Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo

Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo (stylized as Bachelor № 2 or, the last remains of the dodo, also shortened to Bachelor No. 2) is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released on May 2, 2000. The album is notable for the fact that Mann was initially without a record company and sold the album through her website, but the album went on to gain a worldwide release and achieve respectable sales. This was aided by the success of the Magnolia soundtrack, for the film of the same name by Paul Thomas Anderson, with which the album shares material.

Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo
Studio album by
Aimee Mann
ReleasedMay 2, 2000 (2000-05-02)
Recorded1999
GenrePop rock
Length49:21
LabelSuperEgo, V2
Producer
Aimee Mann chronology
Magnolia
(1999)		 Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo
(2000)		 Ultimate Collection
(2000)
Singles from Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo
  1. "Red Vines"
    Released: March 12, 2001
  2. "Calling It Quits"
    Released: September 17, 2001

The first release was a limited-run 7-song preview EP which was sold at concerts and via her website.

The full album was slated for a release through Interscope, but they did not think the material had commercial appeal. Mann purchased back the rights for "six figures," and began selling the album online. It was one of the first albums to be successful with only online sales, eventually selling 25,000 copies from Mann's website. After attracting attention, a distribution deal to traditional retail channels led to sales topping 200,000.[1] As of 2008, sales in the United States have exceeded 230,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2]

The Japanese version of the album contains bonus material, the European version has a different track listing and slightly different material. The album was remastered and released in 2004 by the audiophile record label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) as a hybrid stereo SACD and as an LP on 180-gram virgin vinyl.

The album saw a re-release on double vinyl LP for its 20th anniversary as a part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event on November 27, 2020.[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic89/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Baltimore Sun[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
Pitchfork9.0/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
The Times[13]
USA Today[14]

Review aggregator website Metacritic states that the album received "universal acclaim" upon its release, giving it a score of 89 out of 100 based on 13 reviews.[4] The same website placed the album at number 28 on their list of the best received album of the decade 2000–2009, and number 9 on their list of the best Indie/Alternative albums of the decade.[15] Bachelor No. 2 placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 100.[16]

Track listing

All songs by Aimee Mann, except where noted.

US and Japan releases
  1. "How Am I Different" (Jon Brion, Mann) – 5:03[17]
  2. "Nothing Is Good Enough" – 3:10[17][18]
  3. "Red Vines" – 3:44[17]
  4. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" (Elvis Costello, Mann) – 3:06[17]
  5. "Satellite" – 4:10[17]
  6. "Deathly" – 5:37[19]
  7. "Ghost World" – 3:30
  8. "Calling It Quits" – 4:09[17]
  9. "Driving Sideways" (Michael Lockwood, Mann) – 3:49[19]
  10. "Just Like Anyone" – 1:22[17]
  11. "Susan" – 3:51
  12. "It Takes All Kinds" (Brion, Mann) – 4:06
  13. "You Do" – 3:43[19]
  14. "Save Me" – 4:35[19] (Japan bonus track)
  15. "Save Me" (Video) (Japan Bonus track)

European release

The E.U. Edition of the Bachelor No. 2 CD on V2 Records has a rearranged track listing that removes "Driving Sideways" and adds a new track "Backfire". The Japanese bonus tracks are included.

  1. "How Am I Different" – 5:03
  2. "Nothing Is Good Enough" – 3:10
  3. "Red Vines" – 3:44
  4. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" – 3:06
  5. "Satellite" – 4:10
  6. "Deathly" – 5:37
  7. "Ghost World" – 3:30
  8. "Calling It Quits" – 4:09
  9. "Susan" – 3:51
  10. "Backfire" (Brion, Mann) – 3:25
  11. "It Takes All Kinds" – 4:06
  12. "Save Me" – 4:35
  13. "Just Like Anyone" – 1:22
  14. "You Do" – 3:43
  15. "Save Me" (Video)

MFSL release

The MFSL SACD and LP releases feature the same track list as the 13 track US CD release.

20th Anniversary RSD Release

In the US and Canada, the album was re-released as a double vinyl LP through SuperEgo as part of its 20th anniversary via Record Store Day's Black Friday event on November 27, 2020. The release is limited to 4,000 copies and has been remastered and restored from the original session tapes. It features the original 13 tracks on the US release along with five additional selections that had previously only been available as part of Magnolia's original soundtrack album ("One," "Momentum," "Save Me," "Wise Up," and "Build That Wall") with accompanying liner notes from Mann for each track.

  1. "How Am I Different"
  2. "Nothing Is Good Enough
  3. "Red Vines"
  4. "The Fall Of The World's Own Optimist"
  5. "Deathly"
  6. "Ghost World"
  7. "Calling It Quits"
  8. "Satellite"
  9. "Driving Sideways"
  10. "Save Me"
  11. "Susan"
  12. "Build That Wall"
  13. "Just Like Anyone"
  14. "Wise Up"
  15. "One"
  16. "Momentum"
  17. "It Takes All Kinds"
  18. "You Do"

Personnel

Musicians

Production
  • Producers: Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Mike Denneen, Buddy Judge, Brendan O'Brien
  • Executive producer: Michael Hausman
  • Engineers: Mike Denneen, Nick DiDia, Ryan Freeland, S. "Husky" Höskulds, Dustin Jones, Buddy Judge, Hank Linderman, Brian Scheuble
  • Assistant engineers: Elijah Bradford, Carlos Castro, Connie Hill, Dustin Jones
  • Mixing: David Boucher, Bob Clearmountain, Ryan Freeland
  • Mastering: Shawn R. Britton
  • Extensive Help with Production: Buddy Judge
  • Assistants: David Boucher, Ryan Freeland
  • Computers: Buddy Judge
  • Drum engineering: Hank Linderman
  • Vocal engineer: S. "Husky" Hoskulds
  • Drum programming: Michael Hausman, Buddy Judge, Hank Linderman
  • Art direction: Aimee Mann, Gail Marowitz
  • Design: Aimee Mann, Gail Marowitz

References
  1. Cramer, Ben (March 20, 2001). "Music After Napster". Playboy. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  2. Nagy, Evie (May 27, 2008). "Still Her Own Mann: Aimee Mann". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  3. "BLACK FRIDAY 2020 - Aimee Mann - Bachelor No.2: 20th Anniversary Edition". Record Store Day. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. "Reviews for Bachelor No. 2 (or, the last remains of the dodo) by Aimee Mann". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bachelor No. 2 Or, The Last Remains of the Dodo – Aimee Mann". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  6. Considine, J. D. (June 8, 2000). "Aimee Mann: Bachelor No. 2 Or, The Last Remains of the Dodo (Superego SE002)". The Baltimore Sun.
  7. Browne, David (April 28, 2000). "Bachelor No. 2 (or, the last remains of the dodo)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  8. Nichols, Natalie (April 9, 2000). "Aimee Mann 'Bachelor No. 2' SuperEgo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. Berman, Judy (November 17, 2019). "Aimee Mann: Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  10. "Aimee Mann: Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo". Q (166): 120. July 2000.
  11. Wild, David (June 8, 2000). "Bachelor No. 2 : Aimee Mann". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  12. Randall, Mac (2004). "Aimee Mann". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 511–12. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. "Aimee Mann: Bachelor No. 2". The Times. March 24, 2001. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  14. Barnes, Ken (May 2, 2000). "Aimee Mann, Bachelor No. 2". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  15. Jason Dietz (December 15, 2009). "The Best Music of the Decade". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  16. Newlin, Jimmy. "Best of the Aughts: Albums". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  17. Appeared on the self-published EP.
  18. Instrumental appeared on the Magnolia soundtrack.
  19. Appeared on the Magnolia soundtrack.
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