|
|
 |
06-02-2008, 04:58 PM
|
#1 of 25 
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
06-02-2008, 05:48 PM
|
#2 of 25
|
|
HTF MGM Reviewer
Join Date: May 2002
Local Time: 02:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 6,208
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
Yep, I'm there with you. I'll even wear my favorite Mann tee-shirt in honor (illustrated portrait by Seth).
The Forgotten Arm was sort of a slow burn for me. Now it's my first choice when I want to listen to her. I'm sure I'll be wearing out the new one too.
Next month, the shows!
Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation. - Edward R. Murrow
|
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 03:50 PM
|
#3 of 25
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
Just got back from Best Buy ($9.99) and popped it in...I'm already hooked on "Freeway!"
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 04:06 PM
|
#4 of 25
|
|
HTF MGM Reviewer
Join Date: May 2002
Local Time: 02:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 6,208
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
I went for the Deluxe Edition.
Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation. - Edward R. Murrow
|
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 04:09 PM
|
#5 of 25
|
|
Michael Reuben
Administrator
Location: New York City, Lehman Bros. was here
Join Date: Feb 1998
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 19,769
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
I have it on order; also deluxe.
M.
"Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything." -- Chinatown
"What kind of movies would there be if everyone in them had to do what we thought they should do?" -- Roger Ebert
HTF Beginner's Primer and FAQ
|
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 04:32 PM
|
#6 of 25
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
I probably should have gone deluxe...not sure why I didn't.
I'm really liking it so far. While I don't yet own "The Forgotten Arm" it sounds akin to "Lost In Space" to me. It moves pretty quickly too...out of the 13 tracks, only 3 tracks are longer than 4 minutes.
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 07:40 PM
|
#7 of 25
|
|
Member
Join Date: Jun 1999
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 3,356
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
I have the Special Edition on order at Amazon, the damn thing still hasn't shipped. 
Been listening to the pre-release for a couple weeks and it's a very solid effort. I really don't think Aimee Mann can make a bad CD. |
|
|
|
|
06-03-2008, 10:13 PM
|
#8 of 25
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
It got a 4/5 stars at allmusic.com but the review has not yet been posted, only the rating.
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
06-03-2008, 11:21 PM
|
#9 of 25
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
Review just posted at Allmusic.com - allmusic ((( @#%&*! Smilers > Overview )))
Arguably, Aimee Mann hasn't released a simple collection of songs since her 1999 breakthrough with the Magnolia soundtrack and its cousin, Bachelor No. 2. Her releases since then have been prominent and respected, yet they played as explorations, with 2003's Lost in Space floating in the ether and 2006's The Forgotten Arm qualifying as an outright concept album. With @#%&*! Smilers, she returns to simply writing and recording songs, a back to basics that isn't quite so basic, as it finds Mann livelier and snarkier than she's been in a while. That censored profanity in the record's complete title -- it's easy to see but not say or write -- is a tip-off that Smilers has a defiant cynicism rippling throughout the record, something that's welcome after the careful craftsmanship of The Forgotten Arm and the spacy sleepiness of Lost in Space. Although this could hardly qualify as a bold departure -- there is nothing surprising about the arrangements, which still bear the ghost of Jon Brion although he is long gone -- Smilers pops with color, something that gives it an immediacy that's rare for an artist known for songs that subtly worm their way into the subconscious. That still happens here, of course -- one of Mann's greatest strengths is that her songs unfold slowly, seeming indelible after a few listens -- but Smilers grabs a listener, never making him or her work at learning the record, as there are both big pop hooks and a rich sonic sheen. At its heart it's just a collection of songs, but it's that rare thing for a songwriter: it works as a piece of writing and a sterling pop album of its own.
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
06-05-2008, 11:13 AM
|
#10 of 25
|
|
Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 6,324
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
Very cool Ron. I just ordered the Lost in Space mofi SACD last night. Now I have another to get...too bad it is not hirez. Maybe mofi will do it at some point.
no fears alone at night she's sailing through the crowd
in her ears the phones are tight and the music's playing loud
~skateaway
|
|
|
|
|
06-05-2008, 12:08 PM
|
#11 of 25
|
|
Member
Location: The Great Indoors
Join Date: Jul 2001
Local Time: 05:49 PM
Local Date: 11-18-2008
Posts: 2,104
|
Re: New Aimee Mann "@#%&! Smilers" - 6/3
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Lee Scoggins
Very cool Ron. I just ordered the Lost in Space mofi SACD last night. Now I have another to get...too bad it is not hirez. Maybe mofi will do it at some point.
|
LiS is one of my favorite MoFis, Lee...good choice! It sounds superb.
I agree, I hope to see "Smilers" out on SACD someday as well. MoFi always seems to do well by AM's albums.
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
|
|
|
|
|
