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Fiona Apple
American musician (born 1977)
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart is an American singer-songwriter. All five of her albums have reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200, and as of 2021, she has sold over 15 million records worldwide.
Apple has received numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Video Award. Three of her albums appear on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
Fiona Apple was born Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart on September 13, 1977, in New York City to singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart, who met when both were cast in the Broadway musical Applause. Her father is from Tennessee, and through him, Apple has Melungeon ancestry. Her maternal grandparents were dancer Millicent Green and big band vocalist Johnny McAfee. Her sister Amber sings cabaret under the stage name Maude Maggart, and actor Garett Maggart is her half-brother. Apple grew up in Morningside Gardens in Morningside Heights with her mother and sister, but spent summers with her father in Los Angeles.
Apple has a contralto vocal range. Her music has been called art pop, baroque pop, chamber pop, art rock, alternative rock, and jazz pop. According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, her "roots lay in jazz, show tunes, and classic '70s singer/songwriters, [a] blend that came into sharper focus on her second album, When the Pawn."
American singer-songwriter and pianist, born September 13, 1977 in New York City, New York.
Also known as: Apple, F. Apple, Fiona Apple Maggart, Fionna Apple, フィオナ・アップル
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Fiona Apple, the records, oldest first
Tidal
1996 album
wanted
When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing ’Fore He Enters the Ring There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You’ll Know That You’re Right
1999 album
Fiona Apple 1999
1999 ep
Tweeker Body for Christmas
2000 album
Extraordinary Machine
2005 album
wanted
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
2012 album
wanted
Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2020 album
wanted
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Fiona Apple, the third single from her debut studio album, Tidal, released on June 2, 1997, through Work Records and Columbia Records. Apple has stated that the song is about "feeling bad for getting something so easily by using your sexuality".
Apple's highest-charting single, it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as No. 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
Music video
The song's music video was directed by Mark Romanek in May 1997 with cinematography by Harris Savides. It was released a month later in June 1997. Visual enhancements including the retroreflector in Fiona Apple's eyes and additional lighting vignettes were created by visualist Ash Beck. The video features Apple sulking in various states of undress, and The New Yorker described her as "looking like an underfed Calvin Klein model", known as the "heroin chic" look. It explores themes of voyeurism and adolescence. In 1998, the video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.
Cover versions
Singer Natalie Cole covered the song for her 20th studio album, Leavin' (2006). Len Righi of The Morning Call wrote that she was surprised at Cole's ability to transform the "agonizing, brazen lament" into "a funky, Tina Turner-type, rump-shaker".
Legacy
The music video for "Criminal" was the main inspiration for It Was Romance frontperson Lane Moore's music video to her song "Hooking Up with Girls", with many visuals as well as costumes inspired by the video. "Criminal" was ranked number 423 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the "Top 500 Songs of All Time".
"Dull Tool" is a song by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, released on the soundtrack to the comedy film This Is 40 (2012). It is the first track Apple wrote solely for a film.
"Dull Tool" was produced by Apple's long-time collaborator Jon Brion, and leaked online in November 2012, several weeks before the soundtrack hit stores on December 11.
Background and composition
American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple became involved with the comedy 2012 film This Is 40 after being sent a script by its writer and director, Judd Apatow. The two had met a few years previously during a benefit concert for a family clinic; Apatow was a self-described fan of her music. Some time after sending Apple the script, film composer Jon Brion told Apatow that Apple had recorded a demo for the film. Apatow later commented in an interview with Pitchfork Media, "I didn't know she would write anything. The song was perfect, and I knew exactly where to put it." He added that Apple had recorded a second song, but he could not find an appropriate place to insert it into the film; he called this song "equally as great as 'Dull Tool'. It...
Release and reception
The song appears in This Is 40, but was not initially planned for inclusion in the film's soundtrack. In October 2012, Pitchfork Media reported a supposed conflict between Apple and her record label, Epic Records. Apple had reportedly "lashed out at her label for pulling promotional support from her new album [The Idler Wheel...] in response to her placing a song on a soundtrack" that was being produced by two other music companies. This led to speculation that Epic did not want the soundtrack to be released. It leaked online in November 2012, several weeks before the soundtrack debuted in stores on December 11.
"Paper Bag" is a song by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, released as the third single from her second studio album, When the Pawn... (1999). The song earned Apple a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the 43rd Grammy Awards (2001).
Background and composition
"Paper Bag" has been described as a cabaret inspired song with baroque elements. Apple wrote the song following an experience in which she mistook a plastic bag for a dove. The event took place in Los Angeles following recording sessions for her previous studio album, Tidal (1996); Apple, reportedly upset at the time, was a passenger in a car being driven by her father. Apple's lyrics are what she calls "extensions of her journal", many of which draw experiences from a rape and subsequent mental health problems, including disordered eating, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The lyrics in "Paper Bag" are about minimizing different types of pain, something that is reflective of the feminine...
