Today's DailyOM Offerings...
March 17, 2008
XO
Elliott Smith
1998
Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's tragic death in 2003 made him a martyr to a generation of young, creative, and alienated music lovers. His now-iconic status has also had the strange effect of deifying his music and perhaps making it more difficult for new listeners to find their way to its charms. This, of course, is a real shame. Smith wrote and recorded music of unusual beauty, rare human emotion, and melodic sure-footedness. His compositions often traced an inward-looking, introspective path, but simultaneously they proved generous in their intention and spirit. After a series of critically lauded independent releases in the 1990s, Smith found himself unexpectedly courted by major labels after his song "Miss Misery," featured in the film Good Will Hunting, received an Oscar nomination. The resulting album, XO, came as a wonderful surprise, an extension and flowering of the musician’s craft, a project that allowed Smith to produce a more lush, accessible album wit! hout losing any of the well-wrought delicacy that made his music special in the first place.
The disc opens with "Sweet Adeline," a smart statement of purpose that sets the tone for the album to come. Opening with an intimate strummed guitar, the track features lyrics of cryptic imagery and foreboding: "Cut this picture into you and me / Burn it backwards, kill this history." But a minute and a half in, the acoustic reflection breaks into a grand, coasting chorus, big and beautiful. "Waltz #2 (XO)," two tracks on, takes a charming midtempo lope and graces it with one of Smith's finest melodies. The tune rolls easy, then lifts into the skies on the singer's airy, rough-hewn vocals.
Throughout XO, Smith demonstrates a fine way with harmony. The album closes with the powerful "I Didn’t Understand," a song of brutal honesty built upon a heavenly bed of Beatles-esque harmony. "Thought you'd be looking for the next in line to love," Smith sings, "Then ignore, put out, and put away / And so you’d soon be leaving me alone like I’m supposed to be." It’s a fitting end to this career high-watermark release, an album of deft piercing lyrics, dreamy melodies, and intricate, handsome production.
March 17, 2008
A Broader View
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
An adventurous mood can lead you to seek travel opportunities or embrace a new intellectual discipline today. You may want to expand your worldview, learn about other cultures, meet new people, or try activities that are foreign to you. New horizons may beckon, inspiring you to begin researching a new career or move to another location. To feed your craving for knowledge and novelty, consider taking a trip to a library or bookstore to begin your quest. If time constraints or obligations are preventing you from having a real adventure today, a book about another country or way of life may help you amass ideas for future adventures. Consider asking a friend or relative to join you in your explorations.
By seeking the unfamiliar, you can create an expanded worldview that can help you navigate the world more easily. Each of us grows into being through a different set of circumstances, which gives us a very unique way of seeing the world. When you have new experiences, absorb new information, and explore new ways of being, you gain the ability to communicate across a wide variety of cultures and points of view. Opening your mind to the unfamiliar a single time can make you more likely to do the same in the future. You also expand your own horizons, giving you a broader base from which to relate to others. Your search for the unfamiliar may open your mind to wonderful new worlds of being and doing today.
March 17, 2008
Tending The Emotions
Having A Breakdown
Most of us have had the experience of holding back our emotions for such a long period of time that when they finally come out, we have something resembling a breakdown. For a certain period of time, the overwhelming flood of feelings coursing through our bodies consumes us, and we stop functioning. Often, these outbursts take us by surprise, welling up within us as we drive to or from work, watch a movie, or engage in some otherwise mundane task. We may feel like we do not know what triggered us, or if we do know, it does not make sense of our overpowering emotional response. This is because we are releasing feelings that have accumulated over a long period of time, and whatever inspired the release was just a catalyst for a much larger, much needed catharsis.
When we find ourselves in the midst of such an experience, it is important that we allow it to happen, rather than fight it or try to shut down. Wherever we are, we can try to find a private, safe place in which to let our feelings out. If we can not access such a place immediately, we can promise to set aside some time for ourselves at our earliest possible convenience, perhaps taking a day off work. The important thing is that we need to give our emotional system some much-needed attention. It is essential that we allow ourselves to release the pent-up emotions inside ourselves so that they do not create imbalances in our bodies and minds.
When you are feeling better, make a plan to find a way to process your emotions more regularly. You can do this by employing a therapist or making a regular date to talk to a trusted friend. Journaling can also be a great way to acknowledge and release your emotions, as can certain forms of meditation. Making room in your life for tending your emotions on a regular basis will keep you healthy, balanced, and ready for life.
