Michael Penn (born August 1, 1958, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is … Read Full Bio ↴Michael Penn (born August 1, 1958, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the son of actor/director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and the brother of actors Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn.

Prior to the release of his 1989 debut album March, Penn performed the song "This & That" with his band The Pull on a 1987 episode of Saturday Night Live. Before that, he was a member of the Los Angeles band Doll Congress and had appeared as an extra on a few television series, including St. Elsewhere.

March, particularly the first single, "No Myth," brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. Penn's follow-up albums Free-for-All (1992), Resigned (1997) and MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident (2000) weren't able to match the success of March, although critics praised his songcraft.

Penn met fellow singer-songwriter Aimee Mann in the late 1980s, and during the recording of her album I'm With Stupid (to which Penn contributed vocals), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their 1997 marriage. Together with manager Michael Hausman they formed United Musicians, which is based on the idea of allowing artists to keep copyright ownership of their works and to assist with their promotion and distribution. Penn and Mann live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. They have no children, but Penn has a son from a previous marriage.

He moved into film scoring after repeated requests from director Paul Thomas Anderson, who had apparently listened to Free-for-All extensively while writing his first feature Hard Eight and wanted Penn to score the film. Penn also scored Anderson's follow-up Boogie Nights (in which he appeared briefly as a recording engineer), The Anniversary Party, Melvin Goes to Dinner and the documentary The Comedians of Comedy.

His fifth album, Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947, was released August 2, 2005, on Mimeograph Records (Penn's own label) and SpinART Records. Penn has said that the album, which may be the first of two parts, is set after World War II and involves "the trauma that a war brings to a person's psychology." [1]

Penn's music "Walter Reed" was used in the fifth episode of House MD's third season, "Fools For Love".

Selfish
Michael Penn Lyrics

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I want to you understand
That I want you
And I want you
The way I do and
I want you to want to have it done to you

I'm so selfish
I am so selfish

I am so selfish

I'm absorbed I am absolved
It's best that you don't get involved
It is not conscious, be assured
And it's not like I haven't heard

I'm so selfish
I am so selfish
I am so selfish
So selfish
I'm so...

I am so selfish
I am so selfish
I am so selfish

In dust we end industrial
Virtuous or virtual
You might find a prince of men
Until that time my name is Penn

And I am selfish
I am so selfish
I am so selfish
So selfish
I'm so selfish
I am so selfish
So selfish
I'm so selfish
I am so selfish

So selfish
I'm so...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Michael Penn's song "Selfish" are a reflection of the singer's inner thoughts and feelings. The first few lines of the chorus emphasize the singer's overwhelming desire for the person he's addressing to understand the intensity of his attraction. He wants this person to want him as much as he wants them. The repetition of "I am so selfish" creates a link between these desires and his internal struggle with his sense of self. He acknowledges that he is completely absorbed by these feelings, yet he doesn't seem to know how to act on them. In fact, he seems to suggest that it's best for the other person not to get involved.

The second part of the song begins with the phrase, "In dust we end industrial, virtuous or virtual." While this line seems somewhat disconnected from the rest of the song, it echoes the theme of the singer's inner struggle. He is questioning the value of his own desires and how they fit into society's expectations. The line "you might find a prince of men" suggests that he wants to live up to certain standards, but he isn't sure if he can. Finally, the song ends with a repetition of the chorus, emphasizing once again the singer's overwhelming selfishness and desire.

Overall, the lyrics of "Selfish" are a poetic meditation on the nature of desire, inward reflection, and the struggle to reconcile one's own sense of self with societal expectations.

Line by Line Meaning

I want to you understand
I need you to comprehend

That I want you
I desire you deeply

And I want you
I crave your presence

The way I do and
In the same manner as I do

I want you to want to have it done to you
I desire you to desire the same for yourself

I'm so selfish
I am self-centered

I am so selfish
I am entirely egocentric

I am so selfish
I am excessively concerned about myself

I'm absorbed I am absolved
I am engrossed, and therefore excused

It's best that you don't get involved
It's wise if you don't associate with me

It is not conscious, be assured
I am not doing it deliberately, trust me