Music Lovers - Fans of Aimee Mann.....Aimee Mann live rebroadcast on NPR 12/17/07

Posted: Dec 15, 07 1:32pm

NPR.org, December 14, 2007 - Aimee Mann's wry, poetic tales of twisted relationships have earned her a spot among the most gifted and inspired songwriters making music today. In the past 25 years, Mann has released an acclaimed body of work, first in the '80s new-wave band 'Til Tuesday and later as a solo artist. Mann brings her distinctive voice to the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., for an evening of music, webcast live on NPR.org Dec. 17. The full concert, billed as a Christmas show, will begin at approximately 8 p.m. ET and feature guest appearances by singer Nellie McKay and others.

Mann got her start in 1983, when she formed the band 'Til Tuesday with drummer Michael Hausman. The group hit the Top 10 with "Voices Carry" before breaking up in 1988, but contract problems prevented Mann from embarking on a solo career until 1993, when she released Whatever.

Mann's solo career hit a critical peak in 2000, when she recorded most of the music for Paul Thomas Anderson's film Magnolia. The soundtrack included the Oscar-nominated song "Save Me."

In May the same year, Mann released Bachelor No. 2. The album included songs she wrote while working on Magnolia, with help from Elvis Costello and former 'Til Tuesday guitarist/composer Jon Brion. Bachelor No. 2 was a literate, melodic collection that explored the inner workings of tortured relationships.

In an interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, Mann explained her attraction to broken lives. "I don't really write about good relationships or positive relationships or happy relationships that are working well, because I don't spend a lot of time thinking about why they work well," Mann said. "I think I already know what makes a good relationship and what makes a relationship work well, and it's not something I pondered. When I write a song, it's because I'm pondering something — there's some sort of question or something that really absorbs me, or maybe it's a problem or a difficulty that I'm trying to figure out. But a good relationship, or a happy circumstance, you don't figure it out. There's sort of nothing to figure out. You just have it. You just have it and enjoy it."

Aimee Mann will be joined by several guest artists for her Christmas show. They include singers Nellie McKay and Ben Lee, along with comedians Morgan Murphy and Paul F. Thompkins.

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Aimee Mann