Shetland simmers in the simmer dim

 Cool tunes for a boiling day on the Old Rock. On 60 North Radio between 7 and 8 on Friday, archived thereafter and streaming now on Mixcloud:

https://www.mixcloud.com/tom-morton2/beatcrofting-with-tom-morton/

It’s been hot in Shetland this week. Hotter than ever before, with temperatures in Unst apparently reaching over 27 degrees on Thursday. My granny always used to blame “the satellites” for changes in the weather. Maybe Unst’s new role as Space Station Shetland, with satellite launches imminent, is the reason Britain’s northernmost landmass is baking like a bannock.

Climate change is of course affecting weather — and vulnerable locations like ours more than most. Worse winds, colder winters, no-longer-freak-snowfalls, plagues of frogs and blistering June days like today, with the steering wheel of my car too hot to touch. That’s a Shetland first.

The truth is, I’m not a fan of Shetland in the heat. I like it dark and cold outside, those winter nights by a roaring Rayburn (not roaring too much; no chimney conflagrations) or the long misty days of autumn. I like flights cancelled, boats stormbound or moaning their foghorns in the haar. I’ll tell you how hot it is: I’ve switched off the central heating.

Meanwhile, here’s the playlist for this week’s 60 North Radio show, also available on Mixcloud here:

https://www.mixcloud.com/tom-morton2/beatcrofting-with-tom-morton/

There’s old rock from the Old Rock, some new bits and pieces (that Jason Isbell track is really moving, I think; Justin Townes Earle is such a loss). Sigur Rós’s new album Atta is great, and Mór (‘Tender’, i think in Icelandic, or ‘Tenderness’) is a powerfully affecting tune. And Elton doing Thom Bell – best performance of his career? Arguably.

Enjoy, I hope. Oh, and I’m putting this on Facebook as well as for subscribers on my newsletter site as I have a feeling that links to that site and even mentions  are algorithmically crushed by FB; they certainly are on Twitter.

Warren Zevon — Frank and Jesse James

Pretenders — I Think About You Daily

Nils Lofgren — Ain’t the Truth Enough?

Roger McGuinn — Someone to Love

Stranglers — Always the Sun

Tori Amos — Rattlesnakes

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit — When We Were Close

Justin Townes Earle — Kids in the Street

Elton John — Are You Ready For Love?

Sigur Rós — Mór

Roxy Music — Over You

Cowboy Junkies — Thunder Road