Apple of course entered the pop culture psyche with the eerie, voyeuristic video "Criminal." It had a nice hook. But a girl with a piano - Tori Amos already had that angle covered. As if anyone would tell a dude who picked up a guitar "Sorry, Springsteen's already filling that niche."
The best songwriters have easily-identifiable talents. You hear a Fountains of Wayne song, you're probably going to hear a tale of "7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m." cubicle woes. A u2 song will probably be about something...big. A Pavement song will be about...whatever the hell it's supposed to be about.
But as for Fiona Apple, chances are, a metaphor will be front and center. On the vague "Extraordinary Machine", Apple sings about taking whatever people say or think about her, and making the most out of it. On "Paper Bag", a perceived bird turns out to be a paper bag. However, as a certain notable movie showed us in that year, a bag could be a thing of beauty.
Her metaphor streak first showed up on "Shadowboxer", from her album Tidal. In that song, her significant (or soon to be ex-significant) other has turned into a sparring partner, as his actions - be it verbal or not - are treated as jabs. "I wanna be ready for what you do," Apple sings in a weary voice that almost seems like an act for a teenager. But when she sings "But I'll be sure to stay wary of you, love / to save the pain of once my flame and twice my burn" - you know it's the real deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment