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.
Video
Aimee Mann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
TV's flat and nothing is funny
I get sad and stuck in a cone of silence
Like a big balloon with nothing for ballast
Labeled like a bottle for Alice
Drink me down or I'll drown in a sea of giants
[Chorus]
It's nonstop memories of you
It's like a video of you playing
It's all loops of seven-hour kisses
Cut with a couple near-misses
Back to the scene of the actor saying:
'Tell me, baby, baby ? why do I feel so bad?'"
Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
Fighting left me plenty of money
But didn't keep the promise of memory lapses
Like a building that's been slated for blasting
I'm the proof that nothing is lasting
Counting to eleven as it collapses
[Chorus]
Baby, baby, I love you
Baby, baby, I love you
But baby, I feel so bad
The opening lines of "Video" by Aimee Mann establish an introspective and melancholic mood. The singer seems to be experiencing a sense of ennui, as if they are unable to connect with the outside world. The TV is "flat" and "nothing is funny," suggesting that even the comfort of familiar entertainments brings no joy. The metaphor of a "cone of silence" further illustrates the sense of isolation, highlighting the lack of communication or connection with others. The image of a "big balloon with nothing for ballast" adds to the feeling of being unmoored and adrift.
The second verse of the song provides a little more context for the singer's feelings. They have apparently experienced some kind of conflict or difficulty, represented by the mention of "fighting." However, this has brought material rewards ("left me plenty of money") but at a cost to their emotional well-being ("didn't keep the promise of memory lapses"). The image of a building "slated for blasting" emphasizes the sense of transience and impermanence, tying it in with the earlier reference to Alice in Wonderland ("labeled like a bottle for Alice / Drink me down or I'll drown in a sea of giants").
The chorus of "Video" introduces a little more ambiguity, with a different voice speaking to the singer. The repetition of "baby, baby, I love you" suggests that this is a romantic partner, but the lines that follow could be interpreted as either affectionate or ironic. The reference to "nonstop memories" seems positive, but the description of these memories as "loops" might imply that they are repetitive and unchanging. The vivid detail of "seven-hour kisses" followed by "near-misses" suggests a kind of emotional rollercoaster. The repeated question "why do I feel so bad?" is ambiguous - is it the singer or the actor speaking?
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
Asking the reason behind the feeling of sadness in her heart.
TV's flat and nothing is funny
Boredom and lack of amusement in daily life.
I get sad and stuck in a cone of silence
Feeling isolated and unable to express her emotions.
Like a big balloon with nothing for ballast
Feeling empty and weightless, like a balloon without any weight inside it.
Labeled like a bottle for Alice
Feeling objectified and stereotyped like Alice in Wonderland.
Drink me down or I'll drown in a sea of giants
The only options seem to be either to fit in with the crowd or be overwhelmed by it.
[Chorus] And tell me, 'Baby, baby, I love you
Despite the sadness, feeling loved by someone.
It's nonstop memories of you
Being unable to forget the memories of the person she loves.
It's like a video of you playing
Memories of the person seem like a video that keeps replaying in her mind.
It's all loops of seven-hour kisses
Recalling specific moments of being with the person, especially the intimate ones.
Cut with a couple near-misses
The memories are not perfect and are mixed with some moments that were almost perfect but not quite.
Back to the scene of the actor saying: 'Tell me, baby, baby ? why do I feel so bad?'
The repeated memory of the person questioning why they are both so unhappy.
Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
The repetition of feeling sad and questioning why, even with material possessions and wealth that was gained from fighting.
Fighting left me plenty of money
Gained financial success, but lost personal fulfillment.
But didn't keep the promise of memory lapses
Even with the success, the memories of being unhappy still exist.
Like a building that's been slated for blasting
Like a building that is set to be destroyed, feeling disposable and unimportant.
I'm the proof that nothing is lasting
The evidence that nothing in life is permanent.
Counting to eleven as it collapses
Watching something fall apart, and counting to eleven as it happens.
[Chorus] Baby, baby, I love you
Despite the sadness, feeling loved by someone.
Baby, baby, I love you
Despite the sadness, feeling loved by someone.
But baby, I feel so bad
The repeating feeling of sadness and questioning why it exists, despite the love she feels for someone else.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Aimee Mann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind