My tastes in music are generally obscure and/or not what the general public consider popular. I don't listen to the music of the masses, so to speak. That isn't to say what I favor isn't good music, in fact, I think it's better than most of the processed, auto-tuned stuff you hear on popular radio. You may not have heard of the people I focus on, because I tend to root for the underdog. The artist or band that is working and struggling just to have a career. Needless to say I'll never profile someone from American Idol.
Aimee Mann formed 'Til Tuesday in the early 80's while she was attending the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Just six months after formation, they won the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble (the band I was associated with, won in 1997, just so you know). 'Til Tuesday probably has had more hits, but Aimee has really come into her own as a solo artist. She was nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy for her work on the movie, Magnolia.
I really don't know why Aimee Mann isn't a bigger star than she is? Well, I do, but I'm trying to keep this positive, so I won't get into it. All I ask is to listen and if you like it, purchase her music. This is my request for every band or artist I profile.
"Coming Up Close" is probably my favorite 'Til Tuesday song.
"Voices Carry" was their big hit.
"Save Me" which lost the Oscar to Phil Collins and his monkey love song, Aimee's words...not mine.
"Freeway" is from her last album, @#%&*! Smilers (pronounced Fucking Smilers)
Please check her out, she's a phenomenally talented singer-songwriter. The way I like to learn about "new" music is to, listen to it, if I like it, I explore it, if I still like it...I buy it.
Hm... nothing from "Whatever"? I love that damn album!
ReplyDeleteAimee Mann is a great songwriter. Two things make her one. First, she has a natural knack for melody, on the order of a McCartney, McLennan, or Gibbard, but it’s her lyrics that are really amazing. Her observational skills are acute, and she’s not afraid to write a good character assassination. Few other writers have ever explored affairs of the heart with less sentiment than Mann. She’s cynical, she’s hard, but she’s virtually always spot on. She writes of disaffected characters, ones who realize that they have screwed up their lives, and can’t do anything about it. I would not want to be in a relationship with this woman, because after it was over, the whole affair would be used for material like a biologist vivisecting a frog.
ReplyDeleteI second the nomination for "Whatever". It is one of the few albums I know of with no weak tracks.