Fiona madness!

[urgencytobleed]

Fiona Apple

After not listening to her much for awhile, I've been completely obsessed with Fiona again lately, especially When the Pawn which is about as perfect as an album can get. So, to celebrate how totally fucking amazing she is, here are a few songs...

• Fast as You Can

This song is so manic and frenzied, in a good way. I love the sudden shift at the bridge, from uptempo and driving to slow and jazzy and back again. Fiona's delivery is also top-notch. The thing I love most about it though is the lyrics which are, unsurprisingly, perfect. Fiona is one of my absolute favorite songwriters. A few choice reasons why? "I let the beast in too soon/I don't know how to live without his hand on my throat/I fight him always and still." "I may be soft in your palm but I'll soon grow hungry for a fight and I will not let you win/My pretty mouth will frame the phrases that will disprove your faith in man." "For a little while more, I'll soar the uneven wind, complain and blame the sterile land/But if you're getting any bright ideas, quiet dear, I'm blooming within." That's at least a good half of the song there, but it's absolutely brilliant. I love her phrasing and subtle wordplay; everything works and fits exactly as it should. It also has a really cool video.

• Get Gone

Another one of my absolute favorites. The quirky piano melody contrasts beautifully with the angry lyrics, making them even more effective. Once again, the combination of quality lyrics and Fiona's delivery of them is what makes the song. I'll admit I love a song full of cursing that I can scream along to when I'm angry, but too much of it makes the words lose their impact. Fiona uses them sparingly and at just the right moments, like at the end of the second verse, when, after some more delicious quirky lines ("How many times can it escalate till it elevates to a place I can't breathe/And I must decide if you must deride that I'm much obliged to up and go/I'll idealize then realize that it's no sacrifice because the price is paid and there's nothing left to grieve"), she bitterly mutters "fucking go" before launching into the aggressive chorus. It's truly spine-tingling.

• Never Is a Promise (live)

I know I just posted this song in the last entry, but I didn't realize I had this amazing live version until afterwards. It's just Fiona singing and playing the piano which really gives her a chance to shine. It's a bit more vulnerable than the album version but still retains a hard edge. Her voice never gets too shout-y or aggressive but you can still hear the anger and emotion dripping from it during lines like "My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown" and "I realize what I am now too smart to mention to you". It's just as mindblowing as the studio version.

• I Know

This one's also posted a page or two back, but if you haven't already checked it out, consider this your second reminder to do so. This and "Never Is a Promise" constantly vie for the spot of my very favorite Fiona song. On the surface, it's mellow and soft but once you listen to the lyrics, you realize it's anything but that. In them, Fiona knowingly stays with a man who hasn't quite cut ties with another woman yet and it's extremely heartbreaking when she sings lines like "I will pretend that I don't know of your sins until you are ready to confess" and "You can use my skin to bury secrets in and I will settle you down". The song climaxes near the middle with Fiona finally getting fed up with him: "Baby, I can't help you out while she's still around". By the end, though, she's still in love and remains sympathetic to his situation and in the  bittersweet final words reassures, "If it gets too late for me to wait for you to find you love me and tell me so, it's okay, don't need to say it." It's a poignant and memorable closer to a nearly perfect album.