Comments on: Where Are the Ani Difrancos Today?

By: catherine

catherine — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:33:42 +0000

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.)

By: molly

molly — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:17:20 +0000

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…..

By: kyle

kyle — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:23:42 +0000

talent is always hard to come by.

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:41:41 +0000

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

By: J - NYU

J - NYU — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:11:29 +0000

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.

By: jackie

jackie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:57:12 +0000

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…).

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:19:58 +0000

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?

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:11:18 +0000

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.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:10:41 +0000

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).

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:58:46 +0000

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.