Bruised Apple

Wednesday. This is my most boring day of the week. I have nothing scheduled to do on this day. I wait for feedback on my spreadsheets and make requested revisions when applicable. In the meantime I look up and log financial information in a vendor file database I am compiling. Trust me, this is all as interesting as it sounds. At least the servers are running today. Apparently a transformer blew up near one of the main HQ buildings. Since smoke was detected, they evacuated the building for about an hour and a half before they sent everyone home for the day. Since the big boss lady and all of my co-workers on this project work in this building they got a free day off. Did I get to go home? That answer would be no. Since I work out of a remote, undisclosed location hundreds of miles away I got the pleasure of waiting out the downtime. On the plus side, my desk sure looks clean.

An observation was made to me privately that I never discuss female musicians on this site. So, since I am always open to feedback and eager to please, today I grabbed Fiona Apple (and then she slapped me). No, no, no, I mean I selected a mix CD of Fiona Apple songs to hear on my way in to work. As you may notice, I have been listening to a lot of old mix CDs lately. That is because the radio transmitter for my iPod broke and has rendered this marvelous invention useless in my vehicle. So, I am reverting back to compact discs until a new transmitter can be requisitioned (If you would all like to start up a collection for me just leave a comment and I will forward you my shipping address). Anyway, back to Ms. Apple. Fiona Apple hit it big in the late 1990's with hits such as Criminal, Sleep to Dream, and Paper Bag. She has a deep, sultry voice and usually accompanies her vocals with her piano-playing abilities. The music is good and the lyrics are smart and well written. When you contrast this to the other popular female artists of the late 1990's (and today), there is just no comparison. Those over-produced puppets have nothing on Fiona.

But where is Ms. Apple now? She has been curiously absent from the music world lately. To provide you, faithful reader, with that answer (and to further avoid real work) I decided to see if I could find that answer. First stop, the official Fiona Apple website. Hmmm... some pictures, discography, standard stuff... ok here we go, "news." The last news update announces the release of her latest album When the Pawn... This album was put out in 1999! There hasn't been any news in six years? Ok, obviously I was going to have to go outside the traditional mainstream sources. Next stop, a website entitled "Free Fiona." Has Fiona been jailed? Maybe she really is a Criminal. I'm definitely intrigued so I clicked on the link. Now, here's what I have been looking for. According to this website, Sony has held up an album Ms. Apple completed back in 2002 because they didn't feel that it would be profitable enough to justify production and marketing costs (despite the fact that her two previous albums went platinum). Sony changed CEOs a few years back and the new guy wanted to take Sony in a different direction, one that apparently did not include Fiona Apple. Again, the "news" link on this site is out of date, with the most recent update being in late 2004. Finally, I checked the Wikipedia entry for Ms. Apple. This goes into a little bit more detail regarding the Sony problem and also announces that she is working on a fourth album. However, according to this site, she is working with a producer with a background in electronica, and Ms. Apple plans to take her music in "a new direction." The word "electronica" alone makes me cringe with thoughts of some kind of techno-Fiona-robot sound, but I will withhold judgment until I hear a final cut. That is if they decide to release it...