Magnolia [Original Soundtrack] by Aimee Mann/Original Soundtrack

I saw Magnolia with the full knowledge that Paul Thomas Anderson had based it around the songs of Aimee Mann. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Aimee Mann's type of music. I've never been a folk rock guy, but I've always had a respect for Mann. Unlike other singer-songwriters, Mann's lyrics don't pander to her audience.

So as I was saying... I saw Magnolia, and loved it. Absolutely beautiful movie. Quite possibly one of the best movies I've ever seen. One of the sequences that struck me the most was the musical sequence... that is, all of our characters taking two minutes out of their time to sing Mann's "Wise Up." It perfectly defines the moment in each character's life. When Mann and Jeremy Blackman (as Stanley Spector) sing the song's final line, "So just... give up" it adds yet another emotional crescendo to a film filled with them.

And so, with in mind this song, along with the song's other Mann-sung anthems "Save Me", "Momentum", and her cover of "One", I purchased the soundtrack. When I got home, I immediately popped it in my CD player and started listening. Songs of note:

"One", "Momentum", "Save Me", "Wise Up" - These are the songs which play primary importance in the film, so I have classified them together. Each one is a beautiful song, and for fans of the movie, they bring back memories of scenes one might have forgotten (It's 3.5 hours, lest we forget).

"Deathly" - the opening lyric to this song is what PT Anderson based his entire film around, and paraphrased it in the mouth of the closest thing to a central character the film has, Claudia Gator(Melora Walters). "Now that I've met you/ would you object to/ never seeing each other again."

"Driving Sideways" - My favorite song on the soundtrack. It's a subtly done song which builds and builds up to a point, and then all comes rushing down... much like the film itself. Then it builds up and up again and...

"Logical Song" and "Goodbye Stranger" - Nope, Aimee didn't cover Supertramp. These are the originals. I wondered what exactly these were doing on the soundtrack, until I saw the film a second time, and recognized both of these songs were playing in the bar that William H. Macy spends half the film in. They both work in the film and out. It's interesting that Macy's character's songs are different that the other characters. After all, he also is responsible for the next song on the soundtrack:

"Dreams" by Gabrielle. Painful. Hard to listen to. It's one of those cheesy pop songs from 1993 or so, and works only in the context of the movie.

"Magnolia" - Jon Brion's original score was one of the coolest things about the movie... Unfortunately, this isn't the best part of the score. There's a beautiful crescending piece used in the trailer which isn't here. Darn it!


Overall, I'd say this is a great album both for Mann fans and for fans of the movie. If you like it, I'd point you to Elliot Smith's "XO", which is another folk rock album with ties to a movie soundtrack (Smith supplied an Oscar nominated song on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack) I definitely recommend this cd.