Letter to Giang--Subject: "Against My Better Judgement"

Here's an email I wrote my friend. I send her CDs randomly to impose my aural aesthetic upon her...

"...I ordered your ass some more CDs.  Don't want to fully spoil the surprise factor, but one's already shipped and I wanted you to have some background on why I find them exceptional/essential.  If, over the course of these prescribed musical flights, I send you something you've heard already or have in your ipod, I ask that you remember that for me the "album experience" includes the whole mood of the product--being able to see the images the artist chose, the musicians on staff and production, the printed lyrics, the sequencing, etc.  I hope you'll do me the honor of giving each of these a solid fair chance with my musical perspective in mind--I do realize we don't agree on everything, but THIS IS COSTING ME A FUCKING FORTUNE SO TRY TO LIKE THEM!  Just kidding.  The great thing about Amazon, etc. is that the discs are usually 2-6 bucks plus shipping of $3...

Anyway, "Sweet Old World" by Lucinda Williams is my very favorite by that esteemed artist.  Her father was an award-winning poet and I do not doubt she inherited his nuance for verbal juxtaposition and simplicity.  In a refrain from a song off another album, she suddenly muses in a dreamy coo: "junebug versus hurricane, junebug versus hurricane, hey, hey"--a favorite moment of mine in sound.  But this record, though it may not be her technical masterpiece, for me is the picture of realness in song.  Her eponymous first major release was bluesy-to-pop-y, and I always wondered if this follow up wasn't a slightly more commercial reach for the mainstream market the record company may've thought she should be in.  No matter, it is haunting and beautiful--the song "Pineola" is both of those things and yet almost violently rock-tinged.  Brilliant.  The first time I saw her live, in the very front of the stage at an unannounced secret show, she opened with that song and it freakin' blew my mind.  Also, as a brother,  the song "Little Angel, Little Brother" is special to me and the title track is, well just so real and sentimental.  Please remember that the qualification of every record I send is that it is a great cohesive work, no fluff or filler, and I think this is one of my favorites of all-time.  Also, do not miss the track whose title begins with "Sidewalks..." and the final track, a stellar Nick Drake cover. 

The disc that should probably arrive second, Terence Trent D'arby's "Symphony or Damn", is kind of an opus, the rantings of a mad genius who found mass fame and adoration, only to succumb to the perils of a bloated ego and create again.  After the big crash of his career and a poorly received second album, he released this--a true freaking masterpiece.  I bought it in my early teens, and though my favorite song off of it then remains my favorite now, I wasn't at all ready to digest it as a whole.  *Please forgive the intro, it's really the only low-point in all its 16 tracks, so it's good to get that out of the way up front--after all it's only a 31 second intro...  This would've worked very well in the vinyl format, as it's broken down into 2 sections.  In the first half, tracks 2-9, enjoy confectious rock tunes with blues, gospel and R&B overtones--a duet with Des'Ree is a delicious high point, but each of these songs has the hidden potential to plant its seed and grow on you in a way you might not have expected upon first listen.  "Turn the Page" (track #9)--I ask that you meditate on a bit--one of my favorite songs of all time, certainly to me one of the most underrated pop songs ever.  His machine-gun like litany of densely poetic lyrics over a flute-rich, Gypsy-like tune, calling out a young privileged girl that has lost her way in the material world is just freaking stunning!!!  (Def read the lyrics along with this one!!).  Then, the second half of the record is chock full of gems, I will let them unfold for you, but the last three songs make for a suite of beautiful, brilliantly sentimental tones.  As with all the prescribed musical flights, please do give this one at least a few listens and let it have some space to sink in.

(Couldn't find "Turn the Page" on all of the reaches of the internet, so check this out:)

Hope you're enjoying this.  I know you are an extremely busy person, and I am forever humbled and honored to be counted at the top of your list, but sometimes I feel just a bit swept by the wayside, so if this is all too much of an imposition please let me know.

With Love,

xx"