Aimee Mann
Sat, Sep 16, 5:30 PM Heineken Stage Stage
Save Me might have been the song that tipped Aimee Mann into a very successful solo career, but the singer-songewriter has done a pretty good job of saving herself. Flustered by more than a decade of screwy dealings with numerous record labels, Mann took matters into her own hands. Self-sufficient, she also managed to become a flag-bearer for a new generation of DIY musicians who dont need the industry infrastructure to make their art. Of course, it doesnt hurt that Mann is a smart, sharp songwriter and has been since her days in the 80s Boston band Til Tuesday, a group that deserved better than the one-hit-wonder status bestowed upon it by the inescapable tune, Voices Carry. Mann carried her cynical but melodic gift for song over into her solo career, starting with an under-heard masterpiece, Whatever, in 1993.Two years later, the equally strong Im With Stupid found her again pairing sad, but hummable, melodies with bright lyrics about relationships gone sour. Manns break came in 1999 when director Paul Thomas Anderson made her songs the musical backbone of his film, Magnolia. Momentum and Save Me garnered her attention, as did a cover of Harry Nilssons One. With a bit of tether, Mann made a run for it and broke free later that year. She started her own SuperEgo Records and finally was able to release her own music on her own terms. Since then, shes issued three recordings: Bachelor No. 2, Lost in Space and last years stirring concept album, The Lost Arm.
www.aimeemann.com