Ani Difranco - Ani Difranco - 1990 (iTunes - Amazon)
When "Hear Music" was just a record store on the 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica, before it was bought by uber-cafe Starbucks, they were one of the best places to find out about new music. I was never let down by a recommendation, and they were an essential resource when I was being paid to review and it was incumbent upon me to find new music.
The folks at Hear suggested I buy "Out of Range" by Ani Difranco. I did, I glowed in my review and I was a fan. I never really delved into her early work and I was out by the time Up Up Up Up Up Up came out. I bought it, but I didn't listen. I kind of got what Ani was all about.
But, she nags at me.
Is she a songwriter? Or is she a folkie who hangs her angst and ideology on a backbone of semi-melody?
As usual with the Listening Post/Reflecting Pool series, I am going to be more generous to the debut albums because who could expect more from a starting artist?
In the case of Ani Difranco it's easy to forget that this coffee shop/bar hopping busking troubadour was 19 when she self-produced this album. She never signed to a major and, subsequently, Righteous Babe records has been seen as a pinnacle of self-production.
Difranco was sort of a perfect storm for this. We were all tiring of 80s posing and style over substance MTVism. Grrl Power was flexing it's muscles and lesbian chic was the rage.
Was the 19 year old Difranco a lesbian? Did it matter? Well, sort of. Because she was embraced by that community and it's hard to imagine her being as successful without them.
How does her music fare on her debut, however? Can we get past the questionable sexual identification? Are there songs? is it any good? Is there promise that shows an artist who would, as of next year, be entering her THIRD decade of recording?
Yes.
The angst in her guitar playing is apparent on the opening track. Although she isn't as manic and multi-faceted as she will become. But, "Both Hands" is an assured poet's observations, an artist unafraid of describing the intimate with a voice clean and elastic and lilting and smart and delicate.
This 19 year old is no Taylor Swift. In fact, Ms. Swift should probably be given a box set of Ani's work to help her grow into what she might yet still become (instead of just selling millions of rekkids...)
On every record of Ani's there is one lyric that stands out. She's definitely hit and miss as a lyricist. Sometimes she is so on the nose and cumbersome that it's off putting. And other times....
"The butter melts out of habit, you know the toast isn't even warm." "My thighs have been involved in many accidents and I can't get insured and I don't need to be lured by you. My cunt is built like a wound that won't heal."
That last line is one that should appeal to lesbians the world around but also send a message to thinking men that this is a woman you can deal with. She isn't flowers and candy. She probably smells sometimes. And that's okay. Because she just wants to be a part of the world. Just wants to be herself. On her own terms.
And she's fucking 19.
The roots of "Ani Difranco" can easily be found in Suzanne Vega's first album, but, Difranco is a different animal. She's hungrier. She's an artist who is desperately searching for herself through her art.
Grade A
A Side: Out of Habit, Lost Woman Song
BlindSide: Both Hands, Work Your Way Out
DownSide: It's a debut. And it's pretty good. We shan't pick nits.
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