Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 2, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 49:21 | |||
Label | SuperEgo, V2 | |||
Producer |
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Aimee Mann chronology | ||||
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Singles from Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo | ||||
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Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released on May 2, 2000. Some songs were previously released on the Magnolia soundtrack (1999), which Mann wrote in the same period. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" was co-written with the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello.
Mann's previous albums had not been successful, and her record label, Geffen Records, refused to release Bachelor No. 2, feeling it contained no hit singles. In response, Mann set up her own label, SuperEgo, and released it herself. Bachelor No. 2 sold 270,000 copies, a large number for an independent artist.
According to Metacritic, Bachelor No. 2 is the 28th best-reviewed album and the ninth best-reviewed alternative album of the decade, and Slant Magazine named it the decade's 100th-best album. The success established Mann as a career artist who could work outside of the major label system.
Aimee Mann recorded her first two solo albums, Whatever (1993) and I'm With Stupid (1995), under contract to Imago Records. When Imago encountered financial problems, they sold the albums to Geffen Records. [1] According to Pitchfork , Mann's first two albums showed that she was "a witty, self-possessed songwriter", but they did not meet sales expectations, with sales "in the low six figures". [2] Mann began to be seen as someone whose career was in decline. [3] She received wider recognition after she contributed songs to the soundtrack for the 1999 film Magnolia , including some songs later included on Bachelor No. 2. [3]
For Bachelor No. 2, Mann collaborated again with the producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion. [4] She took more control over the production of Bachelor No. 2 than she had for her previous albums, [4] and said in 2020: "This was the only record that I really took responsibility for all the music: all the parts that were played, the way everything sounded." [5] The dodo of the album title reflected Mann's sense that singer-songwriters were a "dying breed" in 2000. [4]
Mann wrote Bachelor No. 2 and the Magnolia soundtrack in the same period. [4] Her frustration with Geffen inspired many of the songs. She described playing them to Geffen staff, who would complain that they did not sound like commercial singles. The criticism made her feel that she was failing, and she developed writer's block. [4] One executive suggested Mann work with Diane Warren, who had written hit singles for major acts. [6] Mann wrote "Nothing is Good Enough" in response, but felt the song could also apply to many kinds of relationship. [4]
"The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" was co-written with the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. [7] According to Mann, "I sent him a tape of a song that I couldn't finish and he added a new bit. Basically I had a problem with a song and he fixed it — it was as simple as that." [6] Mann and Costello had previously collaborated on "The Other End Of the Telescope", released on the 1988 album Everything's Different Now by Mann's previous band, 'Til Tuesday. [6]
Geffen refused to release Bachelor No. 2, feeling it had no commercial potential. [8] In response, Mann sold homemade EPs of her music on tour, a move she described as a "DIY fuck-you-record-company-I'm-selling-it-myself" gesture. [9] Geffen allowed Mann to leave her record contact. She said later: "I could not have gotten out of there fast enough." [10]
In 1998, the Sony Music employee Gail Marowitz predicted that Mann would make more money selling 70,000 albums independently than by selling 300,000 on a major label. [1] In 1999, Mann and her manager, Michael Hausman, formed their own label, SuperEgo Records. [11] With Mann's husband, the songwriter Michael Penn, they also established United Musicians, a collective working outside the major label system. [12] [13] Using the money earned through royalties from Magnolia, Mann bought the Bachelor No. 2 masters from Geffen. [12]
Mann sold 25,000 copies of Bachelor No. 2 via mail order from her website, a large amount for an independent artist. [14] After she secured a distribution deal, [14] Bachelor No. 2 sold more than 270,000 copies, [4] outperforming I'm With Stupid. [8] Pitchfork described this as a "decisive victory". [8] The success established Mann as a career artist who could work outside of the major label system. [15] As of May 2008, Bachelor No. 2 had sold more than 230,000 copies in the US. [16]
In 2020, Mann released an expanded 20th-anniversary reissue of Bachelor No. 2 for Record Store Day. It features an alternative track list and five bonus tracks, including songs included on the Magnolia soundtrack. Mann said she remained pleased with the album and did not regret leaving Geffen. [5]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 89/100 [17] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
The Baltimore Sun | [19] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [20] |
Los Angeles Times | [21] |
Pitchfork | 9.0/10 [22] |
Q | [23] |
Rolling Stone | [24] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [25] |
The Times | [26] |
USA Today | [27] |
