Aimee Mann

I'm With Stupid

Girl Power--for real

Review Score:

(10/10)
Not everybody loves a melodic, melancholy whinger, but maybe they should. Aimee Mann, our only female Strewelpeter--has had her share of record-company (as opposed to musical) ups and downs, and this album took far too long to appear. Though perhaps not as instantly lovable as her first solo album, "Whatever"--whose first five songs are sublime--"I'm With Stupid" is a musical morality play of sorts. The moral: Don't be taken in by sugarcoating of any sort, especially from a record-company flack. "You Could Make a Killing" (featuring the killer couplet, "I wish I was young and stupid / Then I too could have the fun that you did.") is a cautionary tune for all time. Of course, sometimes you can't tell whether Mann is lamenting business or love affairs--and perhaps there's a reason for that as well. As for the great lament "Ray," never has the artist been more expressive, her voice initially acompanied only by an acoustic guitar before the other instruments (including a clavichord?) sneak in and the chorus rocks. Besides, only a true poet could rhyme "foster indecision" with "one of recognition." She's a pistol! As she puts, "Some things you know / And some you just believe in / And hope it comes out even."

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