Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Muso of the Week: Sounds so jolly, but that's just plain deception ...

Source -- hey! She's playin' my guitar!
If you missed last week's post about ~Muso of the Week~ and would like to catch up, click HERE. If you're lazy to read a whole other post, the basic idea is that once a week I'm going to talk about musicians who I admire or who have inspired my own music over the years. Last week I posted about PJ Harvey. This week I'd like to introduce to you, Aimee Mann.

I first discovered Aimee Mann when I saw the film Magnolia. The entire script of that film was based on Aimee Mann's songs. And a pretty amazing film, and soundtrack, it was too. If you haven't seen this film, I suggest you do so asap. Brilliant brilliant brilliant.

I guess you could say Aimee Mann's music is a cross between pop and folk. Funnily enough, neither pop, nor folk are styles of music I often get crazy about, unless it's Joni Mitchell (I'll talk about her one day too.), but when I listen to Aimee Mann, her music pulls me in with magnetic force. I can't explain it. Some of it sounds so 'jolly'. But when you listen closely, and pay special attention to the lyrics, oh my god they are just so heartbreaking. I'm a sucker for heartbreaking music. I've come to the conclusion that I actually enjoy crying. Okay, enough about my idiosyncracies ...

Aimee Mann. Brilliant musician. She makes me want to be a better songwriter. She makes me want to pull people's heartstrings. If you want to listen to one of her less jolly songs, actually, my most favorite of hers, called Wise Up, straight out of the movie Magnolia, click HERE.

So do you enjoy listening to music that makes you emotional? Why?

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13 comments:

  1. RHYTHM AND RHYME23 August 2011 at 11:13

    Music was my fist love and I love all sorts from pop, rock to classical, some songs are emotional to me especially those my husband and I shared together throughout the 35 years we were wed,

    Yvonne.

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  2. Leigh Caron23 August 2011 at 13:18

    I love songs that make me feel like dancing...reggae, Brazilian. Or ones that transcend me like ones with the Native American Flute. I don't like depression so any song that would make me feel sad...I won't listen to.

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  3. Suzie F.23 August 2011 at 14:06

    Aimee Mann is incredible. She has a rich, haunting voice that I loved as a teen/young adult in the 80s. Thanks for featuring her.

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  4. Amy Saia23 August 2011 at 14:48

    She's a great songwriter. Too cool for her own good. And she's really, really tall.

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  5. Jim Murdoch23 August 2011 at 15:16

    The answer is in the question – because it makes us emotional. I play music constantly. This morning I’ve been working my way through some of my Tangerine Dream CDs because the music is upbeat and I’m using it to get me going. Carrie left for the States in the early hours of the morning and I won’t see her for three weeks. It would be very easy for me to use that as an excuse to go into a slump and on previous trips I have allowed myself to get a bit maudlin. The bottom line though is that I’m in control of my emotions not the other way round. If my feet are cold I put on a pair of socks or, if they’re really chilled, stick them in a basin of hot water. My body doesn’t want to be cold – be a stupid body if it did – and it doesn’t want to be depressed. The only intelligence involved here is mine. The previous two days I was quite stressed – we had a lot to do before she went – and so I played nothing much apart from Brian Eno and Harold Budd.

    I don’t listen to much vocal music these days – can’t work over it – it’s primarily classical and soundtracks and I have very broad tastes. I know that some writers will choose music appropriate to the material they’re working on. Look at P.F. Thomése, for example, who actually listed the music he wrote while writing Shadow Child.

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  6. Talli Roland23 August 2011 at 16:20

    Give me Chopin and I'm in tears.

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  7. Unknown23 August 2011 at 16:39

    I do love listening to music that makes me emotional but I have to be careful because it can sometimes put me into a funk I can't get out of.

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  8. Alex J. Cavanaugh23 August 2011 at 19:49

    Reving up to pounding, aggressive chords count as emotional?

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  9. Carolyn V23 August 2011 at 20:08

    She sounds amazing. I have a hard time listening to emotional music when I'm around people. I'm okay if I'm alone. ;)

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  10. Dawn Ius23 August 2011 at 21:18

    In the melodramatic throes of my youth, I would hide out in my poster-covered bedroom and crank my ghetto blaster with sad songs whenever I had a teenage issue...like, I don't know, my favourite pants getting a hole in them.

    These days, I listen to the radio to and from work, alternating between the classic rock and the new pop stations, and then create soundtracks for each WIP. These include songs from ANY genre.

    Thanks for the link to Wise Up. I'm a new fan.

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  11. Mary@GigglesandGuns24 August 2011 at 02:12

    It depends on the emotion. I have to be careful not to let it drag me down.


    M Beth Vaughn

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  12. Steve MC24 August 2011 at 05:38

    Yeah, a great, strong voice with a vulnerable edge and lyrics like poetry. One of my favorite lines of hers:

    And when they light up the sky,
    I can't help but think,
    What a waste of gunpowder and sky.

    And don't forget Til Tuesday.

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  13. Laura M. Campbell28 August 2011 at 05:57

    My love affair with Aimee Mann began before Magnolia, but the actual first encounter is a bit fuzzy. It was during my college years. Her voice casts a hypnotic spell over me. I find myself laying on the bed with the comforter soaked in tears after listening to a song. The sadness in her lyrics hit the right internal tone, changing my life forever. Perhaps, love affair is a bit understated.

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