Make A Killing: Aimee Mann, song-by song

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lance LaSalle, Feb 21, 2021.

  1. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Today's song is "You Do", written by Aimee Mann; produced by Aimee Mann ; recorded by Brian Scheuble; mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

    Lyric.

    This song was originally released on Magnolia. It formed the basis of a character that was cut out of the film.

    Aimee Mann: vocals, bass and acoustic guitars
    Michael Penn: guitar
    Michael Penn: electric guitar and cheesy keyboard
    Patrick Warren: chamberlin and celeste
    Michael Hausman: drum programming
    Buddy Judge: backing vocals

    From the RSD release:
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2021
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  2. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    A beautiful ballad that closes the songs perfectly. This has a deeply seventies, Carpenters/soft rock vibe to me in the vocal and melody, and the loungey backing track. I love the way the production sparkles here.

    Lyrically, this kind of reminds me of 'Til Tuesday, in that it feels like this sad song of a the forlorn f#ckbuddy who's hoping for more. But she inhabited that role pretty well. Of course now, she's looking at it as an outsider, casting an understanding eye on the plight of another (it's "You Do", not "I Do"), and for some reason the empathy here is what grabs me and moves me.

    5/5
     
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  3. captouch

    captouch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    You Do

    A really well done song, all facets as far as I’m concerned. Great vocals, lyrics, melody, well produced.

    It reminds me a bit of Wise Up, but a little lighter and less serious, so this doesn’t make me sad or take me to a dark place. It’s more like “You should know better, so don’t repeat your mistakes. You’ll learn and it’ll be okay.” I like the little touches like the addition of “Even when it’s all too clear”, which adds a beautiful bit just that once.

    After a couple of songs that aren’t high points, this starts bringing the last part of the album back to its highest heights.

    4.9/5
     
  4. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    This is the last song!
     
  5. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Tomorrow, I'll hold up Bachelor No. 2 up for discussion and then move on to the following tracks:
    • Build That Wall {from Magnolia}
    • Save Me {from Magnolia, also the Japanese and European releases of Bachelor No. 2 }
    • Backfire [Version 1] {European release of Bachelor No 2}
    So I'll start holding up songs from Lost in Space on June 11th.
     
  6. groovelocked

    groovelocked Forum Resident

    Location:
    Columbus OH (USA)
    You Do

    Big big fave for all the reasons @Lance LaSalle mentions.
    I would have liked a bit more in her commentary. Easy 5/5
     
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  7. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
  8. Transience

    Transience Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    You Do is another favourite but again i associate it more with Magnolia.

    4.8/5
     
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  9. janine'sdream

    janine'sdream Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    You Do is lovely and closes a patchy album on a high. It's elegant, perfectly judged and with real humanity, and it showcases Aimee's gift for incredible melody. I love the celeste, and the simple, quite 80s-ish, drum programme. I think this is the last time Michael Hausman gets a musician credit on any Aimee track - is that right? One of the things I miss on later albums is random musician credits on single tracks, and I'm often surprised that Michael never feels like adding some percussion when he stops by to hear the progress on whatever album Aimee's working on. I guess his life has moved on, and, of course, he's in NYC and she's in LA so she probably shares work-in-progress online rather than in person!


    I think my main problem with this album as a whole is that it has no overall guiding force. Largely self-produced, it nevertheless draws in tracks with several different producers, each with a different approach, and the tracks feel gathered from a variety of sources, a fact not helped by the variety of versions and the overlap with Magnolia. I first heard the album with the US track listing, and then obtained my own copy which had the UK track listing, plus I obtained the Magnolia soundtrack at about the same time. I'd also heard at least 2 of the songs in concert in the preceding years. The record therefore never had a clear identity in my mind, and never feels like a cohesive album. Nevertheless, I think there are amazing tracks on it and I prefer it to a couple of the albums that come later.

    Anyway, getting off topic... You Do is simple, direct and beautiful, and the kind of character study (of someone stuck repeating mistakes) that Aimee goes on to hone to perfection over the coming years. 4.5
     
  10. BeSteVenn

    BeSteVenn FOMO Resident

    Although You Do is very specific in it's circumstances. The line "anyone can change" is key to the song, and to me the whole album, the advice is relevant to anyone in any kind of one-way relationship or situation to make changes for the better.

    Musically and lyrically it's the perfect album closer for Bachelor No. 2.

    5/5
     
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  11. HuntingBare

    HuntingBare Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    You Do

    5/5, easily

    A great pop song according to the old definition of "makes you feel happy and sad at the same time".
     
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  12. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Beautiful sadjoy - You Do is a 5/5.
     
