No Right to Believe

Your brother’s on his own September 29, 2012

My favorite song on Aimee Mann’s new album, Charmer, is the bonus track entitled “Brother’s Keeper”.

There’s not a man alive who could wake this sleeper
Oh, tie the rope, hide the dope, sure there’s hope, but denial’s cheaper

And when we’ve all collected a
spectacular sum
We’ll get a holy roller in
to rattle the drum

You can justify what happens then
‘Cause how could you have known
Leave the dust to dust and say amen
Put ‘sorry’ on the stone
You’re not your brother’s keeper now, your brother’s on his own
That’s how the seeds of avarice are sown…

You’ll call it fate when you show up too late September 8, 2011

Happy birthday to Aimee Mann! I could (and do) listen to her songs over and over and over. For one thing, I love the intricate rhyming patterns she manages to construct:

Eyes the color of candy
lies to cover the handicap
though your slippers are ruby
you’ll be led to the booby trap

And there’s no prize
just a smaller size
so I’m wearing the shoe till it fits
then I’m calling it quits…

As for her subject matter, on its face it would seem rather bleak and depressing: it’s mostly bad relationships, addiction, self destruction, etc. But for some reason, her songs don’t feel bleak or depressing — at least not to me. Maybe it’s their sardonic, ironic tone. Or maybe it’s because really understanding a bad situation — by articulating its essence precisely — is the first step towards bettering it.

But you sit there in the darkness
and you make plans but they’re hopeless
and you blame God when you’re lonely
and you’ll call it fate when you show up too late
and it’s over

‘Cause nothing can wait forever
they don’t give unlimited chances in life
they’ll hand you the knife
and tell you to cut it or run
so baby let’s run…