Why, oh, why doesn’t everyone in the world know about the little folk singer who could open their eyes? How about this line from the first track, “To The Teeth”, as proof? You need to hear this song in its full context, but here is some truth for you: “Open fire on Hollywood/ and MTV/ open fire on NBC and CBS and ABC/ open fire on the NRA and all the lies they told us along the way/ open fire on each weapons manufacturer while he’s giving head to some republican senator/ and if I hear one more time about a fool’s right to his tools of rage/ I’m gonna take all of my friends and I’m gonna move to Canada/ and we’re gonna die of old age.” I just hope she’ll take me with her. I want to go where Ani goes. I want to march in that line that allows me to exercise my right as a freethinking human. Maybe I’m getting carried away, but that is what Ani does to me. She gets my mind to whirl out of control and think about what it is that I am doing or not doing with myself as I sit here and write.
Ani makes you curious about things that are more in reach than we know, the only problem is that we sit on our fat asses, watching tv, claiming we are too busy to do anything about this or that. We want to wait and pray that someone else is going to fix everything for us. Ani isn’t the leader of this march, just a prophet. Why is everyone learning their gospel from those record-label-made-ken-dolls, the Backstreet Boys? I just can’t believe no one sees through the mask of commercial appeal. Suckers.
Maybe I should actually talk about the record. Ani breaks into “Freakshow”; it’s similar to Alanis, but it’s awfully catchy. And what was beautiful became more so as Irvin Mayfield’s trumpet makes magic on “Going Once”. “Swing” blew me up right away. First with the scratch of the turntable and the sweet bop of the sax by Maceo Parker, then, if that wasn’t enough, Corey Parker drops by to set down a rhyme.
Ani does it all on “Carry You Around”. Catch her slapping the bass, tapping the drums, and singing in both of your ears, back and forth. And she does the same on “I Know This Bar”. The vocal effects on “Cloud Blood” are as preciously diluted as the scene she paints.
Perhaps the biggest surprise ever dished out by Ani is inviting Prince (I don’t care what he is formerly known as) along to sing on “Providence”. Word is she will also appear on his upcoming release as well. Surprise, surprise.
I’m still marveling that Ani has put out two solo albums in less than a year, and managed to produce and co-star on another. This is what it is like when you don’t have the machine of big business to make you stretch out an album for two years in an attempt to milk every possible single they can out of it. All of the while they put their artists on the road like lions in the circus for a year and a half, only to let them out with an income about equal to a professional secretary (if they are lucky). I see this review has turned into my personal rant, but this is only part of the idea of what Ani does to me. Effects may vary from individual to individual, but for me, Ani Difranco has always been about opening my eyes. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that with her brutal truths come melodies that are as sweet to the ear as honey to the tongue.
And one last thing: being that I’ve lived around Buffalo my whole life, I have to say the Goo Goo Dolls aren’t even close to being our best export. Enough said. I hope they like their plush digs in LA, because Ani is here to stay. That is, unless we do one day drive her to Canada.
+ rae gun
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