MOG

What could be worthy of an inaugural post? In the spirit of this great webspace called mog, I would say a recommendation is in order. This is one Elliott Smith track that's particularly resonated with me. It's not just the addictive melody, or the intricate finger picking, or the subtle voice. That was just the beginning.

It was that, after more listens, I began to feel as if I was inside someone's head, listening to this person's first-person running monologue. These dark lyrics which berate a former friend for changing were hiding behind the happy melody and the uptempo rhythm. I felt the acidity in the words, and I hated the other person just as much as the narrator when he says "now that you're old enough to run your own show / you're just somebody that I used to know".

And, of course, as with the great songs, there's a universality to it. Maybe he was writing about a high school reunions, or a breakup, the estrangement of a couple family members, or, maybe even a voter talking to a candidate he put in office. I realize, of course, in the real word things are rarely ever that one-sided. But, if you like, this song will allow you to be the jilted party for about 2 minutes and 9 seconds.