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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
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Michael Penn on Brightening Up a New ‘Sweet Relief' Charity Album With Songs From the Great Depression: ‘It's a Mirror Image of Where We Are Now'
It doesn't have to be a Great Depression — yet — for musicians who lack health care to get downtrodden about their prospects. To that end, the Sweet Relief charity has put together a new compilation album, 'Sweet Relief — We Can Help,' which features choice covers from artists like Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson and Blake Mills. But only one singer is heard from twice in the collection, and it's someone whose name hasn't appeared on a lot of records lately: Michael Penn. Penn's two contributions to this philanthropic effort are classic prewar anthems that spoke to how many members of the middle class were falling into economic ruin in the chaos in the late '20s and early '30s — 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' and 'Hallelujah! I'm a Bum,' the latter of which also includes a duet part from Aimee Mann. More from Variety Aimee Mann on Being 'Freaked Out' at Reuniting Til Tuesday After 35 Years for a Single Gig at L.A.'s Cruel World Festival (EXCLUSIVE) 'Busk-Aid-L.A.' Benefit Will See SoCal Music Favorites Hitting Echo Park Sidewalks to Raise Funds for Fire Victims Paris Jackson, Tinashe, Aimee Mann Help Raise Awareness for Linda Perry's EqualizeHer at Troubadour Event His two tracks will add to the collective that will throw more than a few dimes the way of the struggling musicians that Sweet Relief supports. He's been a supporter for a while. 'In fact, my first tour' — soon after his breakout single, 1989's 'No Myth,' was all over the radio — 'I had Victoria Williams on the road with me, and it was just a blast. It was around that time that she was first dealing with her MS diagnosis and thinking about forming Sweet Relief.' These two songs were actually first recorded more than a decade ago, with the intention of being included in a previous Sweet Relief compilation. It was determined that they didn't fit the mood then, conceptually. But now, with not just musicians but the wider world worried about recession (or worse?), these Depression anthems felt practically ripe on the vine. While 'Sweet Relief — We Can Help' came out in an exclusive vinyl double-LP edition for Record Store Day in April, the official digital release of the album waited until this weekend. (Scroll down for a full track list.) Penn's contributions really drive the wayback machine hard, but 'both these songs are so applicable now because they both come out of historical situations that are analogous to where we're headed,' says Penn. 'If I was going to do any song at all, I knew 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime' was the one I wanted to do, because Yip Harburg is one of my favorite lyricists of all time.' (Harburg also co-wrote 'Over the Rainbow' and the other 'Wizard of Oz' songs as well as 'Brother.') 'And then with 'Hallelujah! I'm a Bum,' I was a little worried that people would not get the sarcasm of it — because it really is a mirror image of where we are now. It was written around the time when the oligarchs and the quote-unquote 'titans of industry' building the railroads were in control in the late 1800s. And it's the same as fucking Elon Musk! I mean, the guys who ran the tracks across the nation were the same kinds of crazy oligarchs that we have now.' With 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,' he was particularly taken with a quote he found of Yip Harburg's, from later in the famed lyricist's life, when he was recalling his Great Depression anthem. Penn pulls it up on his computer and recites it: 'I grew up when America had a dream, and its people, a hope. Whether we were struggling against the shackles of slavery or the shackles of scarcity, the hope was there. In 1930, the dream collapsed. The system fell apart. The people were not angry. They were not in revolt. This was a good country on its way to greatness. It had given our immigrant parents more freedom, more education, more opportunity than they had ever known. What happened? We were baffled, bewildered… The man in this song is not a self-pitying breast-beater, begging for a handout, but a man proud of what his hands had contributed to the wealth of the country. And he was now, for the first time, questioning the emptiness of those hands.' Penn was taken by the timeliness of those words: 'I mean, it's just so perfect in that way.' With 'Hallelujah! I'm a Bum,' as he says, getting across the irony was paramount. 'Bill Hein reminded me that the exclamation point was an important part of the title.' Of the historical sarcasm, he notes, 'Listen, sometimes it's the only thing we can count on.' Is Penn a student of socioeconomic songs from the 1920s and '30s? He laughs at that question. 'No, I'm not. I'm certainly not a student of the ins and outs of union songs from the 1930s.' And 'Hallelujah' definitely counted as that — enough so for it to be interpolated as an instrumental in-joke in the score of a Charlie Chaplin sound picture. 'It became the official anthem of the International Workers of the World at some point,' Penn notes, 'and a snippet of it shows up in 'Modern Times,' when Chaplin is mistaken for a union protestor,when he picks up a flag off the back of the truck.' But, he says, 'It's just stuff I have sort of always thought about. My last record, God help me, was 20 years ago, but it was a record set in sort of the post-World War II world. It was relationship songs in the context of a post-World War II America where they were starting to figure out how to dismantle the New Deal. And in fact, when I put that record out, I had this very elaborate website where you could watch these old Encyclopedia Britannica documentary films from the '50s about fascism. Because it was clear that that was the model that was (coming). 