Ten Best Songs of 2008 – #3
It occurs to me as I reach number three on this list that Alex’s comment about me being drawn to the melancholy is certainly borne out by this top ten list. Many of the songs I’ve already featured are downbeat and now we arrive at Aimee Mann, the queen of melancholy, with a song titled ‘It’s Over.’
Well, fine. I won’t hide from the facts. I like sad songs, for whatever reason, and here’s another one.
Here we are at the end of November and Aimee Mann’s @#%&*! Smilers remains comfortably atop my Best 2008 Albums list, where it has sat since its release in June. Nothing has really come close to toppling it, either. It’s not only the best album she’s ever put out but one of the best albums I’ve heard by anybody in years.
I don’t think many in the business can write sad songs as well as she can, and even fewer can sing them as sweetly. And while she has a demonstrated capacity to rock out, it’s her recent focus on acoustic guitar, piano and bass that has pushed her music to a new level.
A year or so ago, Amy, Dana and I played one of our elimination games to determine the best female singer-songwriter. The final matchup paired Joni Mitchell (carried there by Amy and Dana’s joint support) against Aimee Mann. Mann was a surprise finalist, not as high-profile as many of the women she bested and I was thrilled to give her my vote (though, sadly, she lost).
For my money, the pinnacle of songwriting and performing talent among the fairer sex is represented by Lucinda Williams, Fiona Apple and Aimee Mann. Tift Merritt has recently made a strong surge into that group as well, and her music is a nice complement to the variety of styles represented by that trio.
Meet Me In Montauk 