Funny how this song created such religious controversy when it first came out. While this letter to God was written from the perspective of an agnostic, I think there’s something to be learned here in terms of what it means to pray with an honesty and an earnestness that’s often missing in the modern religious discourse. It’s masterfully penned by Andy Partridge—and the string arrangements and haunting guitar strums make it one of my all-time favorite new wave classics.

“Dear God, hope you get the letter and I pray you can make it better down here.”