The first time I popped that CD into my car was a few days after I broke up with my fiancee. I was driving home when the Robert Evans bit came on. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't see. This is a bad thing on route 128 (the major orbital expressway around Boston). That album got me through one of the hardest years of my life since college ended. If I ever meet Patton Oswalt again, I really should have a nice gift ready for him. He's definitely on my Jackson List. Jackson List: people I'd hand a $20 bill (president Andrew Jackson's bill) if I ever met them on the street. I wouldn't even say much else: "you're Blah Blah? Your X really spoke to me. Here, have a nicer dinner. You're more than worth it." When I was poorer, I'd give those people snacks. Now I can give them straight cash and not waste their creative time.
I think a hand shake and a thank you might go over better than handing someone $20. Just a thought. I know what you mean about an artists work helping you through something. I dated a girl for 5 years and when we broke up, I was all discombobulated. That's when I discovered Wilco and really dove in to their music. Songs like Via Chicago with it's lyrics I dreamed about killing you again last night and it felt alright to me really stood out. Also, I should mention that the you in that lyric never seemed like it was someone else but rather "me". Anyways, art has a great capacity to either divert our attention away from our current suffering or to give it a voice when we can't. I think I will have to check out that Patton Oswalt CD now.