Singles from Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo
"Red Vines" Released: March 12, 2001
"Calling It Quits" Released: September 17, 2001
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.
Mann's 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. It sold 270,000 copies, a large number for an independent artist, and received acclaim. The success established Mann as a career artist who could work outside of the major label system.
Background
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]
Writing
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 began to develop 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 to the criticism, but felt the sentiment was common and could also apply to many relationships.[4]
"The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" was co-written with 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]
Release
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]
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]
