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.
The Moth
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He might get burned but he's in the game
And once he's in he can't go back, and
Beat his wings 'til he burns them black
No the moth don't care when he sees the flame
No the moth don't care when he sees the flame
The moth don't care if the flame is real
And nothing fuels a good flirtation
Like need and anger and desperation
No the moth don't care if the flame is real
No the moth don't care if the flame is real
So come on let's go ready or not
'Cause there's a flame I know hotter than hot
And with a fuse that's so thoroughly shot
Away
The moth don't care if the flame burns low
'Cause moth believes in an afterglow
And flames are never douzed completely
All you really need is a love of heat
No, the moth don't care if the flame burns low
No, the moth don't care if the flame burns low
So come on let's go ready or not
'Cause there's a flame I know hotter than hot
And with a fuse that's so thoroughly shot
Away
In Aimee Mann's song The Moth, she uses the metaphor of a moth drawn to flame to describe a person's attraction to a destructive relationship or situation. The moth is attracted to the flame despite the danger it presents; similarly, a person may be attracted to a toxic relationship or situation despite the harm it may cause. Mann acknowledges that once a person is in this pattern, it can be difficult to break free, hence the line "And once he's in he can't go back." The moth beats its wings until they are burnt black, paralleling the person who continues to engage in harmful behavior even when they see the negative consequences.
Mann also explores the idea that sometimes people are drawn to the idea of a person or situation rather than the reality of it. This is represented in the lyric "The moth don't care if the flame is real / 'Cause flame and moth got a sweetheart deal." The moth is not concerned with the actual heat of the flame, but rather the relationship or attraction between the moth and the flame. Similarly, a person may be more drawn to the idea of a relationship or situation rather than the reality of it.
Overall, The Moth is a poignant exploration of self-destructive behavior and the complexities of human attraction.
Line by Line Meaning
The moth don't care when he sees the flame
The moth is willing to risk being hurt by the flame because he is attracted to it and wants to be a part of it.
He might get burned but he's in the game
Although the moth may suffer from his need for the flame, he is still drawn to it and willing to play with fire.
And once he's in he can't go back
Once the moth is fully committed to the flame, he cannot reverse his decision or withdraw from his involvement.
And beat his wings 'til he burns them black
The moth will continue to pursue the flame even when doing so is dangerous or harmful.
The moth don't care if the flame is real
The moth is not concerned with distinguishing between reality and illusion, as long as he can fulfill his longing for the flame.
'Cause flame and moth got a sweetheart deal
The moth and the flame have an unspoken agreement where they both benefit from their desire for each other.
And nothing fuels a good flirtation
The excitement and intensity of their relationship can be traced back to their shared need for each other.
Like need and anger and desperation
Their attraction is rooted in a mutual sense of emptiness, dissatisfaction, and frustration with their lives.
So come on let's go ready or not
The song is urging the listener to embrace their own dangerous desires and take risks in life.
'Cause there's a flame I know hotter than hot
The artist is encouraging the listener to pursue their passions, even if doing so may be painful or dangerous.
And with a fuse that's so thoroughly shot
The flame the song alludes to is powerful and unstoppable, like a fuse that has been lit and cannot be extinguished.
The moth don't care if the flame burns low
Even if the excitement of the relationship fades, the moth will still cling to the idea of their connection, and believe that it will continue to endure.
'Cause moth believes in an afterglow
The moth has faith that even when the flame has died down, they will still be able to experience the warmth and light of their connection.
And flames are never douzed completely
Even when the surface-level attraction fades, the underlying passion and attraction will continue to exist.
All you really need is a love of heat
To pursue a passionate relationship like the moth and the flame, all that is necessary is an intense desire for that kind of energy and closeness.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Aimee Mann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind