"the idea for this record came together after a long phone conversation Suf and I had"

Rosie Thomas' newest album, "These Friends of Mine," arrived in the mail today and I snatched it up with a quickness rivaled by none. After finally scraping off the packaging, which never seems to become a barrier to me until I want to hear a record so bad that my coordination is compromised, I turned the pages of the compact disc booklet to discover riches. Under each handwritten songtitle, the following words, scratches, and ideas are not those sung on each track, but instead brief notes regarding the circumstances from which the lyrics evolved, and also the endearing places the recording took place (i.e. Sufjan's kitchen). Forget the music, I could go on forever about this treasure of written proportions.

Please don't forget the music--it is some of the loveliest music I've ever closed my eyes to.


Tonight at Perspectives we talked about Jesus, poor people, and Chinese people and Jesus amongst poor Chinese people. Can you imagine what this did to me?