Music video
Paul Thomas Anderson directed the music video for "Paper Bag", which features a blue-and-red palette. Anderson and Apple were in a romantic relationship at the time. The video was filmed at Los Angeles's Union Station, specifically the Fred Harvey restaurant portion of the terminal.
Reception
Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote that "Paper Bag" was one of the more accessible, "inspiring" tracks from the album. Greenwald appreciated Don Sweeney's horn arrangement, which he called "joyous". In 2012, Bob Gendron of the Chicago Tribune opined, "A midst a backdrop of gently brushed drums, 'Paper Bag' highlighted an ugly tempestuousness at odds with its breezy cabaret melody." In the "Rolling Stone Special Nineties Edition," the song was ranked as the 29th. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 382nd greatest song of all time.
"Shadowboxer" is a song written and performed by American alternative singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It was released on
July 1, 1996, by Work Records and Columbia Records as her debut single from her debut studio album, Tidal.
Background and release
Apple recorded the song with collaborator Jon Brion in 1995 immediately after being signed to a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Its lyrical content mainly explores the themes of the dangers of desire and vulnerability. It was then released as her debut and lead single from her forthcoming debut studio album on July 1, 1996. A music video of the song directed by Jim Gable was released. Apple performed "Shadowboxer" in various events, most notably during the 22nd season of Saturday Night Live and on the television special MTV Unplugged: Fiona Apple.
Music video
Shot entirely in black-and-white, this takes place in a recording studio, with scenes of her playing the piano and in Fostex T20RP headphones singing in front of a microphone.
Critical reception
"Shadowboxer" has received critical acclaim from music critics, with many of them comparing Apple's voice to Nina Simone and her lyrical talent to Carole King. Steven Mirkin of Entertainment Weekly gave the song an A−, he wrote, "Singing to a former lover, her slurred, smoky vocals float above a loping, gospel-tinged piano, vibes, and string arrangement, making her 'Shadowboxer' sound like Nina Simone covering early Elton John. Although she's only 18, she has the poise of a seasoned singer." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the song as "haunting", remarking that while "it strives to say something deep and important, much of the lyrics settle for clichés."
"Every Single Night" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It was released as the only single from her fourth studio album, The Idler Wheel..., on April 24, 2012, by Epic Records.
Background and release
"Every Single Night" marked Fiona Apple's first single in six years since "Get Him Back" (2006). She began writing and recording the song in secret, unbeknownst to her label Epic. She and producer Charley Drayton opted to use minimal musical arrangement in the song by performing on a celesta and a marimba. The song chronicles what Apple used to dream every night; "Every single night's a fight with my brain."
Chart performance and critical reception
Following the release of The Idler Wheel..., the song debuted at 72 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart on the week ending July 21, 2012, marking her first entry on the chart. Even though the song failed to enter any of the Billboard charts in the United States, the song has received critical acclaim from critics, with some citing it as the highlight of the album. Jillian Mapes of Billboard commented, "Needless to say, Apple's single isn't a "Criminal" sequel, and radio airplay doesn't appear to be the goal here. Yet it's fair to deem "Every Single Night" a triumphant comeback by being exactly what Apple's cult of devotees has been yearning for." She also remarked following the album's release that "Musically, the song straddles the line...
"Fast as You Can" is a song written by Fiona Apple, and produced by Jon Brion for her second album, When the Pawn.... It was released as the album's lead single in the United States on October 5, 1999, and in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2000.
It became one of Apple's most successful singles in both countries, and its music video, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, was well received.
Background and style
Fiona Apple said that with the song, she wanted to explore different moods and the "ups and downs" of a relationship. "When you get to the middle [of the song], that spell of confusion takes you out of the element for a minute, which is, of course, what happens emotionally. But the beat never changes." Apple said the song is "really just thoughts that were running through my head that were in that rhythm".
Music video
The single's music video was directed by Apple's then-boyfriend, film director Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed the video for Apple's previous single, "Across the Universe" (1998). Anderson shot the video in Pasadena, California with the crew he uses during the production of his films. "[I]t's all really fun", Apple said of the video. "I don't have to wear any makeup or anybody else's clothes — no negligees!" The video was photographed by Robert Elswit and edited by Dylan Tichenor, and it premiered on MTV and VH1 the week ending on September 19, 1999. In the video, Apple is seen singing the song in and around a house, inside a garage, at a subway station and on a subway train. The video was filmed with a vintage hand-cranked camera,...
"Get Him Back" is a song written by American singer Fiona Apple and produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew for her third album Extraordinary Machine (2005). It was released as a promotional CD single only to triple-A radio as the album's fourth single on February 6, 2006.
"O' Sailor" is a song written and performed by American singer Fiona Apple and recorded for her third studio album Extraordinary Machine (2005). On August 15, 2005, ahead of the album's release in early October, Epic Records made both "O' Sailor" and "Parting Gift" for streaming on Apple's website.
The following day, the songs were released for digital download at the online iTunes Music Store. It was later released to US adult album alternative radio stations on September 12, 2005.
