Pitchfork recently published a rundown of what they believe are the 50 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time, and Eternal Sunshine gets a look in at #37.
Perennial L.A. cult figure Jon Brion’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind score, rich in filigree, has all the hallmarks of his own music and his more pointillist collaborations with Fiona Apple, though the brief cues often pull up agonizingly short of fully realizing that promise. But the bruised heartache that left his solo album on the major-label shelf for years was the perfect match for a film that crystallized the impossibility of a perfect love, exploding into its ultimate form with Beck’s devastating cover of the Korgis’ “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime.” Even the most invested follower of Brion’s work would’ve been surprised by his trajectory after this soundtrack, which elevated him from a fêted figure within a tight local scene to a go-to collaborator for Kanye West and Spoon. –Laura Snapes (Source)
Thanks to Mark for that!
Meanwhile, when Eternal Sunshine's trailer first hit the web, by far the most popular question in my Inbox was "What's the name of that song?" It was ELO's Mr. Blue Sky, and it came from the double album Out of the Blue, which turns 42 this year. The band released this animation to commemorate the occasion and to celebrate what is one of co-founder Jeff Lynne's favourite songs.