30 Songs, 30 Days (2009 Edition), Day Eight: I Cannot Get My Head Around It, Baby by Aimee Mann

And for the second time, here's Aimee Mann.

This is a song from Mann's ambitious concept album The Forgotten Arm, which tells a love story between a girl and a boxer who is addicted to heroin. I rather like the album as a whole--although the nature of the concept album makes pulling isolated songs out from it problematic, to say the least. It's one of the reasons why all those 'rock operas' that were popular in the 70's never quite caught on...much to Styx's chagrin.

It's another example of a song whose sweet, poppy exterior hides a darker meaning--namely that this is a song about her POV character having great trouble coming to grips with her boxer boyfriend's addiction. And make no mistake--I've always thought Aimee Mann is a master (mistress?) of the tension between message and messenger. The melody here is so uplifting and swinging and loving, and yet Aimee is giving voice to a woman who is telling her lover that she Just. Can't. Cope.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything for anyone who might be curious about The Forgotten Arm that the songs that follow this one get darker before the album ends with a very faint ray of light in the last two songs. I do recommend it, althought I'd strongly advise you listen to it at least that first time straight through to get the full impact of what Mann is trying.

Since this song wasn't a single, there's no video...but here's a rather striking scene from Magnolia, which finds the characters of the film channeling her at a particularly dark moment.

30 Songs, 30 Days (2009 Edition), Day Four: I Should've Known by Aimee Mann

...dot...dot...dot...

Ahhhh, Aimee Mann...who most people remember for the creepy cat's eyes and the wacky hairstyle in "Voices Carry." Of course, while the majority of people ascribe her to one hit wonder status, we know better, don't we? We know how she's built up a big fanbase for her solo work that has netted her, among other things, a Penn brother for a husband, a movie based on her music (Magnolia, in case anyone is wondering) and a guest musician spot on Buffy The Vampire Slayer where she bemoaned the hazards of playing vampire towns.

Here's the video....

I love this song because of its wistfulness in the face of a relationship that just crumbles into nothingness. I also like the fact that it has a build--going from the quiet intro with its shimmery high hats, moody guitars and synth lick to become this big, grand celebration of 20/20 vision.

It's the kind of song that shows me how I'd like to approach every disastrous break-up, with a smile and a strength borne of newfound knowledge that will make me more confident the next time I meet someone--a someone who might very well be The One.

Granted, that's not how it ever happens, but a man can dream, can't he?