Dear Amon,

How are you? I am fine. My name is Billy. I am 8 and 5/8 years old (9 in 137 days). I like soccer and playing with my rocketships. Do you like pizza? I think pizza is the best food in the whole world, especially with lots of cheese. One time, my big sister Beth ate way too much pizza and she threw up right in front of a guy she had a crush on. She was so embarrassed that all she could do for a whole week was sit in her room and listen to Alanis Morrisette on repeat, saying, "Isn't it ironic? Don't'cha think?" She's a major dork and has cooties.

I am writing because I think my brother Kevin is obsessed with you. My parents are really worried. Before Supermodified came out, he had this countdown calendar up in his room between a giant poster of the cover of Bricolage and a framed picture of you looking off in the distance. Every day, he would sit in his room and stare at that calendar and rip off a number exactly at midnight. I think it's creepy. He says you are "the manifold deity of digital polyrhythms, descended upon this wretched corporeal shell of a world to illuminate the path to enlightenment through sonic perfection." He's really smart because he goes to college. Nobody understands what he's saying.

Who do you think would win in a fight between a Velociraptor and Spider Man? I think Spider Man would, because he would use his spider sense to avoid danger, then wrap it up in super powerful webs. I think Spider Man is the coolest ever. One day, my brother Kevin got into a bad fight with his friend Eric. They both wear big pants and like those glow sticks that you use on Halloween and stuff. Anyway, Eric and Kevin were going to get into Eric's car and Eric wanted to listen to Roni Size. Kevin wanted to listen to your second album, Permutation. They got really mad at each other. Finally, Eric told Kevin, "Dude, Amon Tobin is too weird and esoteric. At least Roni Size won the Mercury Prize. That must mean he's better." Kevin sprang at him really fast and started to claw at his face, screaming words like "cretin" and "imbecile." This other time, my sister asked him why he didn't listen to more mainstream electronic stuff like Fatboy Slim and Moby, because they were so much cooler. I've never seen him so angry. He went off for like half an hour. He had just gotten Supermodified, so this is what he told her:

"You poor plebeian, devouring mainstream culture like so many Chalupas and Doritos. If you would simply pause for a mere second and lend an ear to the remarkably intricate and razor sharp compositions offered on Supermodified, you would become revolted at only the thought of such derivative drivel. Amon Tobin creates aural treasures each time he touches studio equipment. He breathes vitality into a stagnant genre with each drum hit. He rejuvenates the pallid genre of electronica every time he permits the world to glance through the twisted digital window of his music. Take the opening track, 'Get Your Snack On.' In even the inaugural morsel of the album, Tobin breaks new ground for funk-infused rhythms. It is easily the most addictive song he's recorded to date, replete with thumping bass line and ludicrous drum breaks. Then we have 'Saboteur,' a subtle epic that hovers on the edge of genius, yet is able to shatter walls in its sheer restraint from exploding into rhythmic madness. 'Deo' again presents an intellectual Amon Tobin who allows his tracks to evolve, weaving a elaborate oriental rug of organic tones and beats. I am literally contorted with giddiness when hearing certain sections of Supermodified."

She tried to walk out of the room, but he chased her around the house with a boombox that was playing "Four Ton Mantis" until my sister threatened to tell his girlfriend that he once said that "Believe" by Cher was "sort of interesting."

I sometimes get funny feelings when I listen to your music. On your other two records, it was different because I kind of felt alienated from the music. It was so weird and random and intense at times. Now, the music sort of draws me in and I can't stop listening. Kevin says it's because this disc is much more "accessible than anything he's done before, yet it surpasses them insofar has he has shown the beginnings of a total sonic mastery of each subtle aspect of a work." Everything just fits together so well, like Lego blocks making a castle. It used to be that the beats would be really scary because they didn't quite fit the background music, but now everything is just so proper and seems in its place. Please help me, Mr. Tobin. I don't want to grow up to be obsessed with you like Kevin. I want to be able to leave the house sometimes when I grow up. I want to be a fireman! But I just can't stop listening now. Be kind, Mr. Tobin, I'm only 8 and 3/4 years old!

-Taylor M. Clark