A modest calamity

The Hustle, Seonna Hong

Avalanche! Oh, Avalanche! - Gregory and the Hawk

Gregory and the Hawk, aka Brooklynite Meredith Godreau, plucks it from the encyclopedia. But is careful not to copy word for word, to instead, put it in her own, to substitute "number one" for "primary" and "kill" for "wipe out" and so on. And she remembers to state her own opinion: that avalanches strike for no other reason than to remind people "to be fearful." All the other kids sing songs about hurricanes, tsunamis and the Big One to come. Godreau reports on a less-trafficked natural disaster, a relatively modest calamity of suffocating snow, but one whose significance -- if you happen to be a dead Swiss skier whose limbs she gingerly steps over in her smart powder blue snowsuit -- is probably pretty great.

From The Boats & Birds EP (Artist direct, iTunes).

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