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.
Deathly
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you object to
Never seeing each other again
Cause I can't afford to
Climb aboard you
No one's got that much ego to spend
[Chorus]
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
Definitely
'Cause I'm just a problem
For you to solve and
Watch dissolve in the heat of your charm
But what will you do when
You run it through and
You can't get me back on the farm
[Chorus]
You're on your honor
'Cause I'm a goner
And you haven't even begun
So do me a favor
If I should waver
Be my savior
And get out the gun
[Chorus]
In Aimee Mann's song Deathly, the lyrics depict the internal struggles of a person who is infatuated with someone they cannot have. The singer is aware that the other person is out of their league and expresses a reluctance to ever see each other again because they cannot keep up with the other person's lifestyle. The line "No one's got that much ego to spend" illustrates the singer's awareness that the other person is too self-absorbed to make any effort for them.
The singer also acknowledges that they are seen as a problem to be solved and something to be fixed by the other person. The singer feels like a burden who cannot be reconciled with the other person's life. The chorus of the song serves as a plea to the other person to leave them alone as they are already struggling with their own troubles. They do not need someone else to add to their problems. Additionally, the phrase "one act of kindness could be Deathly" suggests that even though the other person may think they are helping, it could make things worse for the singer.
In the final verse, the singer begs the other person to be their savior and get out the gun. The line indicates that the singer would rather be put out of their misery than continue to suffer in their unrequited love. The song showcases the turmoil one may feel when chasing someone they cannot have and how it impacts their mental state.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that I've met you
Since I have come across you
Would you object to
Are you reluctant towards
Never seeing each other again
Not seeing each other anymore
Cause I can't afford to
Because I am unable to bear the cost of
Climb aboard you
Join you
No one's got that much ego to spend
No one has the self-importance to waste on that
Chorus - So don't work your stuff
Thus, refrain from using your seductive ways
Because I've got troubles enough
Since I am dealing with many problems already
No, don't pick on me
I plead with you not to tease me
When one act of kindness could be
When a single kind act would suffice
Deathly
Extremely critical
Deathly
Extremely important
Deathly
Extremely necessary
Definitely
Absolutely
'Cause I'm just a problem
Because I am nothing more than a puzzle
For you to solve and
For you to figure out
Watch dissolve in the heat of your charm
To observe as I fade away under your irresistible charisma
But what will you do when
But how will you react when
You run it through and
You have tested me and
You can't get me back on the farm
You cannot restore me to my former condition
Chorus - So don't work your stuff
Therefore, avoid using your seductive ways
Because I've got troubles enough
As I am already grappling with many troubles
No, don't pick on me
No, please do not ridicule me
When one act of kindness could be
When a single kind gesture is all that is necessary
Deathly
Extremely critical
Deathly
Extremely important
Deathly
Extremely necessary
Definitely
Absolutely
You're on your honor
Your integrity is at stake
'Cause I'm a goner
Because I am most certainly done for
And you haven't even begun
And you haven't started yet
So do me a favor
If you could oblige me
If I should waver
If I were to falter
Be my savior
Rescue me from this situation
And get out the gun
And put me out of my misery
Chorus - So don't work your stuff
Thus, avoid using your seductive ways
Because I've got troubles enough
As I am already struggling with many difficulties
No, don't pick on me
No, don't make fun of me
When one act of kindness could be
When one good deed is all that is needed
Deathly
Extremely critical
Deathly
Extremely important
Deathly
Extremely necessary
Definitely
Absolutely
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Aimee Mann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrea
Now that I've met you
Would you object to
Never seeing each other again
'Cause I can't afford to
Climb aboard you
No one's got that much ego to spend
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
'Cause I'm just a problem
For you to solve and
Watch dissolve in the heat of your charm
But what will you do when
You run it through and
You can't get me back on the farm
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
Definitely
You're on your honor
'Cause I'm a goner
And you haven't even begun
So do me a favor
If I should waver
Be my savior
And get out the gun
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
Definitely
Christopher Tall
I have heard this song for years. I still get chills listening to it.
sonicscreamingblue
I first heard this song on the Magnolia soundtrack. I was 17 at the time. Almost 9 years later, it's still one of my faves. Thanks for posting!
Conchobhar
Happy 35th birthday!
leonthesleepy
I'm 27th now, saw Magnolia when i was around 16. The movie is one of my favs and so is this soundtrack :)
Ronaldo Nogueira Rodrigues
É lindíssima esta música!
AMOOOOOOOO
spiritualseeker amor
Absolutely outstanding song and songwriter
Andrea
Now that I've met you
Would you object to
Never seeing each other again
'Cause I can't afford to
Climb aboard you
No one's got that much ego to spend
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
'Cause I'm just a problem
For you to solve and
Watch dissolve in the heat of your charm
But what will you do when
You run it through and
You can't get me back on the farm
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
Definitely
You're on your honor
'Cause I'm a goner
And you haven't even begun
So do me a favor
If I should waver
Be my savior
And get out the gun
So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Deathly
Definitely
Circlego
deathly definitely
theowalton
love love LOVE aimee mann!! this is one of the best albums of all time!
Da Shell-minator
the guitar solo is freaking the rival of Neil Young at his prime