Attention man friends, woman friends, dog friends, and plant friends: the tangled troubadour which ye love, Diane Cluck, is back in the song-sharing spirit after a long public silence following the early-00s collections on Important Records and 2005’s lovely and overlooked Countless Times. In the intervening years, new songs were almost certainly still planted and harvested, but likely only reached the microscopic ears of the slowly simmering zucchini in Ms. Cluck’s kitchen. For 2012, Diane has decided to leave the door ajar for half the year and let anyone listen who’ll lend an open ear and a bit of money.
The “Song-of-the-Week” project will proceed as you might imagine — starting in March, Diane will grace subscribers’ inboxes with a brand-new song each week for six full months, resulting in 24 songs released by the end of August! Tentative listeners can sign on for a single month at a low rate ($10) while true beliebers can get all the songs for $50, plus there’ll be the occasional video and a subscriber-only message board to talk about the songs and make requests for the remaining weeks. Please don’t attempt to say this is a bad idea; it’s a great idea, Joe, and your baseless negativity has no place here.
To make the project feasible, Diane is hoping to raise $15,000 by January 30, which will be used for the developing/hosting/engineering/etc. of all these songs (see a detailed rundown here). In the vein of Kickstarter (but more homebrewed and less associated with funding sleepovers), different subscription levels beyond the ordinary are available and sound supremely worth it: $75 gets you two physical CDs with proper mastering, lyrics, and artwork signed by Diane, and still larger donations will be rewarded with hand-drawn illustrations, personalized songs (!), and live shows in your own backyard.
As of yesterday, the Song-of-the-Week project is 45% funded, and I’m going to be really disappointed in our readers if it’s not 89% funded by Wednesday. Cluck’s songs are open and direct in all the right ways, aloof and mysterious in others, and always mesmerizing and personal. Diane says on the project’s page to “tell cats, bats & rats.” Consider the rats informed.
Shows:
01.21.12 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
02.06.12 - Brooklyn, NY - Storefront BK Gallery
02.12.12 - Toronto, ON - Holy Oak Cafe
02.14.12 - Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo
• Diane Cluck: http://dianecluck.info
• Song-of-the-Week Project: http://dianecluck.info/song-of-the-week
