Listening to: Katie Melua

In the 1970's, the weird, alternative culture of people like you and me had a revelation: music corresponds with our personality. The guitar riffs, the sound effects, and the full orchestras are all great, hold a lot of truth and passion, but they're equal to the face we put o n for the public. Basically, no matter how much truth you put in it, it's still crap.

That's why punk took off, why metal bands make acoustic tracks, and singer-songwriters are rolling in the dough. The facade is good, the facade is necessary, but every now and then we've gotta reckon with ourselves. Every now and then a self-inspecting artist will sit his happy ass down with a guitar, a piano, or just a pen, and lay out the truth, raw and bitter. Sometimes it's about the lyrics. Sometimes it's about the chords. Sometimes it's just about stepping out from behind the recording gadgets. But it's always about opening yourself up, cracked voice, missed note, and all.

Cuz every now and then, it just sounds better that way.