On the review aggregator website Metacritic, Bachelor No. 2 has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [17] According to Metacritic, it is the 28th best-reviewed album and the ninth best-reviewed indie/alternative album of the decade. [28] Slant Magazine named it the 100th-best album of the decade. [29]
Writing for the New Yorker in 2000, Nick Hornby wrote that Bachelor No. 2 was Mann's strongest work to date, praising her "bleak and bracing cynicism about our ability to connect with fellow humans" and her "sinuous, Burt Bacharach-like melodies". [30]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "How Am I Different [31] " |
| Aimee Mann | 5:03 |
2. | "Nothing Is Good Enough [31] [32] " | Mann |
| 3:10 |
3. | "Red Vines [31] " | Mann | Mann | 3:44 |
4. | "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist [31] " |
| Jon Brion | 3:06 |
5. | "Satellite [31] " | Mann | Mann | 4:10 |
6. | "Deathly [33] " | Mann | Brion | 5:37 |
7. | "Ghost World" | Mann | Mike Dineen | 3:30 |
8. | "Calling It Quits [31] " | Mann | Judge | 4:09 |
9. | "Driving Sideways [33] " |
| Brendan O'Brien | 3:49 |
10. | "Just Like Anyone [31] " | Mann | Mann | 1:22 |
11. | "Susan" | Mann | Mann | 3:51 |
12. | "It Takes All Kinds" | Mann | Mann | 4:06 |
13. | "You Do [33] " |
| Mann | 3:43 |
Total length: | 49:21 |
'Til Tuesday was an American new wave band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The band, consisting of Aimee Mann, Robert Holmes (guitar), Joey Pesce (keyboards), and Michael Hausman (drums), was active from 1982 to 1989. They are best known for their 1985 hit single "Voices Carry".
Lost in Space is the fourth album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2002 on her own label, SuperEgo Records. A special edition released in 2003 featured a second disc containing six live recordings, two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs.
Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, and her work with the producer Jon Brion in the 1990s was influential on American alternative rock.
Michael Daniel Penn is an American musician, singer and composer. His 1989 single "No Myth" was a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries.
Whatever is the first solo album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 1993.
I'm with Stupid is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 1995.
Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer.
"Free Man in Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark, as well as her 1980 live album Shadows and Light. It is ranked No. 470 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Magnolia: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the 1999 film Magnolia. It comprises several songs by Aimee Mann, plus tracks by Gabrielle, Supertramp and Jon Brion. The album received positive reviews and was certified gold in 2001. Mann's song "Save Me" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The Forgotten Arm is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, with illustrations by artist Owen Smith. It was released by SuperEgo Records on May 3, 2005. It is a concept album, telling the story of two characters who run off with each other to escape their problems, but end up in more trouble than either of them could have imagined. The album reflects Mann's own boxing in its story and illustrations. The title is derived from a move in which one arm is used to hit the opponent, causing him to "forget" about the other arm, which is then used to deliver a harsher blow.
Coming Up Close: A Retrospective is a compilation culled from the works of 'Til Tuesday. It was released on September 24, 1996.
"Save Me" is a song by the American songwriter Aimee Mann, written for the 1999 film Magnolia. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It was released on the Magnolia soundtrack.
@#%&*! Smilers is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann. It was released by SuperEgo Records in the UK on June 2, 2008, and in the US on June 3. Upon the week of its release the album was featured as the Virgin Megastore "Pick of the Week".
Aimee Mann is an American singer-songwriter who has released several albums since the early 1980s. Originally, she worked in collaboration with The Young Snakes and 'Til Tuesday, before becoming a solo artist. In 2013, she and Ted Leo began performing as a duo called The Both.
Listening Booth: 1970 is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, released in 2010.
Charmer is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released by SuperEgo Records in the UK on September 17, 2012, and in the US on September 18.
Mental Illness is the ninth studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann. It was released on March 31, 2017, by SuperEgo Records. Mann described it as her "saddest, slowest and most acoustic" album. The album won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
"Choice in the Matter" is a song by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, which was released in 1996 as the second single from her second studio album I'm with Stupid. The song was written by Mann and Jon Brion, and produced by Brion.
"That's Just What You Are" is a song by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, which was released in 1994 as a single from the soundtrack of Melrose Place. It was also included on Mann's second studio album I'm with Stupid (1995). The song was written by Mann and Jon Brion, and produced by Mike Denneen.
"The Other End (Of the Telescope)" is a song by American band 'Til Tuesday, which was released in 1988 on their third and final studio album Everything's Different Now. The song was written by Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello. Costello recorded his own version of the song for his 1996 album All This Useless Beauty.