I have seen this post elsewhere, cgod submitted a version the other day. I've always liked the way that #lettersofnote has had a photograph or scan of the original document followed by a transcript. That would serve this letter well. The photos are blurry.'The best an idea gets is when it's in your head. From then on, it's just a matter of how much you ruin it.'
What a wonderful quote. The best songs that I have ever written have basically fallen right out of me. I didn't have to work at them, craft them in any way… they were simply finished upon arrival.
You might have seen Albini's essay The Problem With Music, it's achieved a bit of notoriety now. Steve has a pretty strong voice about bands getting the most out of their career and recordings. I always catch Shellac (Steve's band) when they come to town. The fact that they have an ethic about the sound they produce pops right out. They play those strange Travis Bean Guitars and their amplifiers only have one knob, Steve uses a metal pic everything is extremely particular and unique. Tod Trainer the drummer is a fantastic pocket drummer, the only time you see him put his ego before exacting execution is when he is just having a shit ton of fun drumming (I think if you are filled with drummer joy, and are fantastic drummer it's ok to step out once in a while). There is no band I like to see live more than Shellac.