Mann Enters "Jailhouse"

"The last record was about addiction, and this record is about recovery," says the Oscar-nominated artist. "It takes place in the early Seventies just before the end of the Vietnam War. There's two people dating, and the guy gets sent over to Vietnam briefly and comes back and has a drug problem."

Due in March, the concept record will include "King of the Jailhouse" and "Going Through the Motions," two songs also featured on Mann's Live at St. Ann's Warehouse CD and DVD, due November 2nd.

Fellow songwriter Joe Henry is producing King. Their conversations clarified the album's unifying theme and sent Mann scurrying back to expand some of the tracks.

"I've been working on songs that were already finished to make them interesting for me," Mann says. "In an atmosphere where music is becoming more disposable, I want my stuff to have more meaning."

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

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