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.
Say Anything
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And hold me like a grudge, then justify it
But when you take such pains
In searching for something that explains
Please take a good look at our remains
'Cause if you were everything you say
Things would be different today
But signs that I get say otherwise
Say anything, 'cause I've heard everything
As hopeless as it seems, I wouldn't worry
You'll get your chance to tell
Your side of the story
While your raising your right hand
Whatever defenses you have planned
Remember that when you take the stand
If you were everything you say
Things would be different today
And though I'd be happy to believe
I'd have to be much more naive
Say anything (I've heard everything)
You say anything (I've heard everything)
(Now I've heard everything)
(Now I've heard everything, now I've heard)
(Now I've heard everything, everything)
(Now I've heard everything)
So why do I refuse
The truth, when I clearly cannot use
The comfort of one more lame excuse
If you were everything you say
Things would be different today
And if you were everything you swear
We wouldn't be beyond repair
If you were everything you say
Things would be different today
And if there has got to be an if
Get it over with
Say anything, 'cause I've heard everything
(Now I've heard everything)
(Now I've heard everything)
Now I've heard everything
Now I've heard everything
(Now I've heard everything)
Now I've heard everything
(Now I've heard everything, get it over with)
(Now I've heard everything)
(Now I've heard everything)
Now I've heard everything
Now I've heard everything (get it over with)
In "Say Anything," Aimee Mann sings about a relationship that has reached its breaking point, where one partner is constantly making excuses for their behavior and the other is tired of hearing them. The singer is pleading for honesty and accountability. The lyrics use legal language, with the reference to being a judge, taking the stand, and raising their right hand. The lines “cause if you were everything you say, things would be different today / and maybe there's room for compromise / but signs that I get say otherwise” shows that the singer is willing to listen but they have their doubts.
The line “so why do I refuse the truth / when I clearly cannot use / the comfort of one more lame excuse” shows that the singer is aware that the relationship is unhealthy, but they still cling to hope. The song is a plea for truth and honesty, and the acceptance that the relationship may not be salvageable.
Line by Line Meaning
You see me as a judge, though I deny it
You tend to portray me as someone who constantly evaluates and judges everything, and even though I deny being such a person, your actions and attitude towards me implies otherwise.
And hold me like a grudge, then justify it
You hold a grudge against me for something, and even though I have not done anything wrong, you still justify your behavior towards me.
But when you take such pains
But when you go through so much trouble and effort
In searching for something that explains
In searching for something that will justify your anger towards me
Please take a good look at our remains
Please examine the state of our relationship and how it has been affected by your behavior towards me.
'Cause if you were everything you say
Because if you were really the person that you say you are
Things would be different today
Our relationship would be in a better place today
And maybe there's room for compromise
And maybe we can find a way to meet in the middle and work things out
But signs that I get say otherwise
But the way you treat me and your behavior towards me indicates otherwise
Say anything, 'cause I've heard everything
You can say whatever you want, but I have already heard all of it and I am having a hard time believing any of it.
As hopeless as it seems, I wouldn't worry
Even though the situation seems hopeless, I still have hope and I am not worried about how things will turn out.
You'll get your chance to tell
You will get an opportunity to explain your side of the story
Your side of the story
Your version of events and how you perceive the situation
While your raising your right hand
While you are under oath and promising to tell the truth
Whatever defenses you have planned
Whatever excuses or justifications you have prepared
Remember that when you take the stand
Remember that when you are in the position to tell your story
So why do I refuse
So why do I deny or ignore
The truth, when I clearly cannot use
The truth that is so evident and clear, but I cannot use to heal our relationship.
The comfort of one more lame excuse
The comfort of finding yet another excuse to justify your behavior
And though I'd be happy to believe
And even though I would be delighted to believe you
I'd have to be much more naive
I would have to be very gullible and foolish to believe you after everything that has happened.
And if you were everything you swear
And if you were really committed to your promises and pledges
We wouldn't be beyond repair
Our relationship would not be so ruined that it cannot be fixed.
And if there has got to be an if
And if there is a possibility of something happening
Get it over with
Let's just deal with it and move forward with our lives, whether it is fixing our relationship or establishing it's time to move on.
Now I've heard everything
I have heard all of the excuses, promises, and justifications and cannot tolerate any more of it.
Now I've heard everything (get it over with)
I have heard everything already, and I am urging you to get over it and move on with our lives.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jon Brion, Aimee Mann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind