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MTV News: Let's start from the very beginning of how you came to work on "Magnolia." How did you meet Paul Thomas Anderson?
Aimee Mann: Well, P.T.A., as he refers to himself, had contacted my husband, Michael Penn, 'cause he wanted to get Michael to score his first movie. And I think while he was writing his first movie, "Hard Eight," he was listening to some of Michael's records. When he gets into a record, he really gets into it.
Then Michael worked with him on "Boogie Nights," and we became really good friends. I was starting to make a new record, and I gave Paul some music of mine to listen to. And I think he just kept it on a loop while he was working on the screenplay for "Magnolia." So it sort of sunk or oozed into what he was writing.
MTV: So you were a fan of his work?
AM: Yeah, I got to know him. I was on tour while Michael was working on the score to "Hard Eight," so I got to know him after that, and I thought "Hard Eight" was fantastic. Then they started working together on "Boogie Nights," so I then got [to see] the work in progress. I mean, I saw many, many versions of "Boogie Nights" while they were doing editing. So I was pretty familiar with his work after a certain point.
MTV: At what point did Paul start hinting that he wanted to work with you and your music?
AM: I didn't realize that he was thinking about putting my songs in his movie. That sort of happened gradually. At first he said, "You know, I think I'm gonna use this song." Then he gave me the screenplay to read, and I was like, "Paul, you have your cast singing one of my songs. How is that ever [gonna work]? That's just crazy. I'm flattered, don't get me wrong. It's fantastic, but are you absolutely sure?" And he's like, "No, no! Trust me, it'll be great." It's not a device many people use anymore. You don't see it a whole lot, except in musicals from 30 years ago.
MTV: There were two songs that you had originally written for "Magnolia:" "Save Me" and "You Do." When and how did the other tracks come about?
AM: [In addition to the two] that were written for the movie, three are songs that will also appear on my next record, "Bachelor No. 2." Some of the others are older songs that never did wind up on a record for various reasons that Paul really liked.
MTV: You've said that the music in "Magnolia" is interwoven with the film to the point that they almost couldn't work without each other.
AM: I don't think a lot of directors would take a chance on utilizing music in the same kind of way that Paul does. One of the reasons they wouldn't is that Paul really has a love and understanding of music. It almost surprises me that he isn't some kind of musician himself, because he understands the kind of emotional impact that music can have or where it should go.
It's a very subtle touch, but in some movies they'll have a song and just kind of throw it on top and hope for the best. But he understands that the lyrics substitute for narration or dialogue. People will pay attention to words set to music, especially in a movie where they're a captive audience.
MTV: Let's talk a little about the video for "Save Me." Paul Anderson and you shot the video gradually, at the same pace in which the film was being done.
AM: Yeah, he had me come down to the set every couple of weeks. I think he wanted me to have a scene with every major actor in the movie. So he'd wait 'til the actors were done with their work for the day and then he'd stick me in the scene, set it up, play the song, and I'd sing a few lines. He'd get a couple of takes and then I'd go away and then come back a couple of weeks later.
MTV: How did the actors respond? I'm sure they had really long days, and then Paul would be like, "We're shooting a music video, you guys gotta hang out."
AM: I don't think they minded. And they didn't really have to [do much], it was all when their dialogue ceased and they were kind of sitting and looking lonely and wretched. So they sort of just sat there. I don't know, I think it was kind of interesting for them.
MTV: Are you surprised by the success of the "Magnolia" soundtrack?
AM: Well, I always thought it was pretty good. I think my songs are pretty good, and obviously it's not for everybody, but you could say that about anyone. Being attached to a project as important as this, I think, changes the way people view you. I think that's what it's all about.
But that's kind of what a record company's job is. It's marketing. I've always maintained that if people could just hear my records, maybe some of them would buy it. But it's been very difficult to convince a record company to promote your record at radio, because they insist, "Oh, there's not an audience for this." Well, there's not an audience because they've never heard it. It's kind of a Catch-22.
MTV: But you do have a new record coming out which you're releasing independently on Superego Records?
AM: I decided to release it myself, because I'd just had it with the major label system. There's an aspect of having to sell yourself to them and all the effort you make is to try and get them to like you, which is so crazy.
MTV: You're doing it on your own now.
AM: Yeah, I'll do it on my own, and I may hook up with another label at some point, but it's so much more fun this way. It's all new, too, which would make it fun anyway. Even if it was a nightmare, it would be a new nightmare, so it's kind of interesting.
But I'm releasing it. It'll be out on my Web site, aimeemann.com, at first. One of the great benefits to not being on a major label is that I don't really have to worry about being perfect and having a definite release date and the tour coincided with the release... all those things that you usually have to worry about; just put it on the Web site first.
We're talking with distributors. It'll have distribution, and at some point it'll be in stores and it's all fine. And if it doesn't work out we'll do something else. There are many options.
MTV: Did you understand why Paul selected some of the other songs for inclusion on the "Magnolia" soundtrack?
AM: Yeah, I think it's great. I mean, it's Paul's choice and I love that. It's sort of the songs that he liked and he collected them. He's the one who wanted certain songs on the record and I was like, "Great, that's fine with me."
MTV: It's like his personal little collection.
AM: Yeah, it's his mix tape. That's what he said.
MTV: You've talked about your fondness for Fiona Apple. What do you think about her and Paul as a couple?
AM: They're both completely insane, perfectly matched. Crazy, intense, creative people. What can you say? It's a perfect match.
MTV: Do you think you and Paul might work again? Is that something you'd consider?
AM: I can't imagine he would do the same thing.
MTV: But if he came to you and said, "I'm doing this film and I need a specific kind of song, will you do that for me?"
AM: Yeah, but it rarely happens that you can write a song in demand. It's really more about the emotional thing in the characters; it's not about the project. I mean, I just had this experience where somebody invited me to a screening and said, "We'd really like you to write a song," and I sat there and nothing really happened. So there you go.
MTV: What about collaborating with your husband, Michael Penn? Is that a possibility?
AM: I don't think we write the same. We've tried a little bit. We actually wrote a couple of songs with Jon Brion one night, just fooling around, on songs [called] "Under The Ben" and "Dribble Glass." I don't think "Dribble Glass" ever got off the ground. I just don't think we have the same writing style and chord changes.
MTV: I read an article where you talked about the possibility of having children and you said, "I don't even think babies are cute." How does Michael feel about that?
AM: I don't know. My answers to these [sort of] questions are just so un-maternal. It's very sad. I think it would be an interesting genetic experiment. [Laughs] I do. I think Michael's a wonderful person who should reproduce. Now, I don't think it'd get me through years of changing diapers, the intellectual fascination.
But we'll probably have a baby. You see, I have a little work to do in therapy. [Laughs] I have some issues. I never played with dolls when I was a kid. I was just like, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
But Michael, my husband, is just phenomenal. You see him with a little baby and he is on it. He knows what it needs and what it wants. It's incredible. So we've gotta work a little something out. We have to make a deal, I think.
MTV: He'll supply the product...
AM: Yeah, I got the egg and the container.
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