so, thanks to a few friends i have finally got a copy of this all but abandoned recording. all i can say is "what the f is sony thinking!?!" they should release this cd immeidately. earlier in the year a couple songs leaked...extraordinary machine and better version of me...these are not the only good songs on the record! all 11 tracks are really good; exciting and fresh from whats on radio now. there are a few radio stations across the country that have started playing some of the tracks only to get a cease and desist order from those who claim to be the powers that be. this is one of the reasons why i will never understand the music industry...thousands of people have been urging sony to release the music and they still haven't. yet, at the same time, the record industry will bitch and moan about how nobody is buying music. well, duh! put out music that people want to buy and you'll sell some music! its not like they have to come up with packaging and pay distibution costs...hell, just throw them up on itunes or something and make the music available for paid downloads. what's the problem?

anyway, in the meantime all anyone has to do is google "fiona apple extraordinary machine" and within a few clicks you'll have the record. if you like her previous material this is not a recording that will disappoint. please, please, please and window struck me immediately as a few favorites but the entire recording is great!
[Edited 3/25/05 11:08am]
[Edited 3/25/05 11:10am]

cool. You know with all of the legal BS goin' on with album, I completely forgot about it. I just found it at Emule though, along with a Live at the Eastmore bootleg.

Alright, don't smack me around but I was watching Kevin Hill the other night & they played a song that sounded very Fiona in the music, lyrics & at times the vocal. But her vocal is so distinct, it may not have been her b/c I'd like to think I know her voice Can't remember any of the words but it sounded NICE. Anybody know if that was her track? Probably not w/ all this corporate nonsense but...



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[Edited 3/26/05 16:26pm]

This is a FUCKING AWESOME ALBUM!!!!

Best thing I have heard in months, along with Beck's Guero.

Fiona Apple has made one of the greatest albums in American musical history, here....in my humble opinion.

I WANT THIS.Help.

13inchshoe said:

Google baby! I found it in about fifteen minutes the other night at 192kpbs!

13inchshoe said:

sassybritches said:

mrdespues said:

What makes it THAT great, in your opinion? I think it is good, but I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's one of the greatest.. I mean, that's a big claim.

I'm really lovin' Red Red Red so far. I gotta give it some more time, but from the first listen, it's pretty good. She's not venturing too far off from her other albums.....that's good.

mrdespues said:

I listened to one of Missy Higgin's songs last night for the first time, and on that particular song(forgot the name of it) her voice was like a carbon copy of fiona's. I'm not sure what the rest of her songs are like.

Oooooohhhh, can't wait to get home and look it up on google. I need this right now. Fiona RULES!

AnckSuNamun said:

yeah, she definitely has a fiona influence a little bit. i wouldn't describe her as a carbon copy of fiona at all, though.

acire said:

Yeah, just trying to attract attention to it really. I think it's a very very good album.....even though there is not one song on it that is a discernible single....I love avante-garde pop, and this is right up there with the best, IMO. It takes me somewhere a lot of albums wouldn't dare. I love the chord clusters and deliberate dissonances....

OH! I thought this was a thread about her vagina

hey, here is an excellent review of the album from Slant magazine:

http://www.slantmagazine....asp?ID=561

here's some great cover art I found that someone made:

i think it's okay... nothing special. i can see why the label is balking at releasing it. it needs a couple more strong tracks.

The album is benefitting from "Black-Album-Syndrome", in my opinion - unreleased albums always seem to obtain this legendary status, whether they deserve it or not.

So not that the ablum is leaked, does it even have a chance it was released commerically? What is being done and why is Fionia still with them (Sony)?

I think I missed the download. Can someone orgnote me a link that works?

JonSnow said:

wow, do you realise the amount of craft that went into making an album like this? this is a great album with some very strong tracks. if you only care about songs that are hummable then I can see why it's not for you. each to their own.

