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.
Living A Lie
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tossing your hand
If no one's there
Then why do you care?
Though I let you think there was no witness to
All of your crimes
I knew what you worn
The climate declines
I'm living a lie,
You're living it too
Cause I live it with you
I'm living a lie, a lie can't tell
So wait for the crack in the shell
Know that there's a, I've been avoiding yes
Just past his prime
Building his cage, a bar at a time
For every hope I'm as a cold shoulder
Waiting to turn
People to blame
We're just 2 birds
I'm living a lie,
You're living it too
Cause I live it with you
I'm living a lie, a lie can't tell
So wait for the crack in the shell
But girl around, do the time on your ground
Is the shakiest leaf on the tree
Creating for you a song or two
Or now and I'll admit all achieves
Now there's too many cooks
But you like how it looks
When they're bowing and calling it bothers
But the powers that were invested in her
And now any means taken, lost
I'm living a lie,
You're living it too
'Cause I live it with you
I'm living a lie, a lie can tell
So wait for the crack in the shell
Yeah wait for the crack in the shell
The lyrics of Aimee Mann's "Living A Lie" are enigmatic and thought-provoking. At first glance, the song appears to speak about a person living a double life, a hypocrite who is hiding behind masks and is living a lie. The lines, "You can see yourself in the sign river/Tossing your hand/If no one's there/Then why do you care?" suggest that the individual thinks nobody knows the truth about them, but in reality, there is always someone watching, whether it be their conscience or another person. The lyrics "I'm living a lie, You're living it too/Cause I live it with you" reveal that the person singing is also living a lie, and the person they are addressing is also complicit in living that same lie.
As the song progresses, the mood changes, and the lyrics become more cryptic, leaving the listeners to interpret the true meaning of the lines. Lines like "Creating for you a song or two/Or now, and I'll admit all achieves/Now there's too many cooks/But you like how it looks/When they're bowing and calling it bothers" suggest that the person is writing music to distract themselves from the truth. The last two lines "But the powers that were invested in her/And now any means taken, lost" are especially perplexing, and their meaning is open to interpretation. They seem to hint at an abuse of power, but it is uncertain who is abusing the power.
Line by Line Meaning
You can see yourself in the sign river
You are so consumed by your own ego that you see reflections of yourself even in the flowing river.
Tossing your hand
You are tossing your hand (in a gesture) as if casting away something or someone, but you are actually holding on tightly to your own deception.
If no one's there, then why do you care?
You pretend as if you don't care about anyone's opinion or presence, but you actually care deeply about what people think of you, even if no one is really watching or listening.
Though I let you think there was no witness to all of your crimes, I knew what you worn
You think that your actions are undetected and that you can get away with your wrongdoings, but I have been silently watching and observing everything that you hide behind your façade.
The climate declines
The atmosphere is becoming increasingly tense and hostile because of the lies and deceit that you have been spreading.
I'm living a lie, you're living it too, cause I live it with you
You and I are both part of the same deception, and I am just as much an active participant in this falsehood as you are.
I'm living a lie, a lie can't tell, so wait for the crack in the shell
I am living such a deep, intricately woven lie that it is impossible for me to tell the truth, but eventually, the façade will break and the truth will be revealed.
Know that there's a, I've been avoiding yes, just past his prime, building his cage, a bar at a time
I know that there is someone who is past his prime and is trying to escape from his own situation by building barriers and limitations for himself.
For every hope I'm as a cold shoulder, waiting to turn, people to blame, we're just 2 birds
Every time you express a desire or hope, I turn a cold shoulder because I am only interested in blaming others for your failures. We are both stuck in this situation, like two birds in a cage.
But girl around, do the time on your ground, is the shakiest leaf on the tree
You are like the shakiest leaf on a tree, and you need to stay grounded and endure the challenges that life throws at you.
Creating for you a song or two, or now and I'll admit all achieves
I can use my music to help you cope with your problems, and I admit that I derive some satisfaction and achievement from doing so.
Now there's too many cooks, but you like how it looks, when they're bowing and calling it bothers
There are too many people interfering in our situation, but you enjoy the attention and admiration that you get from them even if it is bothersome.
But the powers that were invested in her, and now any means taken, lost
The person who held all the power and control over our situation has lost her authority and is now powerless to intervene or influence our choices.
I'm living a lie, you're living it too, 'cause I live it with you
Our lives are intertwined in this deception, and I am just as responsible for it as you are.
I'm living a lie, a lie can tell, so wait for the crack in the shell, yeah wait for the crack in the shell
I know that even lies can reveal the truth sometimes, and so we just have to wait for the right moment when our deception will be exposed.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: AIMEE MANN, PAUL BRYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roiy Benkel
[James Mercer:]
You can see yourself in the side mirror
tossing your hair
if no one is there
why do you care
Though I let you think there was no witness to
all of your crimes
I knew what you were:
a climber who climbs
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
[Aimee Mann:]
No one bears a grudge like a boy genius
Just past his prime
Gilding his cage
One bar at a time
For every open arm there's a cold shoulder
Waiting to turn
People to blame
Bridges to burn
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
[James Mercer:]
A girl comes around at a time when your ground
is as shaky as leaves on a tree
creating for you a persona or two
or an out-and-out mythology
[Aimee Mann:]
Now there’s too many cooks but you like how it looks
when they’re bowing and calling you “boss”
but the powers that were, were invested in her
and now winning means taking a loss
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
Monkey Magic
I absolutely love this song and also this album. ❤️😍🥰😍😎😎😎😎💕👍😍🥰😘😎❤️ Amiee Mann is very talented, I think……..
Roiy Benkel
[James Mercer:]
You can see yourself in the side mirror
tossing your hair
if no one is there
why do you care
Though I let you think there was no witness to
all of your crimes
I knew what you were:
a climber who climbs
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
[Aimee Mann:]
No one bears a grudge like a boy genius
Just past his prime
Gilding his cage
One bar at a time
For every open arm there's a cold shoulder
Waiting to turn
People to blame
Bridges to burn
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
[James Mercer:]
A girl comes around at a time when your ground
is as shaky as leaves on a tree
creating for you a persona or two
or an out-and-out mythology
[Aimee Mann:]
Now there’s too many cooks but you like how it looks
when they’re bowing and calling you “boss”
but the powers that were, were invested in her
and now winning means taking a loss
[Aimee Mann and James Mercer:]
I’m living a lie
you’re living it too
cause I live it with you
I’m living a lie
a lie I can’t tell
so we wait for a crack in the shell
maria carmen
Gracias
Mark M
This song is fantastic! I didn't know of Aimee Mann really but love The Shins and I just recently discovered this song on an older episode of 'Live From The Basement' that featured both of them. Familiar the first time I heard it - sign of a classic if there ever was one. I can't put my finger on what song it really it reminds me of; but it echoes all kinds of things - from Fleetwood Mac to Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and even the Highwaymen (Johnny Cash et all). Fantastic stuff. No idea why this isn't more popular!
john collins
Yep.. huge fan you can always find the good in her songs.. her word play is awesome.. that record player is way cool
john collins
Man .. huge fan you can always find the good in all of her music… that record player is way cool
doreen clark
sounds better than ever ,like fine wine!!
Izzy Boone
who's hand is that? Is it? no chance! Wow great sound her voice is like gold angel flying in the atmoshere on a magic rug
erniesbudolab
Love the vinyl!
george wittner
I love the vinyl set up