Wise Up

Here's a track by Aimee Mann that I absolutely love!

In Portugal most people became aware of this song after watching a commercial which turned out to be very popular during the mid 90's I presume. That commercial had one purpose (a very noble one in that matter) to appeal to the audience's conscious about themes related to road security, using a real person's tragic life experience as a way to captivate people's attention, thus making them more socially aware of events such as the one described at that specific ad. I reckon that those who know what I'm talking about, immediately thought about Salvador, the now host of his own show, dedicated to charity causes!

Although I probably got to know Wise Up after this ad, it became even more of a reference after watching Magnolia (1999) by Paul Thomas Anderson (in my humble opinion, his master piece), with top notch performances of an amazing cast - from Philip Seymour Hoffman, to William H Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, Philip Baker Hall to an amazing Tom Cruise (in one of his best rolls, if not the best).

(SPOILER ALERT)

In that movie, there is a scene in which P.T Anderson takes the viewer through all of the characters, while each one sings a part of the Aimee Mann hit! This particular scene is one, out of many more, that standout as one of the great trades of Anderson's vision as a film maker.It's one of those moments that captures you off guard, bringing out your most most sensitive side in a heartbeat! It is indeed one of those moments where music and acting come together in a very unique and beautiful way. So basically that's what I recall each and every time I hear that song... However, there are a few traces of Salvador's campaign, but definitely.. is the movie that comes to mind 99% of the time!