Dear Björk,

Ha.hmmm, oh my! Well to get things started my name is Mark. I'm a sad little kid who listens to music incessantly. I would not be alive today if it weren't for music, that is a fact. But that's not why I'm writing (well sorta-kinda in an indirect way). My god, the words flow fast while I'm laying on my bed at night thinking about random things trying hard to sleep.but now it's all forced and my emotions and word-play are rebellious like myself. Sometimes I walk around my city, my neighborhood, with a ringing in my head, a ringing in my heart. I'll go home and put in one of your CDs and the few seconds it takes for the first song to come on is utter and complete silence. I smile sometimes, it would seem odd to a bystander, but I smile and sit back. Words (let alone - my words) will never express what your music is like, it's an experience. You can't sit a person down and tell them first you'll feel joy then next comes contemplation and then inner searching and then some laughter spliced with pain and sorrow, everyone has to experience your music. I can explain other bands/artists that I listen to pretty well to my friends and family but not yours, I choose not to because it would cheapen it. No human will ever write down an emotion, language always fall short. That's why it's hard to write this. I'm sitting here now with furrowed brow and I feel like all my ideas are on the floor, weighted by my inability to put them to words.

[1]"The sun came up behind the trees on the city it looks so ugly to me. A million people a million dreams but not a word spoken it seems I'll be a friend to you be a friend to me."

I can't express myself without music. I wouldn't want it any other way. I love to write and writing keeps me going and always gets me through horrible moments in my life. Music is the perfect expression, it's writing taken up a notch. It's about as close as you can come to defining an emotion. I've known about your career for quite some time but never looked into it because I was some stupid punk kid who only wanted to listen to punk rock. Well, I saw you in Dancer In The Dark and that movie shattered that day, week and probably month. It was insane. I forgot you were even in the movie, your mannerisms and nuances were incredible - you were Selma. Well I'm not sure if it's because I loved the movie so much but I also loved the soundtrack and I had to get it. I couldn't find it and instead got Debut wanting to work my way up the ladder of your artistry. I finally got all your CDs excluding Telegraph and Gling-Glo. And I'd like to go ahead and say I wish Selmasongs was exact to the movie. Well anyway, I had some trouble with my dad. Some violence and angry noises. He took all my music away from me cuz he knew that that was one of the most important things in my life, so I had none of your CDs or any others for that matter. Vespertine hadn't come out yet so I got my mom to snatch that up quick at the store. It hit me hard. It is the best piece of art that I've heard in a long while. I'm only 17 so that might not mean anything to you. Sometimes I'll listen to music and certain songs are so good that I wish I could live inside it, but when I listen to Vespertine I want to live inside the whole CD. Alright well anyway I'm kinda off subject, so we'll move on now.

[2]"I never thought a smile could change my life, my whole life. What a pretty girl on such a cloudy day and I don't care about anything every night I make a wish that I'll see you tomorrow. Sugar! never tasted anything so sweet never felt something so beautiful this ugly world needs more beauty like yours."

I wish I could quote whole songs even though it's just the words devoid of any rhythm or beautiful-imperfections and emotions., but I'll refrain for time and space sake. Ok well like I said above, I'm 17 and being a teenager I'm idealistic.more so than adults because they seem to become bitter and jaded with age, at least my parents and surrounding adults are. Well anyway when I first dug you I was all on this hopeless romantic tip and would day dream about going to a show or something and talking to you and getting to know you and thinking that maybe - just maybe - something could happen and there'd be some relationship. I'd tell myself that it's very unlikely but I still thought it was possible - in my day-dreams. It seems kinda pathetic right now writing it, but this wasn't some real tangible feeling more like a wish. Well I've grown a little since then (about a year or two) and now if I ever think of you or day-dream it always ends in maybe us somehow having a conversation and that being all that was involved. I just think that it would be so dope to sit down and have a fucking cup of coffee with you and talk. Mostly about music, but just talk. Another thing that I've been wanting to do ever so much is give you a mix tape (which has now turned into a mix CD), I haven't made it yet and it will probably have to be a triple disc, but I would really love to do that for you. My god, I can picture the frustration and happy-angry feelings spewing forth from this endeavor. Bittersweet beads of sweat on my brow, ahh just to arrange the songs and have a final product like that makes me all antsy and whatnot.

[3] "I need a catalyst to rekindle the flame. That once burned within these fists where defeat remains."

Like I said earlier I'm in incurable love with music and I'm always on the look out for new music. I'm always telling my friends/family about this band/artist that I just found out about. I make mix CDs left and right. Whenever I talk about music and what music I'd suggest people to listen to Crass, the broadways, you, American Steel, At The Drive-In, The Murder City Devils, and AFI are always the first ones that come out of my mouth. I've put one or two songs of yours on all the mix CDs that I've given out. Take that for whatever it's worth.

[4] "I don't want to be seen as a pretty thing cuz it's the pretty things that we're always breaking.and now she whispers into the mirror: 'I'm broken'."

I so dearly wish I could make music I wish I could pull on people's heart-strings and let them reverberate back to me. I'm very envious of your ability and so many other people. I hope you don't take it for granted. But the closest thing that I can do right now is write and make mix CDs.so on the off chance that you're reading this and that you're actually interested in getting about three free CDs chalk full of music from all types of genres and sub-genres please write me at murdercitycitizen@hotmail.com. You don't have to use your real email account to write me you could set up a temporary yahoo or hotmail account in case you don't want me getting your actual email address. I know for a fact that you won't be disappointed, you're bound to love a lot of the songs and maybe hopefully use the influences from them to take your music beyond all thinking.

[5]"I had a dream I tried to talk to mother earth last night but she just sat and cried, yeah she fucking cried can someone save us from our pain? she replied, "save yourself" so let's learn to be free let's quit our jobs and find some meaning let's pour out in the streets and yell and sing because without love this life don't mean a thing I say fuck this routine"

Sincerely,

Mark Dunne

[1] We'll Have A Party by the Broadways
[2] Dropjaw by the Broadways
[3] The Night I Lost The Will To Fight by Cursive
[4] The Lament Of Pretty Baby by Cursive
[5] This Routine by The Broadways