Aimee Mann

In 1983, Mann co-founded the new wave band 'Til Tuesday in Boston with Berklee classmate and boyfriend Michael Hausman (who later managed Mann's solo career).[3] The band released Voices Carry, their debut album, in 1985. The title track,[4] inspired by Mann's breakup with Hausman, reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100[5] and won that year's MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.[6] According to Mann, "Voices Carry" was one of the earliest songs she wrote.[7]

'Til Tuesday released Welcome Home, their second album, the following year.[3] Mann sang vocals with Geddy Lee on the single "Time Stand Still" by Rush from their 1987 album Hold Your Fire. She also appeared in the music video for the song.[8]

'Til Tuesday released their third and final album, Everything's Different Now, in 1988. Mann said that she was much more pleased with it than the band's debut album, primarily because she felt it made more of a personal statement about her life.[9] The album contained the song "The Other End (Of the Telescope)" which Mann wrote and sang with Elvis Costello, but it was the track "(Believed You Were) Lucky", the album's only single, with "Limits to Love" on the B-side.[10]

'Til Tuesday broke up in 1990 when Mann left to start her solo career.[8] Mann said in 2018: "['Til Tuesday] were sort of doing, like, post-new-wave dance-pop stuff ...I started to feel like it was not really my thing. Acoustic guitar music was what I was more influenced by and what came naturally to me."[7]

Mann developed her first solo albums with producer and former 'Til Tuesday bandmate Jon Brion.[7] Her debut solo album, Whatever (1993), sold modestly but met with critical praise. In 1995, Mann released I'm with Stupid, her second album, through Geffen Records[11] which, like her debut, garnered positive reviews but modest commercial success.

According to Stereogum, in the early 90s Mann was seen as "an 80s pop casualty".[7] However, in 1999, Mann recorded original material for the soundtrack to the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia, which earned Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations for the song "Save Me".[12] She negotiated a contract release from David Geffen and co-founded her own label, SuperEgo Records, with manager, Michael Hausman.

Mann in concert on October 15, 2005

In 2000, Mann released Bachelor No. 2, released on SuperEgo Records, which included some songs from Magnolia and new material. That year she and her husband, songwriter Michael Penn, formed a concept called Acoustic Vaudeville, a mixture of music and comedy. Among the comedians joining them for shows were Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt and David Cross.[13]

In 2002, Mann released Lost in Space, with art by cartoonist Seth. The following year she released Lost in Space Special Edition, which features a second disc containing six live recordings (including a version of Coldplay's "The Scientist") as well as two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs.

In 2004, Mann released Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, a live album and DVD recorded at a series of shows in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2005, Mann released The Forgotten Arm, a concept album set in the 1970s about two lovers who meet at the Virginia State Fair and go on the run. The Joe Henry-produced album, which was recorded mostly live with few overdubs, contains illustrations which reflected Mann's interest in boxing. She trained with the boxing trainer Freddie Roach;[14] the album's title is derived from a boxing move in which one arm is used to hit the opponent, causing him to "forget" about the other, which is then used to deliver a harsher blow. The following year, Mann received a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for her contribution in the album's artwork (shared with Gail Marowitz).[15]

In 2006, Mann released One More Drifter in the Snow, a Christmas album featuring both covers and new songs. The album's iTunes version replaced "Christmastime" (a duet with husband Michael Penn) with a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" and "Clean Up for Christmas" from The Forgotten Arm; an updated version of the CD was released two years later with the Joni Mitchell cover.

In 2008, Mann released @#%&*! Smilers, which features Grammy-nominated artwork by Gary Taxali. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 32 and on the Top Independent Albums chart at number 2.[16] @#%&*! Smilers was met with mostly praise, with Billboard stating that it "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... 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."[17] The music video for the song "31 Today", directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, features comedian Morgan Murphy.[18]

In 2009, Mann announced that she was working on a musical based on her album The Forgotten Arm[19] but later stated that it was put on hold owing to similarities to the film The Fighter (2010).

The Both in Philadelphia in May 2014

In 2010, Mann joined the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to promote independent musicians.[20][21][22] She was also an inaugural member of the panel in 2001.[23]

In 2012, Mann released Charmer, an album which features a duet with James Mercer of the Shins. Two singles were released from the album – the title track, which featured a music video directed by The Best Show's Tom Scharpling; and "Labrador," which featured actor Jon Hamm and references to Mann's music video work with 'Til Tuesday.[24]

In February 2013, Mann and Ted Leo started playing together in a collaborative project called #BOTH and scheduled shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco.[25] The band name was later changed to the Both. In April 2014, she collaborated with Leo on The Both, their first album.[26] Mann co-wrote the album, as well as providing bass and co-lead vocals alongside Leo.[27]

On July 22, 2013, Mann filed a lawsuit against MediaNet Digital Inc. claiming they were distributing 120 of her songs on an expired license agreement.[28] She attempted to claim as much as $18 million in statutory damages.[29] In 2015, Mann settled out of court.[30]

In February 2014, Mann appeared in "Giant Woman", an episode of Steven Universe, as the voice of the Gem fusion Opal.[31]

In October 2016, Mann released a new song, "Can't You Tell," which was part of the 30 Days 30 Songs campaign in which musicians put out previously unreleased music in protest of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.[32]

In January 2017, Mann announced Mental Illness, her ninth solo album. The album's lead single, "Goose Snow Cone," was released on the same day.[33] On March 27 Mann performed the song with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[34] The album also contained her other song "Patient Zero" which was inspired by her meeting with Andrew Garfield in Los Angeles of whom at that time she was a big fan.[35] The album was released on March 31, 2017; with Mann releasing the album independently with distribution, marketing, and promotion through Membran Entertainment Group. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Mann's second win.[36]

In May 2017 Mann and Coulton sang at the Revolution Hall of Portland, Oregon.[37]

In September 2017, Mann contributed a song "Everybody Bleeds" to Season 1, episode 2 of the Netflix original series Big Mouth.[38]

In January 2018, she appeared in an episode of FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as a bar singer where she sang her version of The Cars song "Drive".[39]

In September 2019, Mann reprised her role as Opal in Steven Universe: The Movie; her bandmate Ted Leo is also featured, and the two perform the song "Independent Together" with Pearl's voice actress, Deedee Magno Hall.[40]

In October 2019, her duet with Jim White entitled "Static on the Radio" was featured on the Netflix sequel movie to Breaking Bad, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.