What's In Sean's Mailbox: The Fat Saint

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the unsolved shooting death of the Notorious B.I.G., who has since become a faded saint on tribute T-shirts. Much will be written about conspiracies and violence and squandered talent and West Coast-East Coast rivalries. But for me, the most notable thing about Biggie, and what is rarely mentioned, is the most obvious: He was really, really large. As a fellow corpulent young man, I was always impressed by Christopher Wallace's prowess with the ladies. Sure, he was a talented millionaire on MTV. But he was also grossly obese (with mythic scales tipping at 400 lbs.). And yet, the babes still flocked to him: Lil' Kim, Faith Evans, a bevy of video hotties.

If that's shallow of me, so be it. But while the fat pop star is a rarity (Meat Loaf, the Fat Boys, Mama Cass), the fat pop star with legitimate sex appeal and menace is an anomaly. R.I.P. Biggie. Thanks for giving the rest of us chunky-but-funkies hope and dreams.

Herewith, the contents of my work mailbox...

The Notorious B.I.G. -- Greatest Hits
The Fratellis -- Costello Music
James Morrison -- Undiscovered
Aqualung -- Memory Man
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price -- Last of the Breed
The Innocence Mission -- We Walked in Song
Girl Authority -- Road Trip