Where Are the Ani Difrancos Today?

August 11, 2008 - 11:30 am By Elizabeth-Baruch College

10855123-10855130-large.jpgWhen I was a teenager, I was angry. Of course I was angry! What teenager isn’t? When guys were jerks to me and bratty girls made me homicidal, I had music as my medicine, and fabulous women to look up to.

They were gorgeous and bright, well versed in their rights, talented, and respected. They had lyrics crafted especially for the freeing of the spirit. You know who I’m talking about. Ani Difranco. Tori Amos. Fiona Apple… the list goes on. These ladies helped mold me into who I am today with presence and personality that could give any girl hope and strength.

My questions is this: Where have all of these fantastic ladies gone? As a musician, I can only aspire to be like them, but when I look around, I feel as though I hardly see anyone else aiming for that goal. I see one hit wonders without longevity. I see women using curse words matched with a catchy chorus to be “cute”. Giant boobs and bare midriffs and lyrics written by some fifty year old guy.

Where are the heroes of this generation? Which female singer today would get up at the MTV Video Music Awards and tell little girls everywhere that “This world is bullsh*t“? What singers are telling every record label “F*ck you” and starting their own? Which singers will boldly, and in detail, write a song about being raped?

I know there are great women musicians out there, and I try myself to be the best I can. But when I look at teenage girls today, I feel bad for them because they don’t have the same women I had in their lives to look up to. It pains me every time a younger girl says “Ani WHO?”.

I hope I’m wrong about this, but I feel like my generation was the lucky one for having so many talented ladies holding the reigns in the 90’s. Today’s girls…who do they have?

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16 Comments on "Where Are the Ani Difrancos Today?"

  1. huh says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 200811:56 am 

    You group Ani with 2 pop singers.

    Also, all three of these artists are still making music.

  2. J - NYU says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 200812:31 pm 

    I would argue that Tori Amos and Fiona Apple aren’t “pop” singers at all…they may have had a radio hit here and there, but that doesn’t make them “pop”

  3. Melanie - Northeastern University says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 200812:40 pm 

    Check out Deb Talan from The Weepies. Their music is empowering and sweet. They don’t quite have the edge that Tori Amos and Fiona Apple have, but their lyrics are just as strong. http://www.theweepies.com/

  4. Elizabeth - Baruch College says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20081:35 pm 

    I actually intentionally listed these 3 BECAUSE they are still going. This is what I’m craving…women with longevity who are going to keep making music through their 40’s. And I also agree with Jess about them being pop singers. Having singles certainly doesn’t make an act ‘pop’…hell, look at System of A Down.

  5. leebee says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20081:53 pm 

    Regina Spektor is an AMAZING singer/songwriter with talent, brains, and guts. Her lyrics are not like anything else you’ll hear and her melodies are original…. check her out and you wont be disappointed.

    Unfortunately musicians like her are not as marketable as those who dress scantily and sing computerized songs. It’s all about marketing these days, which is really sad.

  6. Elizabeth says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20082:42 pm 

    I DO totally agree with Regina! She is wonnnnderful.

  7. Jessica says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20082:58 pm 

    Regina is great, but she has the pop flare that suits the radio.

    Try Cat Power, Jenny Lewis, and Rilo Kiley (Jenny is the lead singer of Rilo Kiley). Cat Power (especially the old stuff) makes you want to lock yourself in your bedroom and never come out.

  8. Heather says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20083:10 pm 

    heh maybe me, im trying to write women friendly songs right now. check out my song broken neck, which is about how women are portrayed in advertising (www.myspace.com/electrickulaid).

  9. Heather says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20083:11 pm 

    oh yeah i forgot to mention… lyrics in broken neck are derived from a study i did on it… so its all accurate right there.

  10. Sarah says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20083:19 pm 

    I definitely agree with this article! I also agree with some of the comments that say Regina Spektor falls into this category. She’s a little lighter in content than the aforementioned femme artists, but she does do a good job of representing this type of genre in this generation. “Summer in the City” is my favorite, what do you guys think?

  11. jackie says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20083:57 pm 

    Great post! Sadly when it comes to mainstream these days, it’s not about longevity. Were there fly-by-night artists in the 90’s? Of course there were, but generally more mainstream songs had some thought-provoking aspects to it. Today’s all about auto-tune, gimmicky dances, and who can sell the most ringtones. Guess it’s on our generation, the ones that grew up with Fiona, Ani, Tori, even the likes of Sheryl Crow to share their music with younger generations as our parents/grandparents did with us. As an aside, pretty kick ass female singer-songwriter in the vein of Fiona Apple is Rachel Yamagata. Saw her live and she blew me away – not quite the Fiona-esque level, but good enough to hold me over until Fi gets back in the studio (assuming she ever will…).

  12. J - NYU says:
    Mon, 11th Aug 20084:11 pm 

    Ani Difranco’s music shaped me as a woman. Her lyrics are some of the best lyrics ever written. She was so fearless it amazed me a teenager.

  13. Jill says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20088:41 am 

    I heart: Cat Power, Kimya Dawson, PJ Harvey, Mirah, Regina Spektor, the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Metric and many other girls that rock.

    They’re still out there, I swear!

    -J

  14. kyle says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20085:23 pm 

    talent is always hard to come by.

  15. molly says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20083:17 am 

    if you want “non-pop” then obviously it wont be “popular”

    rosie thomas, the weepies, amber rubarth, regina spektor…etc….

    and although she is “poppy” to some extent, alicia keys has some very meaningful songs that i believe she wrote…..

  16. catherine says:
    Sat, 16th Aug 200812:33 am 

    Ani would tell you to become your own hero. So would I. (And, um, being the same age as Ani – 38 – we are hardly the next generation.)

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