  13. Patanoia

    Patanoia Third Ear Centre

    Location:
    Grapevine, TX
    Taking part in this thread has taught me a lot from you fine folks. But it has also helped me better understand why I like the songs I like, and vice versa. The #1 thing I look for in Aimee Mann songs, I realize, is melody, or even melodic molecules: just 2 or 3 notes that tug at my emotions. "You Do" is maybe the best example of this. The song is a heart-to-heart from a friend. The verse starts out measured, cool observation, in the first two lines, but the third and fourth lines go up in pitch, raising the emotion. But when the chorus arrives, it's just "you do", sung to two notes, a simple interval, but it slays me. You've possibly had people in your life who, when they argue with "sound and fury", you know it'll blow over soon. But when they argue in a calm and collected way, you know they mean business. That's what this chorus sounds like to me. The "do" is stretched out, like someone holding your gaze, not letting you off the hook. It's repeated two more times, and then the kicker, "you really do". Gets me every time, even if I don't relate to the specific scenario of the song. This has to be the last song of the album because nothing can follow it. 5/5.

    Like @groovelocked , I wish she had said a little more about it in the RSD notes.
     
  14. captouch

    captouch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    You’re right! I was looking at Wikipedia and misread the track list as including Save Me. My bad.
     
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  15. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Our votes for "You Do"

    1-0
    2-0
    3-1
    4-0
    5-9
    Average: 4.72
     
  16. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Today Bachelor No. 2.
     
    Michael likes this.
  17. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    You Do

    A step back to the sound of Whatever. A good song and a timeless sympathetic arrangement.

    5/5
     
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  18. HuntingBare

    HuntingBare Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    What did she say about it in the RSD notes?
     
  19. Patanoia

    Patanoia Third Ear Centre

    Location:
    Grapevine, TX
    "I mean, don't you?" That's it!
     
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  20. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Aimee can be so chatty, at times.:rolleyes:
     
  21. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I don't think we should invite her to the thread.
     
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  22. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Uh...no...
     
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  23. Patanoia

    Patanoia Third Ear Centre

    Location:
    Grapevine, TX
    Bachelor No. 2: Going through the songs one by one, it doesn't seem as big a departure from "I'm With Stupid" as I initially thought. Presentation has a huge effect on how I perceive albums, I think. The simple green cover, like the title page of an old book, sets this up as a more literary work. (I'm not a fan of the RSD cover, but maybe the messiness is truer to the chequered history of the songs and recordings.) There's a whole other discussion of how "Magnolia" affected her career. Undoubtedly, it raised her profile and critical standing, but it messed up her discography! Add "Save Me" and "Wise Up" to the best 8 songs from Bachelor and you have a killer album. For the album as originally released: 4.7/5.
     
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  24. BeSteVenn

    BeSteVenn FOMO Resident

    Bachelor No. 2 (Or The Last Remains Of The Dodo) almost plays like a suite, the album as a whole is best listened to from start to finish. I usually skip a couple of songs because it is an overlong album, I omit Fall of the World's Own Optimist and Susan. There is some sequencing I would change, and songs that seem minor when looked at individually hold up much better in the context of the whole album. I used to listen to a CDr of Bachelor (US and European editions) and Magnolia combined together, but I soon figured out that Magnolia was more or less a rarities/catch-all collection, and that they probably don't belong with Bachelor, as several of those non-Bachelor Magnolia songs date as far back as 1990.

    I wish I had ranked several songs higher, Ghost World in particular is one that I rated too low, it should have also gotten a 5/5.

    The US edition, even with those lesser songs: 4.7/5

    PS Everything you've read about the far-reaching tentacles of google seem to be true. I get coupons in the mail every month from the supermarket where I do my shopping. Last week I got a coupon with the usual dairy products, bread, cereal, pasta, etc., but down at the bottom there was a coupon for Red Vines. I have never bought Red Vines, and I can't remember ever buying any candy at this supermarket. The only explanation I can think of is because of Cigarettes and Red Vines I looked up Red Vines in Duck-Duck-Go over a week ago to see what they even look like. I also have a Google account (for work), so Google must have seen that I visited a page showing Red Vines, and sold that information (along with billions more bits/bytes of information about other consumers' browsing results) to the Kroger Corporation. Yecch.
     
  25. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Bachelor No. 2 (Or The Last Remains Of The Dodo)

    After the major disappointment that was I'm With Stupid, following the excellent Whatever, B#2 was a return-to-form: to stronger songcraft overall, and to more timeless, sympathetic, arrangements.

    I've always thought that the album, despite numerous highs, doesn't feel entirely cohesive.

    On the whole, 4/5.
     
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