Aimee Mann

In the film Magnolia, there is a scene in which all of the major characters sing the words to the same song. As the camera cuts from one face to the next, the lyrics of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up”, carry you through each thought, to each face, and back again. It was then that I heard Aimee Mann for the first time.

There is pop music, and there is pop music. We all can agree that within the framework of popular culture, the bar can be set pretty low. And for that reason, along with so many others, is why artists like Mann are so important.

@#%&*! Smilers is the seventh studio release for Mann and first in three years since The Forgotten Arm. Always known for her dry wit an unmatchable voice, the fans that were first introduced to her through Magnolia, will find Smilers to be exactly what they’re looking for.

Sometimes I wonder how artists like Mann find new listeners and fans. So few seem to know who her, but then you’re surprised at how many share your same feelings. Her voice is unmistakable. Her sound familiar and true.

Smilers carries with it the classic Mann sound, yet a new progression. A continued expression of the same themes entertained and played with for years now. Even through the title of the album, with the expletive marks directed towards those happy go lucky Smilers, you can hear her challenging us to look past the easy smiles, the fake expressions, and the textbook answers to life.

With the breathy vocals of a one who’s seen it all, Smilers opens with the upbeat and fun “Freeway”, with the playful line, You got a lot of money/ but you can’t afford the freeway. In classic Mann style, she weaves stories together, and then in a line or two, summarizes the whole for us. The third track “Looking for Nothing”, proves it:

Everybody’s waiting for their thing/ Just to come along / They all got something they can pin all their feelings on

Chris Jones of the BBC puts it best when he said, “Aimee Mann knows it’s a deeply flawed universe we inhabit.” The universe in which addiction, disappointment, failed love, and shattered dreams, determine much of our relationships and existence.

“31 Today” recalls Mann’s dealing with turning 31 as a musician in Boston. In her words we all feel the weight of uncertainty, and dread. Is this what its come to? Is this really how life is gonna play out? We’ve all been at that bar:

31 today, what a thing to say/ Drinking Guinness in the afternoon/ Taking shelter in the black cocoon/ I thought my life would be different somehow/ I thought my life would be better by now but its not and I don’t know where to turn

Still, through the questions, Mann’s music always finds a way for you to see the hope and beauty of this “flawed universe”. Sometimes even the music itself carries that message. The horn arrangements and surrounding parts of Smilers give it that resonance. That much needed texture and depth. And it delivers.

True Mann fans will embrace Smilers with waiting arms, while those who are new should find a voice very familiar, yet different. Here resides an artist who poses the questions to herself, provides her unique answers, and lets us listen and watch the inner dialogue take place. We all have felt the uneasy fit of this universe and we all are forced to deal with what’s “left over”. The hope and beauty we long to find keep us asking the questions, and listening to others’ questions. Mann’s insight and artistry does that for me. I’m with her…

Everything I do is wrong… / But at least I’m hanging on