The Highest, Most Exalted One: Aaliyah, 1979-2001

THREE WEEKS BACK, I lay in a sea-salted bathtub with candles, bubbles, and headphones, listening to Aaliyah. Lamenting the state of my love life during a midnight soak, I used the multisensory experience to remind myself of the type of woman I wanted most to attract. Focusing on the album cover now and again, there was no doubt in my mind that, with a female like Aaliyah romantically in my cipher, all would be right with the world.