Recent advances on the dipole and monopole responses of the atomic nucleus are discussed. The soft dipole response is diversified and its structure depends on the nucleus. The giant dipole resonance is involved in astrophysical processes such as the r-process and in the propagation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. A soft monopole response is predicted. The giant monopole resonance is related to the determination of the nuclear incompressibility, but an alternative quantity may be better extracted from measurements.