Video: Aimee Mann – “Goose Snow Cone”

Who doesn’t love cat videos on the internet?

Aimee Mann has been quietly releasing sad and beautiful music for this entire millennium, since (at least) Bachelor No. 2 in 2000. We should all be paying way more attention to her. All of her songs have at least one line that punches you in the gut. For me, in “Goose Snow Cone” the chorus “Gotta keep it together when your friends come by / Always checking the weather but they wanna know why” is the one that gets me.

Mann discussed the origin of the song and video:

“I wrote “Goose Snow Cone” when I was on tour in Ireland, on a cold and snowy day. I was feeling very homesick when I saw a picture on Instagram of a cat I know named Goose. Her fluffy white face was looking up at the camera in a very plaintive way, like a little snowball, and I started singing a little song about her that turned into a song about loneliness. I intended to change the lyrics but could never find a phrase to replace the one I started with. When it came time to make a video, I knew the original Goose had to be in it. Her owners are my friends Rob and Puloma who coincidentally produce and direct videos. One of my cats had recently gone through a long illness and I was thinking about that when I came up with the idea for the video, and I knew Puloma had to star in it, as she has a very lovely and expressive face. The vet in the video is my actual vet and he’s a great guy. It was not easy wrangling Goose but the magic of editing makes it all work!” – Aimee Mann

From Mental Illness, out March 31 on SuperEgo Records. Stream it via NPR and then buy it.