official Fiona Apple thread

Started by neatahwanta, November 29, 2003, 05:24:09 PM

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MacGuffin

Fiona Apple confused by all her issues

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Conflicts: We've all got 'em -- those religious, parental and societal messages that occasionally cancel each other out. Some folks talk them out with a psychiatrist, others avoid them with a bottle of booze. Fiona Apple dresses them up and sets them to music.

Apple pulled into the Wiltern on Saturday with her issues on display, pushing through a 100-minute set filled with internal and interpersonal conflicts, many of them overlapping. A distinct tension came through in the sometimes analytical, sometimes angry lyrics, but that tension was matched in the music's tone, Apple's delivery and her stage presence.

Touring behind her first album in six years, Apple did not communicate well between songs, in part because enough women in the audience felt a need to shriek during the quiet moments that they blurred most of her comments. But Apple also showed a certain nervousness about talking. She introduced "Shadowboxer" as "a song I mean very much," then apologized after performing it, noting that she'd been referring to a different song. As a result, she implied -- probably unintentionally -- that she hadn't really felt a connection to "Shadowboxer." At another point, an audience member yelled out "We love you," and Apple seemed entirely flummoxed.

Apple's actual singing proved much stronger and coherent. Brooding and introspective performances dovetailed with forceful and angry ones, and she often vacillated between those emotional states within a single number.

Backed by a bass, drums and two electronic keyboard players, Apple spent much of her time seated at a baby grand. But when she stood center stage, her physical movements supported the conflicts within her songs and her vocal performance. Apple clutched frequently at her blue gown, kicked often with her right leg and occasionally broke a tense pose by flinging an arm or two. Whether she was acting or literally reliving the emotions of the songs, she seemed frustrated, distraught and entirely conflicted.

Musically, all of that was supported by chords that toyed with dissonance, shifting rhythms and off-kilter phrasings. It's as if the songs were teetering, just about to lose their balance. Utilizing the eerie fuzz of synthetic keyboards, the arrangements had a loose, hazy quality about them. The drummer's primary role thus became providing sturdiness to intentionally unstable material.

Impressionistic color swatches on the backdrop added to the lack of resolution inherent in the works, and that visual enhancement proved completely appropriate, given that much of the evening felt like a dramatic soundtrack to an Alfred Hitchcock movie, ever-so-slightly lighthearted while it unravels some very perplexing mysteries.

While performing the title track to her new "Extraordinary Machine" CD, Apple noted that she's "good at being uncomfortable." That came through loud and clear in multiple ways during an evening of intriguing conflict.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

modage

i saw fiona apple tonite in new york for the first time ever (if you dont count the instore she performed at a few months ago), but it was the first real show anyway.  i think our setlist was identical to the one posted above, which is a few songs away from perfect.  those songs being....

ditch RED RED RED replace with LOVE RIDDEN
ditch SHADOWBOXER replace with NEVER IS A PROMISE
ditch NOT ABOUT LOVE replace with NOT ABOUT LOVE (Brion version)

and pretty much a few of the 'eh' EM songs for ones of WTP, but still... i got to hear I KNOW which made my lifetime.  she was pretty great, and her stage performance was pretty crazy for anyone who has never seen her before she definitely isnt just going through the motions.  you can see her fist clenched on the microphone stand and throwing her body into convulsions during instrumental sections of songs.   :shock:  it would've been the show i waited all these years for (pretty much 6, since i started really listening to her when When The Pawn came out and i missed her on that tour), had the show been a few years ago.  and her fans almost ruined the experience, drunk stinky assholes and fanatics who wont shut up between/during songs.  "fiona we love you" and like way sillier things being shouted constantly.  but it was still really good, i wish i had seen her on the last albums tour.  the Pawn songs seemed to be best live and for the most part the ones that she seemed to be the most into.  oh well.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

Quote from: modage on December 11, 2005, 11:08:13 PM
and her fans almost ruined the experience, drunk stinky assholes and fanatics who wont shut up between/during songs.  "fiona we love you" and like way sillier things being shouted constantly.

I hate when fans do that.  The artist knows they love them.  Last time I saw Ben Folds when he was playing Narcolepsy there was a shot pause and someone yelled "KATE!" even though Narcolepsy was the second song in his encore, so it wasn't too possible he'd take a suggestion then.  Or especially during that live NIN clip posted earlier when he was playing Frail and people keep screaming "I LOVE YOU TRENT!" that would kind of offset that experience (especially when people were singing along with Hurt... didn't seem like a song to sing along with)
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

modage

so there is a Fiona Apple originals album on iTunes now for 9.99 which i was ready to buy until i noticed that actually its kinda crappy.  it looks like its 26 tracks (13 interview segments and 13 songs presumably recorded live for iTunes) but actually its really only FIVE live songs and EIGHT songs we already have on her albums.  so you can buy them seperately for a dollar each and i guess $4.95 is decent but i'd like to listen to the interview (once) and i dont think its worth paying an extra five bucks for.  so there you have it.  the five iTunes LIVE songs are...

Criminal
Shadowboxer
Fast As You Can
I Know
Extraordinary Machine
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

Fiona starts about 10 minutes late, no biggie.  I've sat through worse.  However, the levels were horrible, and although her voice was very awesome that night, she was cut short to having a set of roughly 30 minutes.  I can't fully relay to you how ridiculous that is.  Of her slower songs, she only played Shadowboxer and Oh, Well, even though these dumbasses around me kept talking through her set.  I thought it was sad enough that Fiona Apple would open for Coldplay.   

