Brandon's Buzz

Tori Amos — “Little Earthquakes” (from Little Earthquakes) —

I find watching all this nonstop news coverage of people in Washington, D.C. and New York City go apeshit nuts over this afternoon’s 6.0-ish earthquake much more amusing than I ever should (if only because, as big a baby as I am about such things, I know damn well I’d be losing my shit with just as much vim and vehemence as the people I’m watching in Times Square are and have been ever since the ground first shook hours ago). My unsolicited advice on sailing through this crisis (which is, essentially, identical to my advice on sailing through any crisis, regardless of its ultimate import) is as follows: crank up the volume on some Tori, paste a smile upon your glorious face, and allow the wind to carry all your troubles downstream.

Ashford & Simpson — “Solid”
(from The Very Best of Ashford & Simpson) —

I was so sorry to hear about the tragic passing yesterday of the great Nick Ashford, who, along with his wife Valerie Simpson, co-wrote a handful of true Motown touchstones — the Supremes’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and Gaye & Terrell’s “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” to name but two — before he and Valerie decided, in what turned out to be a brilliant move, to take their own shot in front of the microphone. My beloved 1984 wouldn’t have been the same without this, their best-known smash, and the world won’t be the same without him. (Rest in peace, Nick.)