I don’t know about all of you, but I’ve responded to the election debacle pretty much the way I respond to a death in the family. While my normal modus operandi is to have music playing all the time, I tend to sink into silence when I’m mourning. It’s like I shouldn’t enjoy anything. Of course denying myself the healing power of music is counterproductive but mourning doesn’t have a lot to do with logic.

For the first two days I didn’t listen to any music, but this morning I wanted to try. The trouble was I couldn’t think of what I wanted to hear. That’s VERY unusual for me. I know the flavors of music the way a Top Chef knows herbs and spices. To not know what music I’m in the mood for is a very lost feeling. Having lost my rudder I put my iTunes on random play and hoped for the best.

After a few really wrong songs that I skipped the right songs emerged from the pack. Michael Penn, Alanna Sterling, Feist, Honor by August, Lord Huron, Foy Vance, The Mountain Goats and Curtis McMurtry all rode to the rescue with their soft and complex angst. If you’re looking for the soundtrack for the fall of democracy you can’t go wrong with these folks.