So, aggravated from a 30 minute Fiona set, I was then subjugated to a 2+ hour set of Coldplay which would've been exciting, had I liked more than a few of their songs, that they didn't even play.  They played Trouble, Politik, The Scientist and Yellow which I wanted to hear. There was a big lack of Spies, Shiver and Everything's Not Lost.  They mostly played X&Y, which I know am glad I never blind bought or even really downloaded. I've never had this happen, but I think I enjoy Coldplay less after seeing them live.  Chris Martin has this complex where he thinks he's Bono, while the rest of the band seem to stand in place.  There was a very elaborate light show, but I flanked the stage and missed a lot of the effect.  However, if the music relied on the lights, I definitely missed something.   

The upside to the Coldplay set was that they played their song for Johnny Cash, "Kingdom Come" and then covered Ring of Fire, which was pretty decent.

I thought to myself the only way to improve the night would be if Chris Martin took a gun to his head and shouted "FREE TRADE" and blew his brains out in front of everyone.  That would've made the entire trip worth it.

"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

PopsUp

I've got two things to say:

1) i agree the itunes original is a scam, but "i know" live is beyond beautiful. it is my favorite from her, and i think this version is even more heartbreaking than the original. they gave it the "red red red 2" sound and it works really well. the extraordinary machine version is good too, for those who don't have the mp3 of the MTV performance, which was the greatest fiona performance EVER.

2) a second solo tour is on the way! go to fiona-apple.com for dates. and she's coming to europe. to paris. and i'm gonna die from happiness.

MacGuffin

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

ono

Thanks for the reminder, Mac.

She played Get Him Back.  Song kicked in, I smiled.  Seemed to be a bit of a mix between old Extraordinary Machine and new.  I really love the leaked version the more I hear it.  It had this combination of desperation, urgency, and vulnerability characterstic of her music.  The new version seemed a bit neutered, so it was interesting to see what she did here.  There was a weird echo with some of her vocals.  An intentional experiment, it seemed.  I was just happy to see her performing at all.  I'll definitely steal it once it appears online and compare it to the others, but until then, I'll stick to the original.

tpfkabi

are the Brion versions still online anywhere? i managed to snag about 3 or 4 of the songs.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

ono

You mean the versions leaked back in February 2005-ish? I have the album. PM me if you want 'em. Goes for anyone.

EDIT: Fiona will be on Charlie Rose today (PBS). Bizarre. "Check local listings," the announcement says.

EDIT: I was bored, so I taped the interview and made .  Cut off the beginning but nothing substantial was lost.  Quality may be iffy in some spots, but it's better than nothing.  Enjoy!

modage

wow, holy shit.  the only thing better than Costello playing I Know is Fiona doing I Want You.  i HAVE to hear these...

Death Cab, Fiona, Billie Joe Serenade Elvis Costello
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

    The show was smartly conceived, the material well-chosen. Death Cab's Ben Gibbard came off like a dweeb by asking to restart a song because "I dropped my pick." That won't make the final cut. A forceful version of Costello's "Kinder Murder" and strummy duet on his own "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" will, deservedly so.

    Death Cab represents the mild influence of Costello's verbally rich rock. Apple covers the dark side. Looking like a pint-sized Morticia Adams in a purple dress, she nearly stole the show from the gracious host she so obviously adores.

    Costello made her gloriously good "I Know" his own. The two paired off on his "Shabby Doll" and her "Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)," assisted by Imposters keyboard whiz Steve Nieve. The evening's highlight was Apple's hellacious interpretation of Costello's "I Want You," a song about obsessive, vindictive love. She knocked it out of the park.

    Armstrong brought the crowd to its feet, joining with Costello on "No Action," an acoustic "Alison," and bruising "Pump It Up," as well as on the Green Day hits "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)."

    As with all the other guests, Armstrong's affection for Costello seemed genuine, and the admiration mutual. All the younguns came back for an encore of enduring songs none of them wrote: Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and Nick Lowe's "(What So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?"
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pubrick

Fiona Apple Song Reminds Girl To Be Depressed
June 14, 2006 | Issue 42•24

LOS ANGELES—Her mood dangerously optimistic at the end of the school year, teenager Christine Lowell was reminded of the need to assume a sullen, self-pitying manner Monday by the Fiona Apple song "Sleep To Dream." "God, I don't see why I should have to continue facing these phonies every day of my miserable life," Lowell said after the song came into rotation on her MP3 player. "I can't be, you know, stifled by your insignificant ways, all right?" At last report, Lowell's mother, the only witness to Christine's sudden and deliberate mood change, had resumed driving to the supermarket without comment.
under the paving stones.

Ghostboy

Goddamn it! I Just realized - Fiona Apple finally plays TWO solo shows in Texas, for the first time in about ten years (I'm not counting opening for Coldplay), and of course I'm going to be in LA for both of them. I wonder if it matters enough to me to fly home for a day...

pete

"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

modage

as posted in the Tarantino thread...

On Nov 9th at 9pm, Fiona Apple will talk to(?) Quentin Tarantino (or something) on the Sundance Channel Show ICONOCLASTS. 

In this six-part original series, some of today's most provocative personalities explore the passions and aspirations of the innovators, rule breakers and ground shakers who inspire them....


http://www.sundancechannel.com/iconoclasts/
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.