Mann attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes; the band released the EP Bark Along with the Young Snakes in 1982, and a compilation album was issued in 2004. In 1983, seeking a return to "sweetness and melody", she co-founded with Berklee classmate and boyfriend Michael Hausman the new wave band 'Til Tuesday, which achieved minor success in 1985 with its first album, Voices Carry. The title song is said to be inspired by Hausman and Mann's breakup; the video became an MTV staple, winning the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, though Mann's signature spiky hair would lead some to dismiss the group. Mann performed with the rock band Rush on the song "Time Stand Still" (from Hold Your Fire, 1987), singing backup vocals and appearing in the music video. With Mann playing an increasingly important role in songwriting, 'Til Tuesday released two more albums, Welcome Home and Everything's Different Now. On the final album and tour, musician Jon Brion joined the band, which broke up in 1990 when Mann left to start her solo career.
Around the time of the first album's release, Mann began a romantic relationship with Jules Shear; they broke up before the final 'Til Tuesday album, which contained the song "J For Jules". Professional relationships from the band would continue: Hausman later became Mann's manager, and Brion produced her first two solo albums.
Solo career
In 1993, Mann released Whatever, her first solo album. Promotion suffered due to the collapse of her label, Imago. While only a small hit, the album was critically praised, and paved the way for her next release, 1995's I'm with Stupid, through Geffen Records. Again, reviews were positive, but sales were weak.
Mann had met musician Michael Penn in the 1980s and with comparable songwriting styles and record-industry woes to share, they struck up a friendship during the recording of Stupid, which blossomed into romance and their 1997 marriage. Around this time Brion produced her album Bachelor No. 2, but Geffen saw no hit singles in the material and ordered her back to the studio. The album languished while Mann and the label fought.
Meanwhile, iconoclastic film auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, for whom Penn and Brion had composed a soundtrack, became a close friend. Mann gained greater public recognition in 1999 — indeed, more than anything else since "Voices Carry" — when she contributed eight songs to the soundtrack of Anderson's Magnolia, including the Academy Award-nominated song, "Save Me". Anderson deliberately worked from Mann's lyrics to create the film's characters and situations. Due to this exposure, Mann became sought after to contribute to soundtracks, a success made ironic by the music industry's indifference.
Independence
Fed up with both ineffectual promotion and artistic meddling by her record label, an experience documented in her song "Calling It Quits", she struck out on her own and founded SuperEgo Records in 1999. Mann self-released Bachelor No. 2 in 2000 (see 2000 in music), having negotiated a contract release from Geffen, and though initially only sold at concerts and via her website, the album became successful, allowing her to secure retail distribution through SuperEgo. The album, which included some songs from Magnolia and new material, was widely admired and Mann's "more indie than indie" success was carefully noted by other musicians.
Mann, Penn, Brion, Fiona Apple, and other musicians had by this time developed a subculture around the Largo nightclub in L.A. Penn and Mann formed a concept called Acoustic Vaudeville to recreate it on tour in California and eventually on an irregular, ongoing national tour. The Acoustic Vaudeville shows intermix music and stand-up comedy; among the comedians joining them for individual shows were Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt, and David Cross.
Aimee continued her solo career with Lost in Space (2002), a somewhat more sombre album in the same vein as Bachelor No. 2. In 2004 her website released the Lost in Space Special Edition, which featured a second disc containing six live recordings, as well two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs. In November of that year Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, a live album and DVD recorded at a series of July 2004 shows in Brooklyn, came out; the two discs were sold packaged together in either a CD jewel case or a DVD case.
Mann described her next album, The Forgotten Arm (2005) as a concept album set in the '70s about two lovers who meet at the Virginia state fair and are now on the run. The Joe Henry-produced album, which was recorded mostly live and has few overdubs, was released May 3, 2005. The album reflects Mann's interest in boxing in its illustrations as well as its title, derived from a boxing move in which one arm is used to hit the opponent, causing him to "forget" about the other arm, which is then used to deliver a harsher blow. The album received weaker reviews overall, with critics impressed at the totality but unimpressed with any individual songs.
In October 2006 Aimee released 'One More Drifter in The Snow', an album of Christmas songs. All bar one of the songs, 'Calling on Mary' were covers of holiday classics.
Mann's independence from the industry led her to more explicit political stances. She joined Artists Against Piracy, a group formed to act against the illegal downloading and file sharing of copyrighted music from the Internet. Mann, Penn and Hausman took their experience with SuperEgo to found the independent music collective United Musicians, which is based on the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created, in contrast to normal music industry contracts.
June 2008 brought the release of '@#%&*! Smilers,' a collection of songs featuring greater use of keyboards. Aimee's set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the same month featured a number of selections from the new album as well as a number of her concert standards. Aimee and her band covered Elton John's 'My Father's Gun' as part of the set.
Christmas
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
And may all your Christmases be
(All your Christmases be white)
(All your Christmases be white)
In Aimee Mann's version of the classic song "White Christmas," she sings about the memories of Christmases past and her hopes for the future. The song starts with her wishing for a white Christmas, which is a common desire during the holiday season. She describes wanting to relive the memories of her childhood, where the tree-tops glistened and children eagerly listened for the sound of sleigh bells in the snow.
Throughout the song, Aimee Mann's voice remains soft and dreamy as she sings about writing Christmas cards and wishing others a merry and bright holiday season. The repetition of the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" emphasizes the importance of spreading joy and positivity during this time of year. She then ends the song by repeating the line, "And may all your Christmases be white," as a final wish for a happy and blessed holiday season.
Overall, Aimee Mann's version of "White Christmas" is a heartfelt and nostalgic tribute to the holiday, emphasizing the importance of tradition and memory during this special time of year.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
I long for a snowy, festive holiday season
Just like the ones I used to know
Similar to the past Christmases I experienced, I want the snow to glisten on trees and for everyone to be filled with joy and anticipation
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
I want the atmosphere to be so electric that even the tree leaves shine while children around listen carefully for the sound of sleigh bells in the snow
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
The sound of sleigh bells ringing in the snowy weather is very dear to me
With every Christmas card I write
As I write the Christmas cards to my dear friends and family, I continue to dream of a white Christmas
May your days be merry and bright
I hope that the holiday season is filled with happiness and optimism for everyone
And may all your Christmases be white
I wish that every future Christmas resembles the idyllic snowy holidays I remember from the past
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
Repeated to emphasize my fervent desire for ideal snowy holidays
And may all your Christmases be white (all your Christmases be white)
Repeated for further emphasis on my longing for picturesque, jovial Christmases
And may all your Christmases be
(All your Christmases be white)
(All your Christmases be white)
Final repetition of my wish for every future Christmas season to feature pristine snow and great joy, repeated for emphasis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind