Last night Rachel and Lenna went to a lovely little cafe called Meadowlark in our hometown of Lincoln NE.  They have open mic every wednesday.  Rachel's mother thought her coworker she invited might come, but he didn't. 
     Since we are putting together the new album we wanted to try out our three newest songs on a real live audience.  We played the Swooney Love Song, The November 17th Song, and The Murder Ballad.  It was a good arrangement of songs because it went from love, to indifference, to hate, boom boom boom.  Lenna was a bit ashamed of the girlishness of her swooney love song, and was pleased to balance it out with an old fashioned murder ballad.
      Well, almost old fashioned.  The fact is, this murder ballad includes the word "erection", which you so seldom hear in song.  Although she briefly considered singing shmeshmection instead, at the last minute Lenna was unable to maim her song. 
    The story of how Lenna came to write a murder ballad is that a certain sinister mr. K loves murder ballads so. When Lenna learned this, she leapt to the defense of every woman murdered for almost no reason in song form.  She said that if K liked them so very much, she would write a murder ballad in which she personally murders him.  This was the origin of the song. 
    Months passed.  Sadly, she found herself unable to murder mr. K, even in song.  She would sit down with the cello and the song would not come.  Then one day in a New Orleans suburb she sat down with the cello and was able to write.  Murder ballads embrace the dark strangeness of the human heart.   So does New Orleans.  By taking on this larger subject of the murder ballad and abandoning her imaginary quest to kill mr. K she was able to create a murder ballad. 
    Rachel's November 17th song was the song in the middle of the journey from Love to Hate.  It is a dreamy song but maybe you are sweating more than usual while you dream this dream.  Maybe your heart is hurting some and you are confused about your feelings and logic is far far away...It is a very good song.  Lenna likes to play it because the cello gets to be the drum. 
     The songs may need to be tweaked, but if we count them as finished, it brings the new song total to five.  This means we are closer and closer to completing the glorious and long awaited: Feminine Hyjinx.  Glory Be. 
    PS, on the way back to NE we passed a motel in rural Mississippi called " The Pines"  Lenna wanted to stay there so much but since we had only been on the road four hours it was an impractical desire.  She did however, compose a new ditty for the motel to use in its advertising: 
          In the Pines, In the Pines
          Where the prices are just fine
          You'll be comfy
          The whole night through
    PSE