XO
Elliott Smith
1998
Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's tragic death in 2003 made him a martyr to a generation of young, creative, and alienated music lovers. His now-iconic status has also had the strange effect of deifying his music and perhaps making it more difficult for new listeners to find their way to its charms. This, of course, is a real shame. Smith wrote and recorded music of unusual beauty, rare human emotion, and melodic sure-footedness. His compositions often traced an inward-looking, introspective path, but simultaneously they proved generous in their intention and spirit. After a series of critically lauded independent releases in the 1990s, Smith found himself unexpectedly courted by major labels after his song "Miss Misery," featured in the film Good Will Hunting, received an Oscar nomination. The resulting album, XO, came as a wonderful surprise, an extension and flowering of the musician’s craft, a project that allowed Smith to produce a more lush, accessible album wit! hout losing any of the well-wrought delicacy that made his music special in the first place.
The disc opens with "Sweet Adeline," a smart statement of purpose that sets the tone for the album to come. Opening with an intimate strummed guitar, the track features lyrics of cryptic imagery and foreboding: "Cut this picture into you and me / Burn it backwards, kill this history." But a minute and a half in, the acoustic reflection breaks into a grand, coasting chorus, big and beautiful. "Waltz #2 (XO)," two tracks on, takes a charming midtempo lope and graces it with one of Smith's finest melodies. The tune rolls easy, then lifts into the skies on the singer's airy, rough-hewn vocals.
Throughout XO, Smith demonstrates a fine way with harmony. The album closes with the powerful "I Didn’t Understand," a song of brutal honesty built upon a heavenly bed of Beatles-esque harmony. "Thought you'd be looking for the next in line to love," Smith sings, "Then ignore, put out, and put away / And so you’d soon be leaving me alone like I’m supposed to be." It’s a fitting end to this career high-watermark release, an album of deft piercing lyrics, dreamy melodies, and intricate, handsome production.
March 17, 2008
A Broader View
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
An adventurous mood can lead you to seek travel opportunities or embrace a new intellectual discipline today. You may want to expand your worldview, learn about other cultures, meet new people, or try activities that are foreign to you. New horizons may beckon, inspiring you to begin researching a new career or move to another location. To feed your craving for knowledge and novelty, consider taking a trip to a library or bookstore to begin your quest. If time constraints or obligations are preventing you from having a real adventure today, a book about another country or way of life may help you amass ideas for future adventures. Consider asking a friend or relative to join you in your explorations.
By seeking the unfamiliar, you can create an expanded worldview that can help you navigate the world more easily. Each of us grows into being through a different set of circumstances, which gives us a very unique way of seeing the world. When you have new experiences, absorb new information, and explore new ways of being, you gain the ability to communicate across a wide variety of cultures and points of view. Opening your mind to the unfamiliar a single time can make you more likely to do the same in the future. You also expand your own horizons, giving you a broader base from which to relate to others. Your search for the unfamiliar may open your mind to wonderful new worlds of being and doing today.
March 17, 2008
Tending The Emotions
Having A Breakdown
Most of us have had the experience of holding back our emotions for such a long period of time that when they finally come out, we have something resembling a breakdown. For a certain period of time, the overwhelming flood of feelings coursing through our bodies consumes us, and we stop functioning. Often, these outbursts take us by surprise, welling up within us as we drive to or from work, watch a movie, or engage in some otherwise mundane task. We may feel like we do not know what triggered us, or if we do know, it does not make sense of our overpowering emotional response. This is because we are releasing feelings that have accumulated over a long period of time, and whatever inspired the release was just a catalyst for a much larger, much needed catharsis.
When we find ourselves in the midst of such an experience, it is important that we allow it to happen, rather than fight it or try to shut down. Wherever we are, we can try to find a private, safe place in which to let our feelings out. If we can not access such a place immediately, we can promise to set aside some time for ourselves at our earliest possible convenience, perhaps taking a day off work. The important thing is that we need to give our emotional system some much-needed attention. It is essential that we allow ourselves to release the pent-up emotions inside ourselves so that they do not create imbalances in our bodies and minds.
When you are feeling better, make a plan to find a way to process your emotions more regularly. You can do this by employing a therapist or making a regular date to talk to a trusted friend. Journaling can also be a great way to acknowledge and release your emotions, as can certain forms of meditation. Making room in your life for tending your emotions on a regular basis will keep you healthy, balanced, and ready for life.