just a long shot

Long ago, when I was still teaching at Penrith High, I bought Long Shot, by Aimee Mann, on EP. I liked it a lot, then forgot about Mann for about a decade and a half, though every so often the thought of her formed a partly coherent image in the back of my head.

Then, while at Nadia's uncle's place in North Bondi, I found two Mann LP's amongst his collection. And the rest is a kind of sweet history. In 12 months I have collected all of Mann's work, from Whatever onwards. I have been wondering what attracts me to her songs, though the answer was clear from the start. She writes well. Her lyrics have bite. The tunes are good, with great hooks and clever bridges. That's not to say she's a method writer who churns it out. Quite the opposite. She is a pop artist with gravitas, which is a rarity. She reminds me of a lot of the good writing from the seventies. Her influences were mine too.

Yesterday I ordered the soundtrack to Magnolia off Amazon. It cost 12 cents! (Should any album be just 12 cents?) I wanted it principally for two songs - Save Me and Wise Up, which are not collected elsewhere.

With artists I come to like, something goes 'click' and then I pay attention. I am paying attention to Aimee Mann.