AIMEE MANN quote:
“I’ve been such a fan of Tom Scharpling and his videos and I’ve come to really trust his opinion and ideas about many, many things. When Tom and I were first talking about doing a video together, I quickly realized that I wanted to do two and not just one, and that maybe it would be slightly more cost effective to do two at once, and that although I felt the something funny would make sense for “Charmer,” the one for “Labrador” seemed to call out for something a little more contemplative, did he not agree? And then I got an email from him, full of trepidation, where he said he respected my desire for something a little more serious, but that he had this idea, and please forgive him for suggesting it, and that he hoped I wouldn’t take it the wrong way. Now, is the “Voice Carry” video something that, having been incredibly earnest about in the 80’s when I first made it, I now find to be wildly embarrassing? Oh, yes, indeed. It is a measure of my trust in him that I immediately agreed to do it. And honestly, the ridiculousness of the idea was compelling. I must admit too, that a large portion of my agreeing to do it was the idea of seeing Jon Wurster in an undershirt. I begged Jon Hamm to be part of it, god bless him, and I love that Ted Leo is in it, too. I’m extremely happy with the results. It blew my mind how obsessed Tom was with getting each shot to be as close to the original as possible, and Jon Wurster’s constant giggling at his part in it made it super fun. ”
TOM SCHARPLING quote:
“As someone who grew up watching MTV in the 80s, I must’ve seen Til Tuesday’s video for “Voices Carry” hundreds of times. The storyline and drama and message were pretty much tattooed on my brain. It’s funny that twenty-something years later I was directing a couple videos for Aimee’s new album, because even though she is a great friend and an artist whose body of work I admire so deeply, the first time I learned about her was through that video. So the idea of doing a shot-for-shot remake made sense to me, because it was a way to establish a thread from the first video I saw of hers to the video I was now in the position of directing. And it’s great to see her taking on something that has been so iconic in her body of work; lots of people remember all of the trademarks from the original – the hair, the creepy boyfriend, her standing up in the theater during the video’s finale. I will say I was incredibly nervous pitching the idea to her because it was such an all-or-nothing concept; if she’s not into it, we’re not doing it at all. But I saw it as a chance for her to do something that would give people a chance to see how amazingly funny she is. And thankfully she said yes!”
CRITICS HAIL AIMEE MANN’S CHARMER OUT TODAY ON SUPEREGO RECORDS
NEW VIDEO FOR “LABRADOR” FEATURES JON HAMM, TED LEO AND JON WURSTER
ON TOUR THIS FALL
“One of the top 10 living songwriters along with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.”—NPR
“One of the finest songwriters of her generation.” —The New York Times
The long awaited new album from Aimee Mann, Charmer, is available now on Superego Records. Influenced by what Mann calls the “super pop” of the 70s and 80s, the album is her first release since 2008’s celebrated @#%&*! Smilers, which the BBC called “undeniably beautiful.” Of Charmer, her eighth studio album, Mann comments, “I’m fascinated by charming people and the whole idea of charm. It’s hard to remember sometimes that there is usually an agenda behind the act of being charming, and that is what I’m most interested in. Is someone’s charm being utilized just to try and entertain people, make them feel special and interesting, or is there a more sinister purpose behind it? Sometimes I think ‘charm’ can just be another word for ‘manipulation.’” The album also includes a duet with James Mercer of The Shins on “Living a Lie.” Mann will support the new album with tour dates this fall. See reverse for tracklist.
The new video for the track “Labrador,” written and directed by Tom Scharpling, features appearances by Jon Hamm, Ted Leo and Jon Wurster. Of the video Mann notes, “I must admit, that a large portion of my agreeing to do it was the idea of seeing Jon Wurster in an undershirt. I begged Jon Hamm to be part of it, god bless him, and I love that Ted Leo is in it, too.” Scharpling adds, “the idea of doing a shot-for-shot remake made sense to me, because it was a way to establish a thread from the first video I saw of hers to the video I was now in the position of directing. And it’s great to see her taking on something that has been so iconic in her body of work; lots of people remember all of the trademarks from the original—the hair, the creepy boyfriend, her standing up in the theater during the video’s finale. I saw it as a chance for her to do something that would give people a chance to see how amazingly funny she is. And thankfully she said yes!” View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA1cX-wgMdM.
Charmer was produced by longtime friend and band member Paul Bryan and recorded with Ryan Freeland (Ray LaMontagne, Bonnie Raitt) at Stampede Origin in Los Angeles. Bryan joins Mann on the album, among many other friends and collaborators including J.J. Johnson, Jebin Bruni and Jamie Edwards. Mann wrote all of songs on the album, though two, “Living a Lie” and “Soon Enough,” are collaborations with Paul Bryan and Tim Heidecker, respectively.
Mann began her solo career in 1993 with the album Whatever and made a name for herself through her independent success and the founding of her record label, SuperEgo. In addition to her solo work, she has appeared on many film soundtracks and composed the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s much-lauded Magnolia. Since @#%&*! Smilers, Mann has performed for the President Obama and the First Lady at the White House, appeared as herself on the hit indie TV series Portlandia and fast become an internet darling. Named one of The Huffington Post’s “13 Funny Musicians You Should Be Following On Twitter,” Mann has gained a diehard social media following for her quick wit and stinging observation, much of which is reflected on the new album.
Charmer Tracklist
1. Charmer
2. Disappeared
3. Labrador
4. Crazytown
5. Soon Enough
6. Living a Lie
7. Slip and Roll
8. Gumby
9. Gamma Ray
10. Barfly
11. Red Flag Diver
AIMEE MANN TOUR DATES
September 27 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
September 28 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
September 29 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
September 30 Napa, CA Uptown Theatre
October 2 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
October 3 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
October 4 Boise, ID Egyptian Theatre
October 6 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room
October 9 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
October 10 Fort Collins, CO Lincoln Center
October 11 Santa Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts Center
October 12 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
October 13 Los Angeles, CA Wilshire Ebell Theatre
October 24 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
October 25 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
October 26 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
October 27 New York, NY Town Hall
October 29 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
October 30 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
November 1 Tarrytown, NY Tarrytown Music Hall
November 2 York, PA Pulio Performing Arts Center
November 3 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
November 4 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
November 6 Toronto, CA Danforth Music Hall
November 8 Columbus, OH Capitol Theatre
November 9 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre
November 10 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
November 11 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
November 13 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
November 14 Chicago, IL Park West
November 15 Chicago, IL Park West
November 16 Stoughton, WI Stoughton Opera House
November 17 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue