Ric Leichtung pens an open letter to John Maus.
Dear John Maus,
How are you? I am fine. I heard you’re formally releasing all of those songs that you posted on Mausspace on Ribbon Music!! That’s awesome, and a really smart thing of you to do because the songs are pretty good. Why didn’t you release them in the first place? Sure, they don’t feel as fleshed-out as the other things you’ve released on your proper full-lengths, but considering how intensely you labor over your music, it’s really charming to hear your songs in their developing stages.
Oh man, how great would it be to hear one of these songs redone on the next album! I think that’d be sick; people like to see how artists grow over time, and it’s this kind of shallow comparitive analysis that gives people the illusion that they’re on the brink of understanding you. It could make your body of work more digestible to casual listeners and lazy writers. Maybe then more people would buy your albums because they’d think that they’re one of the few that actually get it. But then again, who cares what they think?
I have a few quick personal questions. What’s the story of the girl at Bennington? Do you still see her in your dreams? Also, how do you love her eyes so much without ever actually seeing them? Does she really exist? Does this relate to some philosophical concept that I’m unfamiliar with? Either way, she must’ve been super cute. I’d kind of be interested in seeing what she looks like, and then compare her to other girls I’ve been obsessed with. You should post a pic of her in the comments section. Think about it– it might be really funny!
Also, I was wondering if you could take a second to explain more about your very first Tweet, which reads “GARY WAR IS THE FUTURE”. He has a new album coming out on John Elliott’s label, and I wanted to get your thoughts on it. I feel like Gary War is pretty awesome but he’s never quite caught on on the same scale as a lot of his contemporaries, and I haven’t really seen too many people get deep with the ideas that he’s working with. Write-ups in the past usually go something like “here’s two sentences about something Sacred Bones put out” plus “this guy used to work with Ariel Pink” (I’m sure you know how that feels, are you sick of that?). I feel like you could be the right person to explain why Gary War is so next level. You should talk about it somewhere.
On a side note: what’re you up to on New Years Eve? I really like the idea of seeing the ball drop with you in the same room. You should come to New York so we can chill. It might be really funny if it happened considering I’m soliciting you in this public letter!
I hope it doesn’t get weird now, because I think you’re a smart guy, and if you thought this was weird then I’d feel really self-conscious about myself as both a person and an aspiring writer. But I have a feeling you’re a pretty misunderstood guy with an offbeat sense of humor, so I’m sure you understand on some level. Anyways, I hope you’re well, keep me posted on the new album! I’d love to hear it.
Thinking of you always. Write back?
Ric Leichtung
P.S. Rights for gays, oh yeah.