The Fiona Apple Thread

[epilogue]

Fuck! Okay, add Ladies to that run.

[epilogue]

ohmygodheavyballoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck this album is destroying me. After a difficult start, I'm all in. Holy shit, HOLY SHIT.

[VinylGuy]

ohmygodheavyballoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck this album is destroying me. After a difficult start, I'm all in. Holy shit, HOLY SHIT.

I feel you are going to love it and we will bond with this one over the next couple of YEARS

[epilogue]

ohmygodheavyballoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck this album is destroying me. After a difficult start, I'm all in. Holy shit, HOLY SHIT.

I feel you are going to love it and we will bond with this one over the next couple of YEARS

Yeah, man. First impression and this exceeded my insanely high expectations. I can't wait to spend time with this record. Like you said, it's going to be years and years. I'm already in love. I know I'm prone to enthusiasm and hyperbole... but this is legit destroying me in the best way. It's too soon to say with any seriousness or authority, but based on first impressions alone, this is my favorite Fiona Apple album.

Again, that's nuts. We'll see how it shakes out. All of her records are wonderful for different reasons. But this is by far the most thrilling and engaging first listen I've had of any of her records.

I just hit play on it again (right after it ended). And I haven't done that since When the Pawn...!

[epilogue]

My SUPER premature ranking after only two listens:

For Her
Heavy Balloon
Newspaper
Rack of His
Cosmonauts
Relay
Under The Table
Shameika
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Ladies
Drumset
I Want You To Love Me
On I Go

But none of these are bad songs. Those first ten are my list are fucking incredible and will shift as time goes on, I'm sure. All of them could be number one. Probably will be at one point or another. The bottom three are the weakest but I still really like them.

[Chris_H_2]

this reminds me a lot of my experience when i first heard yankee hotel foxtrot. not that the music is at all similar. just that feeling like i had where i knew i stumbled onto something really special, but i just couldn't fully appreciate the full impact of it at the time. but when i did . . .

[Kevin Davis]

My SUPER premature ranking after only two listens:

For Her
Heavy Balloon
Newspaper
Rack of His
Cosmonauts
Relay
Under The Table
Shameika
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Ladies
Drumset
I Want You To Love Me
On I Go

But none of these are bad songs. Those first ten are my list are fucking incredible and will shift as time goes on, I'm sure. All of them could be number one. Probably will be at one point or another. The bottom three are the weakest but I still really like them.

"For Her," "Shameika," and "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" are my favorites.

[evenslow]

it's something i responded to right away and yet i know it will still grow on me for a long time to come.

[digster]

Man, the chorus on Heavy Balloon really knocks you back.

[epilogue]

My SUPER premature ranking after only two listens:

For Her
Heavy Balloon
Newspaper
Rack of His
Cosmonauts
Relay
Under The Table
Shameika
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Ladies
Drumset
I Want You To Love Me
On I Go

But none of these are bad songs. Those first ten are my list are fucking incredible and will shift as time goes on, I'm sure. All of them could be number one. Probably will be at one point or another. The bottom three are the weakest but I still really like them.

"For Her," "Shameika," and "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" are my favorites.

All great songs that I fully expect to get better and better. My favorites will change a lot.

[evenslow]

Somehow it was perfect that my very first listen to this was on a run through a snowy day halfway into April. The piano on I Want You to Love Me felt EXACTLY right as a soundtrack to that.

[verb_to_trust]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

[verb_to_trust]

Man, the chorus on Heavy Balloon really knocks you back.

Yes. Probably my early favorite

[RAG319]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

Fairly certain Hot Knife did not contain the lyrics "Well good mornin, good mornin, you raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in."

So, I'm gonna go with no.

[Chris_H_2]

that run from heavy balloon through on i go is just stellar

[Kevin Davis]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

I haven't listened to Idler, so I have no idea. But if there's another song that sounds similar to "For Her," count me in.

I'm not very well-versed in Apple's music -- I tend to admire it more than I find myself really identifying with it -- but there's some fine craftsmanship going on here.

[evenslow]

as i said earlier, the lyrics play out like a series of mantras as a reminder and guide to herself (and us) of how to get through (whatever it is). Repetition used heavily throughout:

I want you to love me

Shameika said I had potential.

Fetch the bolt cutters, I've been in here too long

Kick me under the table all you want
I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Evil is a relay sport
When the one who's burnt
Turns to pass the torch

And meanwhile I'm loving you so much

Trying not to let my light go out

People like us, we play with a heavy balloon
We keep it up to keep the Devil at bay but it always falls way too soon

You and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts
Except with way more gravity than when we started off

Like you know you should know, but you don't know where it's at
Like you know, you should know, but you don't know what you did

Why did you not want to try?
Why did you take it all away?

On I go, not toward or away
Up until now it was day, next day
Up until now in a rush to prove
But now I only move to move

[evenslow]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

Fairly certain Hot Knife did not contain the lyrics "Well good mornin, good mornin, you raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in."

So, I'm gonna go with no.

yeah Hot Knife is a surface-level comparison at best.

[RAG319]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

I haven't listened to Idler, so I have no idea. But if there's another song that sounds similar to "For Her," count me in.

I'm not very well-versed in Apple's music -- I tend to admire it more than I find myself really identifying with it -- but there's some fine craftsmanship going on here.

Her entire discography is excellent.

When the Pawn..., her second LP, which is solidified in my Top 5 Records of all time, is an absolute must listen. 2012's The Idler Wheel also one of the best from the last decade.

Extraordinary Machine is very solid, but I much prefer the Jon Brion mixes that you can find on YouTube to the more polished final album tracks. Tidal her debut is also classic/great, but I much prefer everything else she's done.

[evenslow]

Isn't For Her just Hot Knife off Idler? That's not in my top half of songs so far.

I haven't listened to Idler, so I have no idea. But if there's another song that sounds similar to "For Her," count me in.

I'm not very well-versed in Apple's music -- I tend to admire it more than I find myself really identifying with it -- but there's some fine craftsmanship going on here.

Her entire discography is excellent.

When the Pawn..., her second LP, which is solidified in my Top 5 Records of all time, is an absolute must listen. 2012's The Idler Wheel also one of the best from the last decade.

Extraordinary Machine is very solid, but I much prefer the Jon Brion mixes that you can find on YouTube to the more polished final album tracks. Tidal her debut is also classic/great, but I much prefer everything else she's done.

yeah, give 'em all a spin, but keep expectations in check.

TIDAL is great but obviously done by a much younger artist without a ton of (stip alert) agency.

WHEN THE PAWN is a major step into artistry with a big assist from Jon Brion. An absolute masterpiece of perfect songs (kinda like how Tapestry is like that).

EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE is a weird-ish middle album for her. She didn't entirely know what she wanted to do or how to get it across. It's still fucking awesome though. A bit of an outlier.

IDLER WHEEL - masterpiece that takes a huge leap forward while also keeping a sense of the identifiable songwriting from earlier work. I rank it best of the 2010's.