yeah this album is exceptional. it's unhinged and mad at times, in a way that Brian Wilson's 70's output was mad.
― akm, Friday, April 17, 2020
Not the defense I needed lol
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:08 (four years ago) link
Thanks, Brad. I will. I own the rest.
"heavy balloon" is a really sick r&b song about depression
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:19 (four years ago) link
I was working at a music store when The Pawn came out. I didn’t know anything about Fiona Apple and assumed she was boring angsty teeny pop. A promo of Pawn landed in my lap and I put it on in the car driving home from work and it blew me away. The production, the lyrics, her voice. Just the sound of the album is amazing, everything else is gravy.
Kept up with her since then, but I’ve never heard the first album.
― Cow_Art, Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:24 (four years ago) link
tidal's great, nothing but hits in her catalog
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:32 (four years ago) link
"the first taste" and "never is a promise," right in a row, is some '90s-ass sequencing but i love it
she has a pretty spotless discography, each album is amazing in it's own way.
― akm, Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:40 (four years ago) link
Just heard about the 10! Wow, congratulations Fiano!
― frogbs, Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:40 (four years ago) link
'90s-ass sequencing
against every instinct, i need to know more
― mookieproof, Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:44 (four years ago) link
"Fiano" lol
― we have no stan but to choice (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:53 (four years ago) link
― mookieproof, Friday, April 17, 2020 7:44 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
"first taste" is this amazing tactile sade-esque groove thing, "never is a promise" emotionally shattering and spare
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:55 (four years ago) link
and i associate really intensely dynamic mood shifts between tracks with '90s albums
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 April 2020 02:56 (four years ago) link
I keep trying to warm up to Fiona Apple, but I wish she would go into poetry slam mode at least 20% less often.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 18 April 2020 03:00 (four years ago) link
i associate really intensely dynamic mood shifts between tracks with '90s albums
this deserves further exploration imo! (i don't think i agree that the '90s were special for this, but i'll bet we have opinions)
― mookieproof, Saturday, 18 April 2020 03:06 (four years ago) link
yeah on further examination i'm *certain* the '90s weren't special for that
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 April 2020 03:11 (four years ago) link
nor for asses
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 18 April 2020 03:14 (four years ago) link
This is a terrific headphones album.
― "...And the Gods Socially Distanced" (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 18 April 2020 05:03 (four years ago) link
Ladies!!! Loving this.
Lately I’ve been working my way through stacks of cds that friends have given me as they spotified up. Good music but it’s all old stuff. John Prine, blues, singer-songwriters.
It’s great to hear something new and captivating. Just what I needed. Every song feels like an environment with a startling sense of space.
― Cow_Art, Saturday, 18 April 2020 05:41 (four years ago) link
I remember listening to I Want You To Love Me a lot in 2013 when it was on YouTube, so glad it made it all this way.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Saturday, 18 April 2020 07:39 (four years ago) link
Out of interest, was this a "surprise" release?
I realise that reviewers obviously had it in enough to for all the reviews to drop on release day, but was it definitely coming out this Friday all along or was that only announced this week? There wasn't any mention of a release date in the New Yorker article last month as far as I can remember.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Saturday, 18 April 2020 07:50 (four years ago) link
check out that rack of his
― Roz, Saturday, 18 April 2020 09:38 (four years ago) link
the release date was announced at the start of the month
― ufo, Saturday, 18 April 2020 09:43 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_66Skytfh3Y
it's wild to compare this early version of "Ladies" to the final one
― ufo, Saturday, 18 April 2020 09:50 (four years ago) link
the release date was announced at the start of the month― ufo, Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:43 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
― ufo, Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:43 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
ah right! thanks, obviously i totally missed that.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Saturday, 18 April 2020 10:48 (four years ago) link
I liked the singles on the debut but never really followed her after that. I really like this. First thing I thought of was Tom Waits. I wish it was a little more melodically interesting - a lot of the vocal melodies are very sing-songy - but I see that the vocals are in service of the rhythm, which when combined with all the wordplay and internal rhyme makes me think of hip-hop.
She seems to be having a real good time on this album, even in moments of pain, there is a real confidence to her delivery. She is self-indulgent, but not self-conscious. I don't know anything about her now, but this strikes me as an album made by someone with a lot of time, money, and pot.
Newspaper is probably my favorite so far; when she double tracks the vocals on certain lines it kills. Is it just me or does it speed up in the second half?
― Fetch the Bolt Thrower (PBKR), Saturday, 18 April 2020 14:04 (four years ago) link
Its not just you! Very subtle tempo changes throughout the song ( around 3:30 , and 4:07 mark) Or it could just be us.
― aguzman1990, Saturday, 18 April 2020 14:22 (four years ago) link
I couldn't tell if it was just her vocal attack speeding up or the rhythm as well.
― Fetch the Bolt Thrower (PBKR), Saturday, 18 April 2020 14:27 (four years ago) link
took my first walk with this yesterday, it was pretty special. top 2 music walks of the year, along with a Saint Cloud one.
― last updated a group of five done twelve times ago (geoffreyess), Saturday, 18 April 2020 14:58 (four years ago) link
Very impressive record. Gimme a few more listens before I can tell you how much I actually like it (she's been hit and miss with me in the past).
"Shameika" is pretty amazing.
― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Saturday, 18 April 2020 16:03 (four years ago) link
For anyone just hearing Apple for the first time and liking this one, I recommend the previous album 'The Idler Wheel...' its in a similarly vein with the clattery percussion etc. At some point I need to spend more time with the first 3 which I've never really fully engaged with.
― cajunsunday, Saturday, 18 April 2020 16:45 (four years ago) link
Never heard, but "Hot Knife" (which I think was from that record) was my favourite thing that she'd done so far.
― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Saturday, 18 April 2020 16:47 (four years ago) link
The stretch of Ladies, Heavy Balloon, Cosmonauts and For Her is 10/10
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 18 April 2020 17:49 (four years ago) link
The stretch from I want you to love me to On I go might be too.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 18 April 2020 18:20 (four years ago) link
is there a word for the type of vocalizing she does at the end of "i want you to love me"? it reminds me of patty waters.
― wasdnuos (abanana), Saturday, 18 April 2020 18:33 (four years ago) link
I can't decide if I like this or if it annoys the hell out of me.
― Matt DC, Saturday, 18 April 2020 19:26 (four years ago) link
on my first listen right now, felt very "this is really good and will reward multiple listens" until "newspaper" lifted me off the fucking ground and now "heavy balloon" is killing me. this is really, really good.
― cwkiii, Saturday, 18 April 2020 19:32 (four years ago) link
just want to say i really like this album too. "Relay", in particular - i have no idea how she came up with the vocal rhythm of the chorus, it seems like it wouldn't work at all, and yet by the 4th time around it's the center of the song
― let me be your friend on the other end! (Karl Malone), Saturday, 18 April 2020 20:07 (four years ago) link
definitely worth hearing this on headphones or a good system because the low-end percussion *knocks*
― edgard varese-type beat (voodoo chili), Saturday, 18 April 2020 20:24 (four years ago) link
I will say that on my first pass through this album, I was constantly noticing the percussion (in a good way).
― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Saturday, 18 April 2020 20:32 (four years ago) link
This is some amazing lofi/hifi shit. I feel it opens up flawlessly but there is a bit of a lull for me with Relay and Rack of His, but this is nitpicking a pretty outstanding record. The editing and arrangements are so intricate yet playful! This was made by someone who loves making music. I love how she calls them percussion orchestras.
― octobeard, Saturday, 18 April 2020 20:49 (four years ago) link
It's referenced above, but here is the incredible New Yorker profile.
― octobeard, Saturday, 18 April 2020 20:53 (four years ago) link
Relay is my standout after five or so listens.
― Davek (davek_00), Saturday, 18 April 2020 21:56 (four years ago) link
Miriam Makeba's Sangoma seems a good analogue for what she's doing here.
― Davek (davek_00), Saturday, 18 April 2020 21:58 (four years ago) link
One listen through, totally unfamiliar with Fiona Apple outside of the popular song or two back in the 90s, very impressed. I like the storytelling, the vocal performances, the energy, the sequencing. But so far I'm mainly focused on the literal *sound* of it all. The simple and unadorned most everything is recorded is combined with incredibly meticulous spatial staging--resulting in a sound that is exceptionally intimate but ultra-widescreen at the same time.
More than usual, I almost can't help but "see" the sounds as almost structural, latticed across the stage, almost with different shapes in different parts of the stage. (The theatricality of the music and presentation seems to contribute to that, too).
I'm not a writer, so I doubt I'll really have anything to say about this album. But I feel the itch to make a mix in response to it of sounds/songs it calls to mind. . .
― Soundslike, Saturday, 18 April 2020 22:15 (four years ago) link
The percussive noises at the start of newspaper sound like ping pong being played in the purple world in twin peaks s3
― Microbes oft teem (wins), Saturday, 18 April 2020 22:15 (four years ago) link
I like that "Relay" does the same trick as "Once In A Lifetime" (albeit in a more brutal fashion), keeping the same pulse but offsetting where the downbeat lies for the verses (and as a bonus, switching into compound time, very cool)
― we have no stan but to choice (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 18 April 2020 23:35 (four years ago) link
all the people who have never listened to The Idler Wheel... really should get on that
― ufo, Sunday, 19 April 2020 01:46 (four years ago) link
I will physically fight people who hate this album.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Sunday, 19 April 2020 01:57 (four years ago) link
karl was half right after all
― Nudeln und Klopapier Gore (Sufjan Grafton), Sunday, 19 April 2020 02:03 (four years ago) link
There’s a lot to celebrate!
― let me be your friend on the other end! (Karl Malone), Sunday, 19 April 2020 02:10 (four years ago) link