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probably shouldn't post it edit.
[Edited 3/28/05 18:31pm]

VinnyM27 said:

I found this snippet from mtv.com:

"Eventually [Fiona's record] will come out," Machine producer Jon Brion told MTV News in an interview about the in-limbo disc. "People who do understand her are going to be thrilled. Is all this going to make radio play it? Probably not."

I met Fiona a couple of months ago and she told me that the new album will be released very soon.

mrdespues said:

I understand how much craft goes into an album like that, but that does not make it a great work. Or, if it does for you, more power to ya! I’m sure you are not implying that if one doesn’t like Fiona’s album, that they somehow only like music that is “hummable.” That is obviously not the case.

The reality is that Sony is a big company whose purpose it to make money. Fiona’s album, had it been released in the normal course of things, would not have generated substantial critical raves, IMHO, nor would it have garnered significant radio airplay. Sony does not want to sink money into something that will end up being a loss for them. Does that make it fair? Perhaps not, but this is a business, and Fiona understood that when she signed with a major. She does not have the clout artistically or commercially to just release whatever she feels like. Fiona would be better off on an Indie label, and she could put out whatever non-commercial doodlings she wants.

Now – that being said – this could be the best thing that could happen, because all of the publicity about the “unreleased Fiona Apple album” will drive up curiosity and sympathy for her. The mystique of being an unreleased work should get it a little more attention when it is actually released, and – big labels being as unpopular as they are – should drive a little more positive press Fiona’s way when it does see the light of day. Once again, the “Black-Album-Syndrome”. The myth that an artists’ unreleased work is somehow their best still perpetuates.

Of course, I have little sympathy for the major labels. They have dug their own grave, in my opinion. But every decision they make is not necessarily bad. I understand how frustrated Fiona’s fans are, but perhaps not all of them are looking at the situation objectively.

Personally I don’t connect with the record, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. But if I were sitting in the power chair at Sony, I would probably send it back to her and say, “um, no, you can do better.” Just my humble opinion, of course.

JonSnow said:

I respect your opinion, but I disagree. This album would have sold like hotcakes because people have been waiting for another Fiona record for YEARS now. And it IS a great record...most people who have heard it seem to think so. Tracks were played on a radio station in the US recently and even those who are not Fiona fans phoned in and said they liked it. And there were still others who did not necessarily like the music but thanked the station for playing something different to the norm. The music world needs more records like this right now...Fiona seems to be saying that herself in the final song, "Please, Please, Please". This album is BOLD, multi-layered and ORIGINAL and some people just don't appreciate the hard work and talent it takes to achieve that.

I'm totally diggin what I'm hearing so far. I can see how Sony might have a problem with all the dissonance on the album. This normally doesn't happen in pop music. That's probably why they're scratching their heads and turning up their noses. I really love it so far... but I haven't heard it all. I have to admit, the dissonance makes me uneasy at first, but then it becomes sublime. Plus the dissonance makes the strings sound so much more beautiful in comparison. It's such a relief to hear something in key after all that.

I remember hearing about a concert performance in college where the entire show was of 12-toned pieces. Of course it made everyone uncomfortable, some people left... but those that stayed got used to it and the last song was not atonal and it ended up sounding awkward to them!

So far, I really admire what she has done. It's really inspiring me right now. She sounds great. I love her voice. Holy shit, Window is fucking brilliant.

It's a great album. Red, Red, Red, in particular, is fantastic, like A Mistake and Sleep to Dream. I like anything she does simply because I love her voice. But she does need at least one hooky chorus if she expects to sell records.

Thunderbird said:

yeah, I love the dramatic strings in that one.....kinda a dark song. I love her darker sounding songs.

I got booted off once I started downloading.God dammit!

mrdespues said:

How well did When the Pawn sell? I don't recall it selling like hotcakes, but perhaps I am wrong. And that was 6 years ago. Fiona fans may believe that the masses have been clamoring for a new Fiona album, but I don't think that is the case, and I don't think the new record would have sold well had it been released in its normal course. I could be wrong