downloaded in video format on their website, for those who may be interested.)

*Philip Jeck - Wholesome (7, is easily Philips most accessible album and while how this finds you may vary, Wholesome is nonetheless a song of great celestial beauty, perfectly fit for such nights.)

*Max Richter - On the nature of daylight (Following a reading of a passage from a Franz Kafka text, this is a rather stirring track from Richter�s fine album, The Blue Notebooks. Kafka�s favourite instrument was apparently a violin and I find this song reminds me of a number of his stories.)

*Gavin Bryars - The Sinking Of The Titanic (An excerpt from a recording which took place in an abandoned water tower, the album is befittingly sub-aquatic, with taped narrations from survivors and diverse underwater sounds. Long sustained tones gradually give one the impression of searchlights running atop the waters surface at night.)

*Takagi Masakatsu - Harmony (I�m taking only a small snippet from what is a half an hour audio journal of Takagi�s travels through 41 locations. A great track for those who enjoy Chris Watson as well as a bit of glitch processing.)

*Piano Magic - Dark Secrets Look For Light (To this day, Low Birth Weight, remains a sadly overlooked album, and, at this point, one must imagine it will probably remain as such. This piece isn�t adorned with the lilting female vocals found in much of Johnson�s work, yet the meek guitar passages, set against a tale of someone searching for �an ugly wife,� are quite lovely. Near the end the protagonist seems to poke his eyes out at the sight of his fallen bride, an act which reminds of Oedipus Rex, and A Gentle Creature, by Dostoevsky.

*Angle - The Virus (Angle would seem to be a rather unknown band, yet on their debut, Silence Is Better Than Nothing, they display an obvious talent as well as resemblance to a band named Hood, specifically their landmark album, Cold House.)

*Gregor Samsa - 00 (Very nice male-female vocals emit thoughtful turns of phrase throughout these textured songs that often remind of Sigur Ros and the protagonist of the short story from which this band borrows its name. Thus far, Gregor Samsa, have only released a couple of ep�s, however, a debut full-length is expected to be let out rather soon and I for one, have high hopes. )

*Polwechsel - Framing 7 (Tension is built by the interplay between Michael Moser�s cello and Burkhard Stangl�s acoustic guitar, while feathery electronics from Christian Fennesz fill out this, the highlight from Wrapped Islands.)

Further suggestions as to what I might add would be welcome. Hopefully someone might find a band or two that they may wish to search out.