I was looking for a CD earlier today and pulled out a sealed, white disc I didn't recognize. I occasionally get CDs from different sources. I don't always listen to them right away. A lot of times, they get stuck on the shelf and forgotten. Don't know why. Bad habit.

Anyway, this disc was Figure 8 by Elliot Smith. I've heard about him over the years, and a lot more recently, but I'd never knowingly heard his music, and I'm not sure when and if I ever would have.

Now I have. What a pretty, thoughtful, heartbreaking album. "Everything Reminds Me of Her" and "Everything Means Nothing to Me" are wrenchingly great, and "Can't Make a Sound" is perfect. I don't know...it seems meaningless to pick and choose, as, if one night of repeated listening is anything to go by, the whole album chimes with greatness. I love the fleeting interludes too; "Bye" is a touching, ghostly echo of "Everything Means Nothing to Me."

I've read that this album was a departure for him. It's much more produced, with lots of strings and dense arrangements. I guess I still don't know the original Smith--I guess the one most people swoon over--but this is just great.

In connection with Lost in Translation, I wrote about movies that make "you feel like it's about YOU; that makes you feel like you're the only one on earth who can possibly, exactly understand; it's that personal." A little while ago I was starting to wonder if some of these songs work on that same level. Of course no one person can be the only perfect recipient of a piece of art, but I wonder if that might be a major part of what makes certain great, beautiful things in the world great; that they tap into some vein of experience that's so pure and honest and that is purely and honestly conveyed that the end result is as if the singer or director or writer was writing not about themselves, and not even so much about you, but more from within you.

But, I guess all that's getting to the heart of the mystery of what makes seemingly simple story telling, songs, and pictures so necessary...and I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend that mystery. All I can do is stand in awe of it and hope for the company of others who feel the same way.

I was just wondering if anyone could give me their opinion about the song "Everything Means Nothing to Me" by Elliott Smith. If you could post anything about it, I would appreciate it.

Thanks!