Tag Archives: Aimee Mann

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Song of the Day #489: ‘Little Bombs’ – Aimee Mann

forgottenarmWhile Lost in Space was an unofficial concept album, Aimee Mann’s next release, 2005’s The Forgotten Arm, was the real deal. Set in the 1970s, it’s the story of an alcoholic boxer and Vietnam vet, John, and the woman he loves, Caroline. The songs track their ups and downs and explore the destructive nature of alcoholism on a relationship.

The album’s packaging is particularly lovely, the song lyrics presented in chapter form alongside beautiful colored sketches of John and Caroline. And though the songs are traditionally structured, the lyrics are written out as prose. Regardless of sound, this is one of the best looking CDs in my collection.

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Song of the Day #488: ‘It’s Not’ – Aimee Mann

lostinspaceTwo years after Bachelor No. 2, Aimee Mann released her second album on her Superego label, 2002’s Lost in Space. The record is unofficially a concept album exploring self-destructive behavior of all sorts — the perfect Christmas gift for your favorite messed-up friend.

Typical lyric: “Get out while you can, baby, I’m pouring quicksand and sinking is all I had planned.” And: “You paint a lovely picture but reality intrudes with a message for you… and it’s real bad news.” And: “Nothing fuels a good flirtation like need and anger and desperation.”

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Song of the Day #487: ‘Red Vines’ – Aimee Mann

bachelorno2The Magnolia soundtrack changed Aimee Mann’s career. Saddled by a record company that refused to release her third solo album because it wasn’t commercial enough, she was suddenly in a position to buy back the rights to that album and release it herself.

So that’s what she did, forming Superego Records and selling that album, Bachelor No. 2, through her own Web site. Critical reception was very strong and sales were brisk enough that she eventually was able to get distribution in record stores. She’s released every album since through her label, becoming a poster child for successful self-distribution.

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Song of the Day #484: ‘Wise Up’ – Aimee Mann

magnoliaAimee Mann’s record studio problems went from bad to worse as she worked on her third solo album. She turned her material in to Geffen and heard the classic line: “We don’t hear a single.” In fact, the studio shelved the album until she could produce something more commercial. She wound up writing a track called ‘Nothing is Good Enough’ about, you guessed it, evil record studio heads.

But then a funny thing happened. Mann’s close friend, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, was inspired by a line in one of her songs (‘Deathly’) to write and shoot the film Magnolia. And he intertwined Mann’s music into the film as well, using several existing cuts and asking her to pen a new one for the film.

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Song of the Day #483: ‘That’s Just What You Are’ – Aimee Mann

imwithstupidAfter the demise of Imago, Aimee Mann jumped to Geffen for her next release, 1995’s I’m With Stupid. Again, the album met with critical success but didn’t sell very well, eventually leading to problems with the new label (yes, a pattern is developing here).

Mann has always struck me as a great example of an evolving artist. Looking at her material through the years, the talent is always there and so is her melancholy tone and thematic focus on life’s losers, but her style is very fluid. After exploring new wave pop in her ‘Til Tuesday material, she moved to a more acoustic, organic sound on Whatever. On I’m With Stupid, Mann went electric, but with a minimalist production style that sharpens every song to a deadly edge.

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