It was only a short while ago that I reviewed Kimya Dawson's Hidden Vagenda CD on these pages, and yet here I am reviewing another, more recent release from her, Remember That I Love You. What, you might wonder, can he have to say about her music that he didn't just say, like, a month ago? Well, you know, there have been times that I've reviewed three or more books by the same author in the space of a week, so why not a second disc by the same musician within a month or two?

The real truth of the matter is that I liked the first CD I listened to so much that I wanted to hear more. So I contacted the good people at K Records, who distribute her music, and asked for a review copy of Remember That I Love You. What had impressed me the most about the earlier release, Hidden Vagenda was not only the intelligence of Ms. Dawson's lyrics, but how she performed her songs.

Although her breathless, nearly stream of conscience, mode of delivery is not what most of us are accustomed to when it comes to pop music, I found it to be one of the things that appealed to me most about her music. Instead of the normal dynamic of the passive audience being spoon fed by a singer, listening to Kimya's music was like waiting your turn in a conversation. I couldn't help but notice that while I was listening to her sing, I was thinking of things that I would like to say to continue the conversation she had started.
Most issue oriented singers have a tendency to create slogans instead of dialogue, and end up depicting a world that is black and white. The only thing that separates them from those they are singing about is what they designate as "good" and "evil." It's that sort of intransigency that gets humans in all sorts of trouble. Everybody is so damn sure that they are right and the other guy is wrong that they don't even take the time to listen to what somebody else has to say any more. How do people expect to get through to those with opposing views if they are constantly putting their backs up by attacking them?