Unwrapping MCIS on Christmas morning made my 7th grade heart almost burst. I’d heard the hits, I knew the lyrics, I begged for the t-shirts, my room was plastered with posters and magazine clippings, but the physical album was by far my favorite present that year. It meant I could listen to my favorites on repeat and dive much deeper into my fandom. Leafing through the liner notes still makes me happy and brings me back to that morning. For many many years, we made a 2-hour-each-way car trip every weekend to our cabin that I resented, which meant my solace was my discman and I in the backseat for those 2 long hours. Every. Single. Weekend. I literally cannot choose a favorite song because they were ALL favs at one point or another and all got equal “repeat” button action. When I think of those years of my life, MCIS is the soundtrack- not just for long car rides where I got lost in my happy SP world, but also the school dances where I prayed my fellow SP loving crush would dance with me to Tonight, Tonight (and it finally f-ing happened!), the death of a friend in those youthful years, etc. etc. I don’t just have one memory of this album, this album practically IS all of those middle-school-years memories. Over the years, it’s been there, like an old friend and I can always count on it to pull me out of a bad mood or let me slip away into my happy place. I’ve only grown fonder of the soaring heights and intense lows over the years, always finding and appreciating new elements no matter how often I listen. Thank you for this masterpiece.