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Ani DiFranco — Tamburitza Lingua
Album: Revelling
Avg rating:
4.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 158








Released: 2001
Length: 5:07
Plays (last 30 days): 0
a cold and porcelain lonely
in an old new york hotel
a stranger to a city
that she used to know so well
bathing in a bathroom
that is bathed in the first blue light
of the beginning of a century
at the end of an endless night

then she is wet behind the ears and wafting down the avenue
pre-rush hour
post-rain shower
stillness seeping upwards like steam
from another molten sewer
summer in new york

they've been spraying us with chemicals in our sleep
us / they
something about the mosquitoes having some kind of disease
them / me
CIA foul play
if you ask the guy selling hair dryers out of a gym bag
chemical warfare
"i'm telling you, lab rat to lab rat," he says, "that's where the truth is
at"
that's where the truth is at
that's where the truth is at

and everything seems to have gone terribly wrong that can
but one breath at a time is an acceptable plan
she tells herself
and the air is still there
and this morning it's even breathable
and for a second the relief is unbelievable
and she's a heavy sack of flour sifted
her burden lifted
she's full of clean wind for one lean moment
and then she's trapped again
reverted
caged and contorted
with no way to get free
and she's getting plenty of little kisses
but nobody's slippin' her the key

her whole life is a long list of what ifs
and she doesn't even know where to begin
and the pageantry of suffering therein
rivals television
tv is, after all, the modern day roman coliseum
human devastation as mass entertainment
and now millions sit jeering
collectively cheering
the bloodthirsty hierarchy of the patriarchal arrangement

she is hailing a cab
she is sailing down the avenue
she's 19 going on 30
or maybe she's really 30 now ...
it's hard to say
it's hard to keep up with time once it's on its way

and, you know, she never had much of a chance
born into a family built like an avalanche
and somewhere in the 80s between the oat bran and the ozone
she started to figure out things like why
one eye pointed upwards looking for the holes in the sky
one eye on the little flashing red light
a picasso face twisted and listing down the canvas
of the end of an endless night

