Yesterday I watched most of the documentary called "Last Days of Left Eye", on VH1. I missed the first 15 or so minutes.

  Let me start with my previous impressions of her and the group, TLC.

  They were an R&B group, and I never cared for R&B, as a genre.  A lot of R&B annoys the hell out of me.  There is and was a whole lot of R&B that I'm not even aware of, because of my lack of interest in it.

  Of the R&B groups/singers of which I was aware, I either disliked them or was just disinterested (a neutral area, in a manner of speaking).

  There were only two groups which did not fall into either of those two categories.  TLC and Salt N' Peppa, and to be honest, the only thing about the latter that held any real interest for me was the song, "Let's Talk About Sex".  That's pretty much all I can remember them for.

  I was not and am not what I would call a fan of TLC, but they did stand out to me to a greater degree.  As artists, there was nothing about them, of which I was aware, that I disliked, and that's saying something.

  While I never sought out any of their music, they had some songs that I actually did "like".  Also, in terms of their appearance (fashion, etc...), from an artistic point of view, I did like them.  I appreciated their look.  I never saw them in anything that I felt negatively or neutral about, artistically speaking.

  While I never really knew anything about them, as people, they didn't give off a negative vibe to me.

  I had heard about Lisa setting fire to her boyfriend's house, and that didn't sit well with me, but I didn't really know enough details about it for it to really effect my opinion of them, such as it was.

  I was a little disappointed by the event, because Lisa had been my favorite, because she was so darn cute.

  The documentary revealed a depth to her that I had never even imagined she could have.  In my own opinion, and even if you leave the death out of it, she's a tragic figure.  Let me explain that further.

  It's hard to say someone is a unique individual and it really mean something, because everyone is unique, if you look at a detailed enough view.  If you pull pack far enough, people start blurring together, but even in the blur, there might still be someone who can stand out.

  She was one of those people.

  She didn't have a horrible childhood, but it was not an easy one.  She was a person with flaws, but along side those flaws was what I identify as an unsuspecting pull towards wisdom.  The tragedy is that she seemed to be unknowingly struggling for it.

  It's like she was intuitively following a path, but was wearing a blindfold, so she had no clear idea of exactly what was her goal.  Again, this is my personal impression, based on what she did and said in the documentary.

  Part of me wonders if she was on the verge of an epiphany before she died.

  In having seen the documentary, I am now in awe of her.  Her depth, her tragedy.  The unrealized wisdom that seemed to be flowing just under the surface.  Also, whenever she talked about anything bad that happened to her, in her distant or recent past, she always remained positive about it.

  If you ever get a chance to see the documentary, and I have no doubts that VH1 will show it a few more times, then I highly recommend watching it.

  If you never do, then perhaps you can find some value in these clips from it, which I found on YouTube.  They fall short as representatives, but they are the best I could find.

  This first clip is actually a VH1 news brief about the documentary.

  This clips is her talking about the strictness of her father.

  Another amusing clip about her father and her 6 AM wake-up calls.

  This clip is her expressing her dislike for their song "Creep".  I profoundly respect her position here.

  An amusing anecdotal piece.  I'll just say, "Penis in the room".

  This one is listed as her last rap, but the reason I'm showing it is because it is one of the few unobstructed views of her physical beauty, at least in part.  Her hair is not in some artsy style or covered by a handkerchief or hat.  She's not wearing any makeup.

  And finally, the last video footage of her alive, from inside the vehicle as she crashes.

Project X obituary for Lisa Lopes.