2 posts tagged “mann”
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08/28/08 Koolhaus Toronto, ON
Solo Discography
08/29/08 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak,MI 08/31/08 Ravinia Festival Highland Park, IL 09/02/08 The Pageant St Louis, MO 09/03/08 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN 09/04/08 Bama Theatre Tuscaloosa, AL 09/05/08 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA 09/06/08 Carolina Theatre Greensboro, NC 09/08/08 The National Richmond, VA 09/09/08 Recher Theatre Towson, MD 09/14/08 Westhampton Beach PAC NY
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You must have remembered "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday in the early 80s, don't you? What I know about the song is that it was inspired by a breakup between singer Aimee Mann and then-boyfriend Michael Hausman, also in the band (both were previously in another band called The Young Snakes).
The video, like all music videos from the 80s, was pretty cheesy, with a 80s new wave hairstyle... it's definitely one of the best MTV videos, very unforgettable, like "Take On Me" by A-Ha.
'Til Tuesday broke up after releasing three albums between '85-88, and shortly Mann declared her solo music career. By this time, "alternative" was just making its way to MTV's 120 Minutes, a show that I actually remember seeing her music video for "I Should've Known" on for her debut album, Whatever. I just remember liking her hair in the video.
By the way, I love the cover art to this album. I remember how cool her Dr Martens were, that a year later, I bought my first pair when I was on holiday in London.
Anyway, her latest album is called @#%&*! Smilers (if you're not familar with 'comic book' symbols, the "@#%&*!" stands for "Fucking"), inspired by a thread on the newsgroup alt.bitter. The lyric book is all 50s-style pop artwork, all original artwork by a famed artist Gary Taxali, who lends a very distinctive style to the overall package. You can watch the video where she talks about her album artwork on Face Culture.
There are two version of this album, I only have the standard edition for reference, but I have seen the very nice limited edition, which looks like it was hardcover book with two holes (see amazon). Although it's slightly more expensive, I do always recommend getting the limited version.
The album starts off with "Freeway", a song about a guy who has a lot of money, but can't even drive on the freeway (probably because the law enforcement would pull him over for the lack of paying his tickets).
There are a few songs that caught my attention on the record. I liked the toned down "Stranger into Starman" song. The song shows off Mann's easy-to-listen to voice, backed by just a piano and a splash of violins at the end. I also really enjoyed the duet with Sean Hayes on "Ballantines". There's a point in the song that Hayes sounds like he's playing trumpet with his lips.
The big single from this record is "31 Today". I thought it was interesting to note that if that song was really about Aimee Mann, then that would've meant she wrote that song in 1991, just a little after 'Til Tuesday broke up.
Also, be sure to check out my favorite off the album, the foot-tapper "Borrowing Time".
With nearly thirty years in the music industry, Mann shows us that she's still going strong... and well-traveled since her days in 'Til Tuesday. @#%&*! Smilers is available now at all retail locations, and at the moment there is a promotion at Target to sell it for $11.98.
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I don't normally do an all-out video posts, but after watching the hilarious Bill O'Reilly blowing his top off and having it "remixed" in a techno dance song, I was inspired to write about it.
So, if you didn't know, O'Reilly lost his temper after having some issues with the teleprompter and somehow the video got leaked on youtube. Like all things online, it's the subject of various parodies and the best one is this dance remix.
This video reminds me of some internet guy taking apart a George Bush speech and making it sound like Bush is singing U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday".
The source of this video is originally taken from the 2003 State of the Union Address, however the crowd shots were not from the same union address. There's no additional information, but you can try and contact the original creator: thepartyparty.com.
And speaking of politics, remember that Barack Obama music video from will.i.am, from The Black Eye Peas? All the lyrics from this song was based on excerpts from Obama's speech from January 2008 at the New Hampshire presidential primary election. You can find all the details at yeswecansong.com.
What I love is that G4TV parodied this video for Cobra Commander (from G.I.Joe). The song made reference to outrageous Cobra plans for world domination and is written by Jonathan Mann, aka GameJew. He's also the person responsible for writing the music to the the hilarious X-Men: The Musical.
COBRALALALA!
Links:
weheartmusic.com
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