Tim Kasher, the world owes you a great debt for suffering as much as you 
have and still being able to contribute some of the best, most heartfelt 
and emotional music ever written.  On one hand, I feel awful for 
enjoying one man's sorrow and pain so much.  Is it okay to love music that 
was written out of such personal experiences?  I feel like I am invading 
Tim Kasher's room and reading his journal without him knowing; to sum this 
up in one phrase -- this shit is amazing.  No one writes better, more raw 
lyrics ["The guilt slips from our lips / confessions hidden behind 
eyelids"; "I'll try to describe the way that it felt, to tell my own Mother 
her son is a failure"; "What we really want is...just over that hill / And 
the more I learn, the less I try to climb"].  The music itself is just as 
creative and moving.  I can't decide which I like more: the unadulterated 
power of Cursive, or the tense, brooding arrangements of The Good 
Life.  Both sound fantastic, both have their high peaks and sweeping 
valleys [just listen to "Your Birthday Present" or "What We Fall For When 
We're Already Down"], and both take full advantage of Tim Kasher's 
incredible lyricism.  I probably sound silly, spending so much time just 
talking about how good these lyrics are, but that's just it: in a society 
of 4th rate, watered-down "emo", generic skate-punk, and pointless spazzy 
hardcore [not to mention mainstream music -- ugh], The Good Life shines 
like the brightest star in the night sky.