Average Rating:

.

Red Letter Year

by: Ani DiFranco

September 30, 2008
listen to this garbage:

"I won't rent you my time
i won't sell you my brain
i won't pray to a male god
cuz that would be insane
and i can't support the troops
cuz every last one of them is being duped
and i will not rest a wink
until the women have regrouped"


2008, and Ani is still trying to sell feminists and baby lesbians on the idea that women are being kept down and that a "male god" that half of them don't even believe in oppresses them with its maleness somehow. Ani is cynically selling class warfare and men vs women activism like its still 1960. She's the feminist equivalent of Jesse Jackson at this point. Don't even get me started on the anti-soldier rhetoric ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Not a Pretty Girl

by: Ani DiFranco

July 18, 1995
This album, so far, to me, has been her best. It is raw and emotional, and I feel that she spends a lot of time apologizing and, at the same time, refusing to apologizing for what she's done and who she is.

This album is an anthem for feminists everywhere. One song that always grounds me is "Cradle and All." I love her adaptation of "Rock-a-bye baby" and how her words make me feel calm throughout the stress that blinds me throughout the day.

"I'm not a pretty girl" reminds me to be an individual regardless of the chauvinistic society we live in. To be the woman that I am and to ignore the beliefs that crowd my femininity.

Whenever I'm feeling pissed off or bitter, I listen to this album to remind me that I'm not ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Canon

by: Ani DiFranco

September 11, 2007
If you enjoy Ani you will like this compulation. She is very original and this album captures her greats. I guess you would have to call it a folkie type album, maybe more like a hippie-folk would be more fitting.

Average Rating:

.

Little Plastic Castle

by: Ani Difranco

February 17, 1998
3 1/2

DiFranco strives at creating consistent, edgy folk punk with a feminist slant, and although she has a distinguished career amongst her peers, has rarely created an album that engages full-throttle throughout. Little Plastic Castles is known as one of her stronger discs, and it does showcase her many talented styles of various acoustic alchemy with little effort. But only about half of the album's material truly stands the test of time, usually centering around DiFranco's excellent up-tempo numbers. Her talent for mesmerizing strum patterns in these songs simply outshines mid-tempo predictability coupled with (at times) strained vocals/lyrics or poetry-styled readings.

Average Rating:

.

Dilate

by: Ani DiFranco

May 21, 1996
A strong release from the aggressive indie songstress offers another captivating glimpse into the impressive songwriting and stylistic range dripping from DiFranco's acoustic command. Her skilled use of arpeggios continues to be amongst modern singer-songwriting's most compelling. But with all that talent comes the burden of matching vocals to the rhythmic intuition behind her brilliant strumming. It is often here that Ani falters, offering vocals stuffed with self-conscious delivery and over-enunciated bellowing that rings less true each time replayed. It is a shame really, since the times we do get to glimpse her voice completely at it's purest she sounds as close to honest as a million of her signature lyrics could suggest. Thankfully, this is pretty much one of those albums ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Ani DiFranco

by: Ani DiFranco

July 26, 1994
(Actually **1/2 but Amazon doesn't allow half stars.)

This is a promising debut that includes the beautiful "Work Your Way Out," a song that makes me wonder wistfully why Ani doesn't spend more songs singing over a low rumbling piano. If you like Ani, I think the album is worth tracking down for that song alone because the version on Like I Said is done with a guitar and loses something thereby. But this here self-titled debut also has several songs on it that are just downright bad, which is a bit unusual for Ani DiFranco but hey, it's her first record ever. On "Talk to Me Now," Ani sings one of the clumsiest and most amateurish lines I've heard from her: "In this cii-ii-ty, self-preservation is a full-time occupation." Gods that annoys me. "The Story" is one of those ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Reprieve

by: Ani Difranco

August 08, 2006
Let's face it Ani Difranco is definetly an aquired taste musically. Most people are put off by her "women lib rants", her "quirky cartoon vocalizations", or her "hyper-caffeinated guitar strumming". If your a fan of folk or even singer songwriter fare you owe yourself a deep listen into her prolific body of work. Being somewhat familiar with her body of work I was immediately put back by the somberness of this album but after repeated listens this album really grew on me. This album is really reflective and really can't be appreciated in a more upbeat state of mind. This album is like a warm cup of coffee being cradled and sipped by someone living in cold dreary storm-drenched cabin in the pacific northwest. Given that example you should listen in the right atmosphere:perhaps a long lonely ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Steal This Movie (2000 Film)

by: Steve Earle & Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Phil Ochs, Joan Osborne & Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco, Country Joe & The Fish, Edwin Starr, Eric Burdon & Billy Preston, Timothy B. Schmit, Mary Chapin Carpenter

July 25, 2000
This is generally just an OK soundtrack - except for the 1st song "Time Has Come Today" by Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle which is just... phenomenal. Actually, IMHO, it is one of the great covers of all time and alone is worth the cost of the CD.

Average Rating:

.

Living in Clip

by: Ani DiFranco

April 22, 1997
Ani DiFranco is a one-of-a-kind artist. Poet, singer, guitarist, feminist, lable-maker/owner....the list could continue for quite a while. As an avid Ani listener, I have heard EVERY album (even live albums) by her, and I personally find this to be the most raw of them all. I have seen her multiple times live and this is a great representation of her on stage. She is so cute! Please buy this album...it will enrich your life!

Average Rating:

.

Up Up Up Up Up Up

by: Ani DiFranco

January 19, 1999
I bought this album when it first came out, and then literally ignored it for YEARS. My inexperienced 20something brain couldn't figure it out, I guess. Nine years later and I decide to give it a second spin. HOLY CRAP. I was blown away. It speaks to me in a way I couldn't have seen a thousand miles away. If you hated this album 9 years ago, I urge you take a second look. Now I understand what she was trying to convey. This album does take some concentration to listen to. You just can't put it on while your doing housework or something. I put it on and sat down with the lyrics and spent a good 2 hours making friends with it.