Magnolia (2000)

Aimee Mann's eight or so introductory tracks on the soundtrack to "Magnolia" are, quite frankly, some of the best moody, angsty music I've ever heard. Better than Alanis. Better than Fiona Apple. Better than Tori Amos.

From her cover of "One" to the brilliant, brilliant "Wise Up," Mann's tracks alone make this album a must-have. The Oscar-nominated "Save Me" is a great song, the sort you put on repeat in your CD player when you feel like you're part of "the ranks of the freaks who suspect that they'll never love anyone," a feeling I hope I share with lots of people.

The Supertramp tracks and that song "Dreams" are OK, but they don't really fit with the feel and sound of the Mann songs. The album, though, is very clearly split into two halves - with the Mann stuff basically filling the first half and the poppier, more upbeat stuff coming at the end.

"Magnolia" the film requires multiple viewings to understand, but the songs of Aimee Mann, which inspired the film's creation, are fairly straightforward, moving and beautiful to work both with the film and without it.

The multiple listens you'll give the "Magnolia" soundtrack won't be to help you better understand its meaning. You'll just want to relive the beauty of the thing.

Tracks on Magnolia:

One
Momentum
Build That Wall
Deathly
Driving Sideways
You Do
Nothing Is Good Enough
Wise Up
Save Me
Goodbye Stranger - Supert
Logical Song - Supertramp
Magnolia - Jon Brion