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.
Nothing Is Good Enough
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I'll make it brief
What was started out with such excitement
Now I'd gladly end end with relief
In what now has become a familiar motif:
[Chorus]
That nothing is good enough
Who have to have someone take the fall
And something to sabotage,
Determined to lose it all
Critics at their worst could never criticize
The way that you do
No, there's no one else, I find,
To undermine or dash a hope
Quite like you
And you do it so casually, too
[Chorus]
Ladies and gentlemen,
Here's exhibit a
Didn't I try again?
And did the effort pay?
Wouldn't a smarter man
Simply walk away?
It doesn't really help that you can never say
What you're looking for
But you'll know it when you hear it,
Know it when you see it walk through the door
So you say,
So you've said many times before
[Chorus]
In "Nothing Is Good Enough," Aimee Mann sings about the frustration and futility of trying to please someone who is impossible to satisfy. The song's narrator is exhausted and defeated by her attempts to meet the expectations of a critical lover. The opening lines set the tone for the song's overall mood: "Once upon a time is how it always goes, but I'll make it brief. What was started out with such excitement, now I'd gladly end with relief." The singer is suggesting that the relationship may have been exciting at first, but it has become a burden.
The song's Chorus ("Nothing is good enough for people like you, who have to have someone take the fall and something to sabotage, determined to lose it all") is a biting indictment of the lover's character. According to the singer, "no one else" can "undermine or dash a hope" like her partner can. This person is determined to always find fault, to tear down anything good that comes their way, and to ultimately self-sabotage. Despite knowing this, however, the singer finds herself unable to simply "walk away."
It's clear that "Nothing Is Good Enough" is both a scathing critique of a toxic relationship and a reflection on the futility of seeking validation from others who are incapable of giving it. The song's haunting melody and the palpable sense of weariness in Mann's voice make it a powerful exploration of the cost of trying to satisfy the insatiable.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time is how it always goes
This is the classic beginning of fairy tales and other stories
But I'll make it brief
I'll keep it short
What was started out with such excitement
This situation began with lots of excitement
Now I'd gladly end with relief
I'd happily finish it with relief
In what now has become a familiar motif:
This is a common pattern that keeps happening
That nothing is good enough
Whatever is presented is not enough
For people like you
For individuals with certain characteristics
Who have to have someone take the fall
Looking for someone to blame
And something to sabotage,
Wanting to ruin something
Determined to lose it all
Wanting to experience failure
Critics at their worst could never criticize
The harshest criticism from critics couldn't match yours
The way that you do
The way you criticize
No, there's no one else, I find,
I cannot find anyone else
To undermine or dash a hope
To destroy a hope or dream
Quite like you
That resembles you
And you do it so casually, too
You do it in a relaxed and effortless manner
That nothing is good enough
Whatever is presented is not enough
For people like you
For individuals with certain characteristics
Who have to have someone take the fall
Looking for someone to blame
And something to sabotage,
Wanting to ruin something
Determined to lose it all
Wanting to experience failure
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Here's exhibit a
This is the first evidence
Didn't I try again?
Didn't I put in some more effort?
And did the effort pay?
Did it result in success?
Wouldn't a smarter man
Wouldn't someone more intelligent
Simply walk away?
Just leave this behind and forget about it?
It doesn't really help that you can never say
It doesn't help that you're indecisive
What you're looking for
You don't know what you need or want
But you'll know it when you hear it,
But you'll recognize it when you experience it
Know it when you see it walk through the door
You'll instantly recognize it when it appears before you
So you say,
So you claim
So you've said many times before
This is a statement you've repeated often
That nothing is good enough
Whatever is presented is not enough
For people like you
For individuals with certain characteristics
Who have to have someone take the fall
Looking for someone to blame
And something to sabotage,
Wanting to ruin something
Determined to lose it all
Wanting to experience failure
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Aimee Mann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@veryeyeofnight
[Verse 1]
Once upon a time
Is how it always goes
But I'll make it brief
What was started out
With such excitement
Now I gladly end with relief
In what now has become a familiar motif
[Chorus]
That nothing is good enough
For people like you
Who have to have someone take the fall
And something to sabotage
Determined to lose it all
[Verse 2]
Critics at their worst
Could never criticize
The way that you do
No, there's no one else I find
To undermine or dash a hope
Quite like you
And you do it so casually, too
[Chorus]
Cause nothing is good enough
For people like you
Who have to have someone take the fall
And something to sabotage
Determined to lose it all
[Bridge]
Ladies and gentlemen
Here's exhibit A
Didn't I try again
And did the effort pay?
Wouldn't a smarter man
Simply walk away?
[Verse 3]
It doesn't really help
That you can never say
What you're looking for
But you'll know it when you hear it
Know it when you see it
Walk through the door
So you say, so you've said
Many times before
[Chorus]
But nothing is good enough
For people like you
Who have to have someone take the fall
And something to sabotage
Determined to lose it all
Nothing is good enough
@BTBAM819
Awww this brings so much memories. My mother, a fan of the movie, had purchased the CD when I was little, so this music was always playing at my household and in the car while on a trip round my country. Can't explain how much being exposed to this music during my childhood (and later the film itself during my teens) has had a huge impact on me. Especially this song. Thanks so much for uploading.
@megaalvon3060
Thanks so much for this version! I love the whole soundtrack but this is so special to my ears and soul. Thank you!
@keith382
The fact that Aimee Mann allowed this track to be set apart from the vocal version was a learning experience. I love thoughts and ideas in orbit from more practical things. This instrumental is worlds apart. ❤
@johnbriguglio6145
Magnificent song, fantastic movie, haunting piano, as good as it gets.........
@cristinejarvis2306
Makes me cry every time
@themonicameza
This song matches the pain of the characters in the movie
@Gmerrima122
@cj Me too. I think I may have even spun it just now so that I could cry.
@Jonnyash6
I have not heard the instrumental since I lost this CD a while ago! Fantastic!
@coreythomas1272
Thank God I found this! The soundtrack on Amazon Music and Spotify has lyrics even though it is listed as "instrumental" and 'Wise Up" is also not included :(
That bring said I wonder why they decided to go with an instrumental version for the film.
@vitorcampbell2295
Maybe the lyrics were not finished