"At one point, right after September 11, I was singing this song and looking at the stars. I'd made it out of the city. As I was singing, this voice came to me and said, "God isn�t coming now, but he�s pretty close." I don't really mean this in a religious sense, but there was something in me writing that song that had a connection to the universe. And I realized there was going to be a lot of darkness before there was light, but that it�s going to be okay. I think a lot of people have that feeling now — either that, or they're watching reality shows. When I went to record "Beautiful Child," I wanted it to be uplifting. It's a happy apocalypse. It's about redemption." — Rufus Wainwright

I haven't heard that album yet, but I might have to. My coworker Alan lent me Poses, and I finally thought I should listen to it properly before I gave it back. The first time through was so-so, but the second time through, it stuck. In fact, I've had the whole album stuck in my head for the last couple of days. "The Tower of Learning" is ridiculously cool. Very weird album, but it grows on you.

His comments about his latest album, Want One, echo the Ten Shekel Shirt comments about four-letter words — their albums are Much (fantastic) and Risk (haven't heard it yet).