10 9 8 seven six 5 4 three 2 one
and kerplooey
you're done.
you're done for.
you're done for good.
so tell me
did you?
did you do
did you do all you could?
Comments (50)add comment
Marr wrote:
Musicalbobs is the same person who rated songs by John Lennon, REM, Neil Young on the high end. Does he also consider these discontented, protest songwriting, peaceniks STUPID? Sometimes being discontented and distrusting modern society just means that you actually care about both the profound and the minor injustices that exist in our society. And if you really believe that such things do not exist, then you may not be stupid, but you certainly are willfully ignorant. I may not always agree with Ani's politics, but I know for certain that she is not stupid.
Amen and thank you you, Marr. Your response is as perfect as can be. I'm not famliar with her politics or as an artist (that's why I listen to RP, to hear more diverse music and ideas), but this particular cut was mezmerizing and provocative.
musicalbobs wrote:
Just because you are discontent or do not trust modern society does not make you profound. It just means you are probably stupid.
Musicalbobs is the same person who rated songs by John Lennon, REM, Neil Young on the high end. Does he also consider these discontented, protest songwriting, peaceniks STUPID? Sometimes being discontented and distrusting modern society just means that you actually care about both the profound and the minor injustices that exist in our society. And if you really believe that such things do not exist, then you may not be stupid, but you certainly are willfully ignorant. I may not always agree with Ani's politics, but I know for certain that she is not stupid.
Coppertop wrote:
fatuous: Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish. See Synonyms at foolish. Delusive; unreal: fatuous hopes.
Yep. She fits the description.
mojoman wrote:
Ani DiFranco is another one of those fatuous, self-important types who somehow get mistaken for profound.
fatuous: Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish. See Synonyms at foolish. Delusive; unreal: fatuous hopes. Sorry wrong person. Try... hmmm. most of the people in the Senate and Congress
Very good article about her music and real estate empire, declining sales: https://www.inc.com/magazine/20040901/difranco.html
I've gotten pretty burned out on Ani, but I like this song still.
Ani DiFranco is another one of those fatuous, self-important types who somehow get mistaken for profound.
I like the music...I just don't like spoken lyrics :(
musicalbobs wrote:
Just because you are discontent or do not trust modern society does not make you profound. It just means you are probably stupid.
Lemmings are content to follow the pack - they must be very intelligent. However I think your point was that baseless paranoia is no better. So if Britney Spears often gets dismissed as mindless air-head pop is Ani Difranco considered the converse - overly thoughtful intellectual tripe? I think there's room for both IMHO.
musicalbobs wrote:
Just because you are discontent or do not trust modern society does not make you profound. It just means you are probably stupid.
Discontent/mistrust = stupid? Wow. Don't tell me, let me guess. Bush, right?
i am always interested to come see what gets written in response to ani defranco's music because she's definitely a polarizing artist - whether you do or don't agree with her politics or get her poetry or appreciate the musical style, there seems to be very little gray area. and yet i usually find myself pretty disappointed in how shallow most of the comments are, particularly on the part of her detractors, and how quick some are to dismiss her as just a punk, or just a "discontent" poser. i'd urge anyone who is moved to comment - positively, negatively, or otherwise - on one of her songs to look a little deeper into the poetry, the music, and the woman who created them.
8)
Now this could be a profound statement. Possibly the result an indepth analysis of our societies social policies in not just the modern context but spanning ..... or he's just plain stupid. musicalbobs wrote:
Just because you are discontent or do not trust modern society does not make you profound. It just means you are probably stupid.
" Yeah, you know! Tambur! It's a Linguini! " A 6.
Just because you are discontent or do not trust modern society does not make you profound. It just means you are probably stupid.
acoustic Laurie Anderson at that....same short hair, darker, tinier, change the violin for a guitar....and no chance of Bill Burroughs dropping in for a cameo. Somehow I just don't like it as much.
DownHomeGirl wrote:
I have a love-hate relationship with Ani, but I LOVE this one. Play it again soon!
Me too. She ain't background music, that's for sure.
phhht wrote:
Strongly reminiscent of Laurie Anderson. And that's a Good Thing.
i like it anyway.
phhht wrote:
Strongly reminiscent of Laurie Anderson. And that's a Good Thing.
Couldn't have said it better.
I have a love-hate relationship with Ani, but I LOVE this one. Play it again soon!
Strongly reminiscent of Laurie Anderson. And that's a Good Thing.
I need a beret, some dark sunglasses, cigarettes & some espresso.
Kingpepper wrote:
Any suggestions which would be the best one to get first?
I just notced this is an old post... but for what it's worth... "Little Plastic Castle" is a good start. Then get "Out of Range."
Art_Carnage wrote:
"a family built like an avalanche"? I'm guessing she understands the meaning of "avalanche" like Alanis Morissette understands the meaning of "irony".
Avalanche = like a big, heavy thing that is precariously balanced and constructed with masses of accumulated material only to be triggered by even very small disturbances to come crashing down with unbelievable speed, creating terror and devstating that in its path. i.e. family built like an avalanche
"a family built like an avalanche"? I'm guessing she understands the meaning of "avalanche" like Alanis Morissette understands the meaning of "irony".
"TV is a modern Roman Colliseum"...how true that is... Great song. Good Lyrics.
very good, i loved it :)
sheesh this is depressing...be very careful bill...if yoko ono follows this, things might get messy
You know it is a classic RP song when you get such diverse opinions about a song. I like it but I'm guessing that won't last long if I hear another dozen time.
Is this woman joyless or what?
lab rat to lab rat... I think I like it. I went to see who it was when it came on, and I was surprised it was ani defranco. I've never listened to her before, but I've had a few friends tell me that I'd like her. I guess they were right. Which means I should probably get one of her albums. Any suggestions which would be the best one to get first?
Almost as bad as her God-Awful "Self Evident" crap
Rambling rubbish.
don't know why,but i simply like it
alanb wrote:
You know, her style on this one is kinda a female Bruce Cockburn, eh?
I can see why you would say that (being a huge Cockburn fan here). Still let's leave this to the professionals (like Cockburn)
This is truly horrid.
You know, her style on this one is kinda a female Bruce Cockburn, eh?
I Love it !!!
ani rocks... with her strange paranoid ranting... speaking along with a lazy music background
fantastic. i love ani's understated stuff just as much as her in-yr-face tunes. lets keem 'em coming.
sucko barfo this woman makes my skin crawl
true, this isn't one of my fav's either.... however, she is AMAZING live... I'll be seeing her in about a month out here... I might be biased seeing as I live in her hometown - she's Buffalo's own Righteous Babe... and she can do no wrong!
I like quite a bit of her music also, but this wasn't one of them. thanks for trying something different though. Again , this is what makes RP so cool.
I have learned to love and respect Ani. I do not love this song. :headshake:
I like wry social commentary, delivered in a clever, sardonic patois. If you hear some, let me know.
Thanks for playing Ani. RP has always been the place where I can base my CD purchasing on what I hear. This is one I'm going to pass on. I don't think I'll go see her in concert either. Wow, I'm glad I didn't waste any money on this.
gypsy222 wrote:
:headshake:
<-X
Hmmmm.... somebody thinks she's channeling Tom Waits. Compare to TW's "9th & Hennepin" (off the Rain Dogs album). Ani seems to be a polarizing figure in music. Myself, can't stand her....
:headshake: