Another fan of her earlier work, not so much her later work. I understand your feelings about her making males feel guilty for being born with a penis, but I do like many of her songs, especially from Little Plastic Castles and earlier. Out of Range is one of my favorite songs, and to me it’s less about being angry about males than it is about moving on after something bad has happened or pushing forward to overcome inherited tendencies.
/yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn
I’m sorry what were we talking about?
Ani DiFranco was constructed by a focus group to appeal to 19 year old Women’s Studies students who on entering college have bought the package and have gone vegan, just got their first tattoo, decided they’re going to be lesbians and are toying with the idea of Wicca: they’ll grow out of it and her as soon as they graduate, but in the mean time just nod and smile.
Technically, she’s the Angry Bi-Sexual. I guess I could have just stopped at the word “angry”. I’ve wondered if she would implode if she didn’t have her music as an outlet for all of that anger.
Heh, I saw one of her shows once, enjoyed it ok. I liked Dan Burn the opening act. He had a song, “The Aliens Came, and they fucked the Monkey they fucked the Monkey.” and for some reason I found it hysterical at the time.
It’s funny because it’s true. Every last clause. (I went to Bryn Mawr College, class of 2000 – Ani and Dar Williams were on everybody’s stereo.)
I’m a minor fan, and I’ve enjoyed her in concert, but there’s only a couple of her songs that I keep on my ipod. She’s definitely only for those who happen to be into her style of things. I suspect that a good portion of her fans are more into her as a person than her music per se. Or as nostalgia for the person they were when they started listening to her or the scene that follows her.
A lot of what she does is more like poetry or spoken word with some incidental guitars than really musical. I can’t say I’d recommend her based on her musical talents aside from a few songs. Would only recommend her to people that are into her particular message/viewpoint.
If you don’t like her, don’t sweat it. There’s nothing to get - either you dig what she has to say or you don’t.
Dan Bern is awesome! I especially enjoyed seeing him at a folk festival which had many families in the audience, with him encouraging the kids to sing along to that song. 
She’s just a brand with a lot of slightly different jingles attached. As are any number performers who find a niche. On the inside, they’re more or less like you and me, except they have this schtick, and it gets a good response, and they roll with it to see what they can make of it. Sure she’s contrived, but aren’t the overwhelming majority of niche (and mainstream for that matter) player?
For mine, I have to say I like the sounds she makes and the “space” in her recordings. They’re well crafted. I don’t buy the message, but that’s OK. I don’t buy Harley Davidson motorcycles dream either - they sound like tractors and are only ridden by fat balding dentists going through mid life crises, but I think the HD brand is interesting, and can appreciate just why fat, balding dentists go for them. I don’t see AdF as being much different. If that makes sense…
Hmmm…one wonders what would happen if fat, balding dentists were to go after Ani DiFranco.
They wouldn’t - they’re not in the demographic!!
My girlfriend is an Ani fan, so I’ve been treated to my fair share of her music. But not only can I not stand her, I don’t get why she’s considered such a good guitarist. It’s all repetitive, stacatto riffs accompanied by (as mentioned above) the most amelodic screeching. Can’t stand her at all, to the point that it embarasses me when other artists I do like (eg Erin Mckeown) have an association with her. Ugh.
Actually, the “fuck you very much” song isn’t the worst. In that one her attitude is slightly forgiveable because I think the basis is that she’s hitchiking (maybe her car broke down, I don’t remember it that well) and she’s picked up by a sleazy guy or something. I mean, duh, who hitchhikes as a woman anymore? It’s just about the ripest way to end up on a TV special but if you look at it from the POV of violence against women the lyrics are not as annoying.
OTOH, she has this one song where she’s complaining about the fact that people in some “small town” are giving her and her girlfriend the eye because they’re dressed up in pleather short shorts and bras with shaved heads or something along those lines and being looked at all condescending and funnylike is an example of their bigotry. But seriously, who dresses up in pleather short shorts and bras UNLESS they want to be looked at and stand out? Maybe if they were just wearing jeans and tshirts she’d have a point.