Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers
List Price:
Our Price: $10.10
You Save: $6.88 (41%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.49 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Aimee MannEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-06-03
Music Label: Superego Records
Soundtracks:
- Freeway
- Stranger Into Starman
- Looking For Nothing
- Phoenix
- Borrowing Time
- It's Over
- 31 Today
- The Great Beyond
- Medicine Wheel
- Columbus Avenue
- Little Tornado
- True Believer
- Ballantines
Free Music Notes for @#%&*! Smilers
Free Music Review: Better By Now
Hit: 5 Stars
4.75 Stars
"I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn"
The above sums up the predicament of the narrator in "Thirty One Today," the seventh song on (and possibly the emotional core of) Aimee Mann's latest record @#%&*! Smilers. This track was pre-released across the internet and suitably came out right as I turned 31. I had to wonder why Aimee Mann picked 31 rather than 30 as the age about which to write, as 30 tends to be the bigger milestone with 31 often seeming to come as just an afterthought. However, something an older friend of mine told me around the time of my birthday struck me when thinking about this lyrical choice. 31, he said, is 30 all over again...it's just that you're used to it this time around. 31 is when it really sinks in - you are an adult, there's no going back. Assuming she had also heard similar wisdom or reached the same conclusion on her own prior to or during the songwriting process, Aimee Mann's decision to write a song about a thirty-first birthday is thus very insightful, displaying a real attention to detail which has made her music resonate with (this) listener over the years. It is that subtlety which makes this album such a worthwhile experience.
The idea of a "return to form" is a tricky concept, especially for an artist with a long and storied career. It seems to be pretty much agreed that Aimee Mann defined her sound and songwriting style on Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture as well as Bachelor No. 2 and Lost in Space (my personal favorite). However her recent forays into concept art The Forgotten Arm and Christmas music (!?!?!) One More Drifter in the Snow left some fans wondering what had happened. In Mann's defense, branching out is certainly admirable. Turning in album after album of tried-and-true material can get old for both musician and fans alike. This album brings Mann back to the straightforward songwriting for which she is known, and the time away from it has obviously done her well.
Sure this album is not all that much different than some of her earlier work, but there has been a slight change in focus that makes an impact. The emphasis here has shifted from guitars to keys ("Freeway") and sometimes larger arrangements ("Columbus Ave.") with strings and pianos ("Stranger Into Starman") to give the album a widescreen, almost cinematic feel while preserving the Beatlesesque pop approach. In a sense, this is a close cousin to her work on the Magnolia soundtrack. The increased attention to sonic detail meshes well with the subdued character studies and tales she tells here. Like a filmmaker, Mann paints some compelling sketches, from the out-of-control addict on "Freeway" to the disappointed 31-year-old on the aforementioned "Thirty One Today" and the spouse who has made a very bad choice in "Medicine Wheel" (the album's title is ironic, given the weighty nature of these stories). Whereas some of Mann's earlier work seemed semi-autobiographical, this one could be classified as being fictionally biographical. In other words it's a bit of a different approach that looks outwards into the world for inspiration (although I am sure that Mann has always written in character for at least some of her material) and it serves her well at this point in her career.
In summary, Smilers is a compelling listen that feels at once familiar and new. It displays Mann's continuing versatility and endless creativity.
@#%&*! Smilers Poster
Limited edition book packaging of her 2008 album, Aimee's seventh solo release to date. The album is a return to form after the artistic detours of 2005's concept album The Forgotten Arm and 2006's Christmas CD One More Drifter in the Snow. Featuring thirteen new original songs, producer Paul Bryan describes the record as "deceptively powerful...very rich and grand-sounding." The songs range from the stripped-down-to-basics of "Columbus Avenue," to the almost Cars-esque synth-pop of "Freeway," alongside the classic Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell-era "Phoenix," and the hushed creepiness of "Little Tornado." The final song "Ballantines" is a duet with Sean Hayes complete with barroom piano and trombone section. All songs were penned by Mann with the exception of "True Believer" which was co-written with fellow singer-songwriter Grant Lee Phillips.Despite that unwieldy, rather craven title, @#%&! Smilers has already been acclaimed by some critics as the best record in Aimee Mann?s long career. Few fans will be disappointed. The opening "Freeway" may be built around a fairly slight play on words ("you got a lot of money but you can?t afford the freeway" goes the chorus) but the nagging melody and expansive synth-laden arrangement, reminiscent of her East Coast counterparts and fellow suburban critics Fountains of Wayne, is nigh on irresistible. "Stranger Into Starman" is a mere snippet, and all the better for its brevity, while "Looking For Nothing" is a perfect example of the southern Californian blankness Mann has captured for years now. The lush, orchestrated country-rock of "Phoenix" rhymes the title with "Kleenex" and truly captures the mood of someone leaving for good. Sean Hayes sounds uncannily like a boozy Antony Hegarty on the deceptively jolly closer "Ballantines," named for a whisky, while author Dave Eggers picks up a credit for his rather good "whistling" on the gloomy, undeniably pretty "Little Tornado." The painfully detailed "Thirty One Today," a distant memory for Mann, is another successful attempt to voice dissatisfaction. Only the chirpy horns on the admonishing "Borrowing Time" actually lighten the mood. Smilers is an excellent record, cleverly thought out throughout. But the smiles here are rueful at best -- Steve Jelbert
Alternative Rock Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Alternative Rock Music CDs
Bouncing Souls - Maniacal LaughterRelease date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
Blondie - Parallel LinesRelease date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $397.77
Doors - L.A. WomanRelease date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $199.99
Amon Duul - Phallus DeiRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Tangerine Dream - MelroseRelease date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98
Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine DreamRelease date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
![Ska Explosion [VHS] Image](/images/Ska-Explosion-VHS-6303381014-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ska Explosion [VHS]Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
![Little Earthquakes [VHS] Image](/images/Little-Earthquakes-VHS-6302488664-X.jpg){kind=small}
Little Earthquakes [VHS]Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
Exileby Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95
![Louder Than Live [VHS] Image](/images/Louder-Than-Live-VHS-6301627865-X.jpg){kind=small}
Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Aimee Mann - Ultimate CollectionRelease date: 2000-09-12; Music CD
Best price: $13.33
Price in other shops:
Til Tuesday - Voices CarryRelease date: 2008-02-01; Music CD
Best price: $2.60
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Live at St. Ann's Warehouse (Bonus CD)RED Distribution; Release date: 2004-11-02; DVD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - WhateverRelease date: 1995-12-19; Music CD
Best price: $5.32
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - One More Drifter in the SnowBaker & Taylor; Release date: 2006-10-24; Music CD
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - I'm With StupidRelease date: 1996-01-30; Music CD
Best price: $4.56
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - The Forgotten ArmBaker & Taylor; Release date: 2005-05-03; Music CD
Best price: $5.04
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the DodoRelease date: 2000-03-28; Published: 2001; Music CD
Best price: $8.79
Price in other shops:
Aimee Mann - Lost in SpaceRelease date: 2002-08-27; Music CD
Best price: $6.88
Price in other shops:
Magnolia: Music from the Motion PictureRelease date: 1999-12-07; Music CD
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops: