In this day and age, with superficial
musical scene once more pervading (“Bieber Fever!”), it almost seems amazing
that an album by an artist who reached her peak in the late nineties, and who’s
musical genius was often undervalued and underappreciated, to the point that
she seemed to virtually disappear from the commercial music scene, would make a
comeback in this day and age. Fiona Apple certainly is not your prototype
female vocalist and songwriter. She is nothing like J-Lo, Rihanna, Beyonce, or
Shakira.
But she is more real.
This is her first album in a long
time – since 2005, to be precise.
First of all, the full title of this
album is very long, and this is not the first time that Fiona Apple has had
such a long title for one of her albums (remember “When the Pawn”? That name is
even longer, but this one is quite long in it’s own right. Ready? Here it is:
“The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the
Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever
Do”.
Whew. That was a mouthful, right? I
will not venture forth to guess upon the meaning of the title. If interested,
do some research, look for interviews in magazines or online, or perhaps some
YouTube video clip, or so.
The album is fairly diverse
collection. At times, there are hints of the semi-alternative tone that she
used to be identified with, and at other times, it would seem amazing that she
was ever even remotely identified with it. The final song even has a kind of
tribal music feel to it. Again, it is diverse, and about the only common chord
“Every Single Night” opens the album
up, and it starts off sounding almost sweet and quaint, like a music box ditty
(if you ignore the lyrics, that is). But then, it quickly turns darker, and
begins to match the lyrics.
“Daredevil” is the first time that
you really see the similarities with some of her earlier work utilizing a
piano, and more than hints at measure of self-destruction.
With “Valentine” , Apple shows some
real poetry with her lyrics.
“I made it to a dinner-date
My teardrops seasoned every plate”
“Valentine” seems to be about loving
someone who hardly recognizes her, let alone acknowledges her love, and she
feels as if she is living her life through this mysterious other who she loves
so, as her lyrics suggest that she’s “a fugitive too dull to flee”.
“Jonathan” is perhaps the most
well-orchestrated song on the album (with some trademark Fiona Apple twists),
but with a somber kind of feel to it. It, too, is depressing (this is a Fiona
Apple album, after all), but it is strangely magnetic, as well.
“Left Alone” has some wonderful
wording in the lyrics, as well. I particularly like “I went to work to
cultivate a callous”. This song is about her inability to really love with any
closeness:
“How can I ask anyone to love me
When all I do is beg to be left
ALONE~”
Apple delivers these somber lyrics with her
strained, tortured tone.
“Werewolf” offers more amazing
lyrics, such as this opening refrain:
“I could liken you to a werewolf,
The way you left me for dead
But I admit
I provided a full moon”
As you may have guessed, this song is
about a relationship gone horribly wrong, as additional lyrcs make even
clearer:
“And you are such a super guy
Til the second you get a whiff of
me”…
And:
“But we can still support each other
All we gotta do is avoid each other
Nothing wrong when
A song ends
In a minor key”
The lyrics here sung more softly, and
the piano comes out more pronounced and
very clearly, which is, of course, another Apple specialty.
“Periphery” is a bitter song. There’s
no other way to describe it, but bitter and angry. This song relies far more
exclusively on the piano than most of her other works, and is about another
relationship gone bad, as her former lover has left her, for a prettier girl.
“Regret” is a song about – you
guessed it – a relationship gone bad. Does anyone get the feeling that Fiona
Apple perhaps has had some bad experiences with past relationships? This is a
slow and somber song (not the only one on the album), with highly personal
lyrics:
“Now, when you look at me, you’re
condemned to see
The monster your mother made you to
be
And there – you got me – that’s how
you got free
You got rid of me”
“Anything We Want” is not quite as
depressing perhaps as some of the other songs, seeming a bit more hopeful, or
at least reflective of a past that perhaps got away somewhat, but not one
filled with remorse and regret, or bitter pain. It is not quite precisely a
happy song, to be sure. It also does not have some of the crazy changes of
direction that is characteristic of much of Fiona Apple’s music, but is more
consistent with it’s rhythm.
Finally, “Hot Knife” is the closing
song of the album. As stated earlier, this one sounds more like rhythmic
chanting than a typical Apple song, with mostly just a consistent beating of
drums serving as the musical backdrop – although there is a bit of the piano,
as well, although it seems less prominent somehow in this particular piece.
Apple’s voice comes out over the multiple chanting voices that accompany her,
and this is probably the most upbeat song on the album. Her lyrics reflect this
as well, and also offer the same repetition of the beat:
“If I’m butter, then he’s a hot knife
He makes my heart a cinemascope
screen
Showing a dancing bird of paradise”
Not quite the doldrums, pouring her
heart out about a failed relationship, or going on about how her heart was
broken this time or that time. ‘Hot Knife” is about making sure that she will
keep a guy when the opportunity comes around:
“If I get a dance, I’m gonna show him
that
He’s never gonna need another
Never need another”
Thus, Fiona Apple closes a mostly
sad, reflective album with an upbeat and hopeful song placed right at the end.
All in all, this is a good album, as
Fiona Apple shows off her trademark musical ingenuity, her true gift for
songwriting, and her strong lyrical abilities. She can certainly make a
connection, as her devoted cult following shows. Not many people can get a movement
to back them, asking the record industry to free her, but Fiona Apple can boast
that much.
This album is a reward for them, and
will surely be appreciated for those starving to hear Fiona Apple after such a
long absence.
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