Word: difranco
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...know, Ani DiFranco, the Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell...
...most part, we have left these straightforward categories behind, but in high school, when we were less sure of ourselves and our identities, you could learn a lot from this question. Certain music provided very helpful associations, some more far-reaching than others. Liking Ani DiFranco was code for liberal politics and perhaps long flowery skirts or overalls. Liking Marilyn Manson meant you wanted to scare people. Liking Dave Matthews meant very little, perhaps on purpose. Bands no one ever heard of had their prestige, and if they had scary names, you were one step ahead of the game...
...Communications," the clerk told me I won the prize for breadth of taste, and I knew I'd made a breakthrough. That said, there was something disingenuous in my suddenly picking out the Beastie Boys at age 16. As an established member of the Indigo-Girls-and-Ani-DiFranco crowd, I was fully aware of and attracted to the incongruity of my knowing all the words to "Sabotage." I was consciously choosing to assume a slightly unexpected identity. I never listened to that album very much, anyway...
...songs on To the Teeth fall short of Ani-esque brilliance. "Freakshow" begins its study of the circus with grinding guitars and grating vocals, yet concludes that the Big Top is essentially all about "love and compliance." There seems to be some sort of grand metaphor here, but DiFranco never clues us in. It's easy to skip over a song that squeals "And some of the clowns are happy/And some of the clowns are sad." Whatever you say, Ani. Many listeners may be confused and unsettled by the juxtaposition of extended clown analogies with aching accusations against pro-life...
...Teeth does not remain silly for long. "Hello Birmingham" is a dialogue between Buffalo and Birmingham, two cities recently targeted by pro-life terrorists. DiFranco's social commentary waxes over vital and relevant points, though she often finds herself grappling with similar issues again and again: violence against women, homophobia, the right to choose, drug abuse and workers' rights. Her criticism is always painfully accurate, but rarely preachy or repetitive. Despite some of the musical near-misses she has encountered while pumping out a surging stream of albums, DiFranco remains innovative and consistent on To the Teeth. She proves that...