congratulations on your decision to become a horrible person.

 

originally recorded in my parents basement.  all instruments and vocals

by me. all songs written by me except 7 songs.

review by barry beer
Congratulations on your decision to become a horrible person... makes you ask
before even putting in the CD  "what did i do? what do you mean I am a horrible
person? what decision?"  after more than a year since first experiencing this album,
i am still asking those same questions when I think about this album.  I won't
pretend to understand what Sedge intended for those who would be so privileged
to experience this and his other albums... rather I just take my normal approach
to artistic medium "what does it mean to me?"  So, as I express my thoughts on
"congratulations..." this is what it means to me. In the distinct style of sedge's
other music works "congratulations..." has its clear creativity mixed with mystery and
both intentional and accidental brilliance.  In the days of custom mp3 lists and endless
burnt CDs, an original album becomes no more than the grocery bag from which
we retrieve what we like.  With "congratulations..." each track seems to set the
mood for the album and those to come.  As I play them from my mp3 list at work,
I reconstruct the original order to preserve the flow of the original album and can
clearly recognize the difference. If you looking for a Top 40 hit from this album you
are not going to find it here.  While you might find a catchy tune or riff in a few of
the songs, you are more likely to wonder what is this song about, what does this
mean, where are the lyrics.  While the lyrics may not be penned somewhere in the
album case, the words are clearly sung by Sedge and it just takes time to
understand.  The album has an unusually numerous fifteen tracks but each is
pretty short in length making listening to a song and the album repeatedly a must.
"congratulations..." features a familiar song to many "Down to the River to Pray"
from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.  While some may have
preferred "Man of Constant Sorrow", "Down to the River to Pray" is a simple praise and
worship song that is both a call for guidance and a call to come and experience "the way"
to salvation.  Sedge created a remarkable accapella version of a terrific song.  This
song combined with "Come Thou Fount" shows Sedge's true singing ability similar to
Picasso demonstrating he could draw and paint traditional art before his abstract and
emotional creativity was truly felt. "congratulations..." begins with "a long winter", a short yet
powerful and meaningful song, which features a low voice with a deliberate echo
between the Right and Left channels of Stereo sound and while that is creative, the lyrics
which seem to discuss the highs and lows of life are what I take interest in.  The catchiest
track on the album is "with words undone".  It draws you in with a catchy guitar riff and
traditional folk voice only to take you into an emotional and passionate ending to
add meaning to the song.  "with words undone" is Sedge's songwriting masterpiece in
this album discussing that most sincere and humble time in Christian's life when they
turn back to Jesus in prayer and help.  With lyrics that include questions such as
"where's my comment now that's witty?" many will be able to relate the lyrics of this song if
they take the time to focus on them. "Medication" and "... Shannon Rose" add to the album
with mysterious lyrics but leave me scratching my head to know if this is Christian or
not.  I guess I just don't dig deep enough to fully appreciate Damien Jurado as a songwriter.
I realize that some songs are written as a biography but I don't see how they are
meaningful to those who listen unless one can relate. Other great songs musically are "take
some chances", "we are not inspired...", and "freely falling".  "where the wild things are"
shows Sedge's ability to experiment with electronic music and his equipment but created
a brilliant instrumental that is a strong finish to the album. While there are few tracks
on the album that I regretfully skip, I would rank "congratulations on your decision to become
a horrible person" as Sedge's finest and most polished album to date because of its
amount of creativity in both the song writing and the music.  While others tend to get their
playlist off the top 40 charts, I particularly like this album because the music is simple and
the lyrics complex and meaningful. -Barry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

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