Aimee Mann – Bachelor No. 2 or The Last Remains of the Dodo

Artist: Aimee Mann

Title: Bachelor No. 2 or The Last Remains of the Dodo

Label: Superego

Rating: 8/10

At thirty-nine, Aimee Mann has yet to hit her stride. She’s been around the block a few times but has yet to stop running. Starting out way back with Til’ Tuesday and the hit “Voices Carry” in 1985, then releasing two solo albums, and then onto the soundtrack for the film Magnolia, she just seems to get better with age. Oddly enough, Magnolia was inspired by the music of Aimee Mann. Talk about full circle. The soundtrack was mostly works, old and new, by Mann. Most striking was her cover of Harry Nilsson’s “One” and the beautifully original “Save Me”. Even off with that rocket, Mann finds herself on an indie label selling the songs rejected by the suits at Interscope Records and their too-cool-for-everyone-but-Limp-Bizkit attitude.

Listening to this album, all I can say is shame on the music industry. They release some of the most heinous music, calling it good, and then they shove it down our throats. A true artist like Aimee Mann sticks to her guns to release the album she wants and they reject it for lack of marketability. Well, enough badgering; let’s get on to the album.

Bachelor No. 2 builds its foundation on “How Am I Different”. Good question. Let’s see. Her music is intelligent, emotional, and inspiring. I guess being different doesn’t pay anymore. Mann spreads wit like butter throughout “The Fall Of The World’s Own Optimist”. You’ve got to listen to the words, the music, and the voice. It’s all individual pieces to one amazing whole.

I found a catchy hook! “Red Vines” is itching to be heard. How some executive didn’t hear this song and find themselves singing along is beyond me. “Deathly” strikes chords of love with passion, not necessarily compassion. “Ghost World” is life after school, as the world is nothing but up in the air for everyone else to figure out.

With a flavor that can only be called distinctly Aimee Mann’s, “Driving Sideways” is dreamy. The ’70’s had Carly Simon. I guess I can be proud that Aimee Mann has given us the same fortitude and conviction once thought left behind way back when.

+ charlie craine