"Now that I've met you..."

One of my earliest reviews was of the movie "Magnolia." I spent the majority of the review raving about the soundtrack, so I figure that it is about time that I put the review of the soundtrack into the correct category.

I LOVE AIMEE MANN!

Now that I have that out of the way, I can continue with my review.

The soundtrack to P.T. Anderson's film "Magnolia" was written almost completely by Aimee Mann. In the preface to the CD, Anderson explains how he constructed the movie around Aimee Mann's music. This becomes incredibly obvious when you listen to the soundtrack. I heard the soundtrack to the movie months before I saw the movie itself. While I loved the music on its own, it began to mean even more to me after I saw the movie. I would recommend experiencing both- even if you hate PT Anderson as a director, there are scenes in the movie that make the music so incredibly powerful that it would be a shame not to see them.

PT Anderson talks about how her music all seems like songs that we have heard before, but haven't. He is correct. There is a familiar feel to her music that is welcoming. While she has a style that is uniquely her own, it has a feeling to it that seems very familiar.

Most of the songs on the "Magnolia" soundtrack are about relationships and how people fit into the world as a whole. One of the songs that I have always been particularly attracted to is "Deathly." When she sings "Now that I've met you would you object to never seeing each other again," the film and the music seem to interconnect. One character says this to another character when she is feeling incredibly vulnerable. The lyrics seem to capture exactly what she is feeling. It is a beautiful scene. This is not the only example of this connection.

On the soundtrack to "Magnolia," there are also songs by other artists. The songs "Logical" and "Goodbye Stranger" by Supertramp are also closely connected with the film. These songs seem to characterize many of the characters in the movie as well. "Dreams Can Come True" by Gabrielle is also deeply connected to the movie. It is the theme song to a character and one of the more hopeful notes in the film. The only song that did not make an impact on me is "Magnolia" by Jon Brion. Although he has done a considerable amount of work with Aimee Mann, I have never been a fan of Brion, so the fact that the song did not interest me was no surprise. However, I have to admit that it does help the soundtrack along.

The soundtrack to "Magnolia" is one of the few albums that I have listened to regularly over the past five months. It is incredibly insightful to both the movie and real life. Aimee Mann is a fabulous musician who deserves great credit for her work. Overall, this is one of my favorite cds.