Fiona Apple

I remember the first time that I became aware of Fiona Apple. An article about her ran in the New York Times, and I was drawn to the photo of her, which was very similar to the one at right. I guess heroin chic was still in then, and I'll admit that's a look that gets my attention, so I was immediately intrigued with her, even without hearing a note of her music. Later I heard her first hit, Shadowboxer, and found it a bit turgid. It wasn't until I began hearing Criminal that I went out and bought her first record, Tidal.

I became more of a fan of hers with her second record. But, in a well-known story among her fans, her latest album was much delayed. At first the news was her record company wouldn't allow it to be released, but later it was found out that Fiona herself was unhappy with it. Eventually the album, titled Extraordinary Machine, came out to great acclaim last year.

I was going through a pile of magazines and found the Entertainment Weekly Best of 2005 issue, and thumbed through it and hers was named best album of the year. That reminded me that I hadn't yet purchased it. On Sunday, while walking in Princeton, I was pulled by magnetic force into Princeton Record Exchange, when I finally bought it.
It's a very good record. I've listened twice now. I like that she's growing as an artist. Oh, there are still touches of the "Sullen Girl," but some of the songs, including the title track, are downright whimsical. The instrumentation is also excellent, getting away from just a girl at a piano. In addition to the title track, I like Not About Love (there's a funny video on the DVD version, where you can actually see Fiona laughing), Window, and Parting Gift. I have no quibbles with Entertainment Weekly's selection.