'Remember that phrase where somebody was saying that 'you people live in a reality-based community'? That was the clue of: This is where they're going. They think that they can completely change reality for us — that they can fill us with propaganda and change the way we perceive our environments, and it was obvious that that's where shit was heading. So those kinds of topics were always sort of top of mind for me, for sure.' Bringing Mann in to play the part of a woman who is turning a beggar away from her door makes for a fu turn. 'There was like a little dialogue portion of that lyric, and it just felt perfect for Aimee to come in and do that.' Not that we should expect to hear a lot more duets with Mann. Reminded that the two of them previously turned up singing together on an original holiday song called 'Christmastime' and a soundtrack cover of the Beatles' 'Two of Us,' he can't remember if there are any more beyond that. Q: Yeah. Um, now I'm thinking, is that.I I, as far as duets go, and I know it's, it's maybe not [00:08:00] quite a full on duet, but, uh, I, I was, you, you've done a couple before this, uh, Christmas time and two of us, so I don't know if this this is the third time that you've had that collaboration or whether there have been more. 'Oh, God, my brain is addled — I don't remember. I think we haven't done it too much. We kind of keep it somewhat separated, but certainly those two.' Penn does take what's happening economically in the world personally, as he well knows musicians as much as anybody have seen their whole paradigm change. It's partly why he hasn't made an album of original music since the aforementioned 20-year-old release… although that may change, very soon. Penn is thinking 'not only of Trump and what's happening with basically the dismantling of the New Deal, which is what's been on the books for these guys for decades, but also just the shift in our world to a digital world. Because to whatever extent there was a middle class in music, it has been eviscerated by what's going on. It's not based on record sales or any of those things, and so it's even tougher for musicians out there, because you can't make a thing that people would like to buy, even in small quantities. So that's tough. It's all based on touring now, and for somebody like me who never wanted to tour, I was left few options.' No temptation to get back out on the road at all, if that's where the money is? 'N,. For me, I mean, I never enjoyed touring. I was like the original shoegazer. I'm like an anti-performer,' he laughs. 'So if I had my druthers, I would be sitting in a room making records throughout my life, but that wasn't in the cards anymore. So that's why I shifted to (film) composing, because it's like at least I can be doing what I love, which is recording music. So I wish I could make records, but…' There's a shift in his thinking now, though. 'You know, I'm doing it now' — working toward a new album — 'just because I don't give a shit anymore' whether it brings in income or not. And to that end, 'I told my agent that I didn't want to do anything this year. I did the Pee-Wee Herman documentary which just came out; I finished that at the end of last year. And I'm taking the year to write a record because I just figure I need to do it for me… for my own therapeutic use. I feel like I don't want to produce myself again, because it's just too many hats to wear, but I'll figure that out later. First, I just want to generate a bunch of songs. I'm about halfway through writing a record.' So for those who have clamored to get fresh songs as well as scoring out of Penn… hallelujah! (Exclamation point intact, unironically.) He says it's never bothered him when fans would come up and ask when there would be another Michael Penn album. 'Oh, no, no. I'm very happy that a few people still remember me, so that's nice. Listen, man, I mean, if I'm out in the world and somebody recognizes me or says something to me, it's a delight.' The full 'Sweet Relief — We Can Help' track list: Michael Penn & Aimee Mann – Hallelujah! I'm a BumLaura Viers – Please Let Me Get What I WantPeter Case – Help MeAngela McCluskey & Paul Cantelon – I Think It's Gonna Rain TodayWatkins Family Hour – The Object Of My AffectionPeter Holsapple – I Can HelpRichard Thompson – Humpy Back ManBen Harper & Peter Case – HelpWillie Watson – Always Lift Him UpLucinda Williams – Somebody Loan Me A DimeDennis Witcher – That's How I Got to MemphisSixpence None The Richer – The Needle and the Damage DoneHaroula Rose – A Heart Needs A HomeVictoria Williams – Sunny Side of the StreetChris Pierce – Paper MoonMichael Penn – Brother Can You Spare A DimeJonah Tolchin – Sixteen TonsBlake Mills – While My Heart Keeps Beating Time Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Boston Globe
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Aimee Mann says she ‘would never have become a musician' without Berklee
She said the school's 'Come and learn' approach and her teachers' encouragement were instrumental. 'I would never have become a musician otherwise,' she says. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The 'super fun' music scene in Boston in the early eighties was the next spark. 'It was incredibly vibrant and all the bands knew each other,' she says. 'I also worked at Newbury Comics so I heard every import, every interesting weird little new wave and punk band.' Her band, Young Snakes, was 'unlistenable and noisy,' she says with a laugh. 'It's the kind of thing you do when you're 20. But there were a hundred clubs in the area and we played six nights a week, so it gave me a lot of experience. It was the most fun part of my career.' Advertisement Mann, who's married to singer-songwriter Michael Penn, will be performing her 2002 album 'Lost in Space' on this tour (it has just been re-mastered for vinyl). How did the recent 'Til Tuesday reunion come about? We got an offer from this festival and I'm not sure why I did it. The guys really wanted to do it. I didn't really want to, I gotta say, but I like a challenge. I wondered if I could do these songs well and how would I approach them. It was more difficult than I thought it would be, because I don't sing like that anymore. Even changing the keys didn't help. My style has gotten more conversational. It became a technical thing, like how do I leap up to the octave. So on some songs, it felt like singing karaoke — and I don't ever sing karaoke. The show went really well, but music is like a time machine, and it's weird, 'cause you don't always come back. I felt really weird afterwards and I can't tell you why. I think it's because I'm not that person anymore. So it felt like I was subbing for the singer of this band, like there was some identity shifting where you feel like you're your own doppelganger. You're playing the 'Lost in Space' album on this tour, which was written during a healing period after a difficult point in your life. Will singing those songs feel cathartic or emotionally fraught, or are they just songs? I guess I'll find out. We're just starting to practice now. A lot of the songs are very depressing, but when you're on stage, the audience creates a different vibe, so it's a more cheerful party atmosphere. And I love my band so much that I feel like focusing on the music will make it fun and satisfying regardless of what the lyrics are. Advertisement You had traumas in your childhood [her parents fought over custody and she was taken by one all over Europe and then the other to England]. How much do your early experiences still linger in your songwriting? Stuff pops up as echoes. You find yourself writing about a current situation, but the reason it resonates is it reminds you of your annoying stepmother, and otherwise that situation wouldn't bother you. I think everything has echoes to the past. You also paint and make comics. What do you like about having other creative outlets? Again, I like challenges. Painting and cartooning are harder for me than writing songs. You want to feel like you really cracked it. There's fun in that, although I'm writing a graphic memoir and it is not that fun because I'm not that good at it. Maybe by the end of the book, I'll be better. I have some moments where I think, 'This panel is really good.' But if every panel is, 'Oh, this head looks like a pumpkin' and I've erased it a thousand times, then the fun is kind of limited. I wish it came more naturally, but, you know... Do you and your husband bounce ideas off each other when you're working on new songs? Michael is very solitary and much more private about his stuff. The joke about him is that he's a hermit. He has a studio where he basically sits in the dark writing songs for his first record in 20 years because he's been scoring movies and TV shows. Advertisement I encourage him to ask if he's having trouble with lyrics or something, because I can write a couple of lines that maybe will give him an idea. Only two times in the last nine months has he asked to play me something. Once he asked, 'Does this sound like something else?' And once he said the lyrics were just placeholders, but I said, 'These lyrics are fantastic. What is even wrong with you?' He's very self-critical. Do you play stuff for him? No, I don't. I think I assume he's not really that interested. Playing songs for another person is really tricky. The only person I'll send a song to for a pat on the back or a 'Does this work' is my friend, Jonathan Coulton. I'll say, I'm not sure exactly what the song is about, so tell me what it feels like so I can home in on the lyrics. How do you look back at the success you had with 'Til Tuesday and the record label struggles you had in your solo career? Do you have any regrets? My decisions — to make my own records on my own label since 'Bachelor No. 2″ — have been perfect for me. The majority of female singers out there have a certain look. It's showbiz and I'm not interested in showbiz. That takes a certain mindset and effort and frankly it's too much work in the realms of thinking about outfits and sets and product deals. Not for me. I also don't have a lot of patience with other people's commercial concerns. Advertisement At this point I don't even know how you have a hit — you get a million streams on Spotify and you make 30 cents. Like, wow, I should really aspire to that. 'Til Tuesday was really famous, like MTV famous. But it doesn't take that many people following you back to like your crappy apartment and waiting outside your window to make you think, fame makes everyone a stalker and yet I have to be nice to them. For fame, it really helps to have a bottomless need for attention and my need to be loved and paid attention to has a limit. If I make a record for myself that I really like, that's enough. This interview was edited for length and clarity. AIMEE MANN With Jonathan Coulton Friday, June 6, 8 p.m., The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. Sold out, but tickets are available for resale.
