https://www.democracynow....mp_her_new

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AMY GOODMAN: Talk about working with Prince. How did you meet him?

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ANI DIFRANCO: Geez. Well, you know, when I was sort of constructing my, you know, independent label, he was in this era of desperately trying to get off of his major label, you know, writing “slave” on his cheek and changing his name and just making all of these very poetic statements about being owned by a corporation, you know, this corporation that had benefited so greatly from its association with Prince. You know, to not be in artistic control of his work was wrong. So he started talking in the media about wanting to come over to Righteous Babe, and our dialogue sort of started publicly.

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And then, you know, at some point I went through Minneapolis, and he turned up. And he had a habit of turning up for a few years, you know, which was incredibly—an incredible honor and thrill for me. I’ve been a fan since—of his, since I was just a little pup, you know, and in every way, not just, of course, his incredible music and musicality and the songs and everything he’s contributed on that level, but his feminism, his gender-bending queerness even, you know, his heterosexual queerness, you know, his—the way he just opens—his transcendence above, you know, racial separation and division and hierarchies. And he just embodied these really transcendent possibilities for everyone around him. And we all, you know, were liberated by him.

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AMY GOODMAN: You recorded two songs with Prince, right? In 1999—

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ANI DIFRANCO: Yeah.

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AMY GOODMAN: —”Providence,” on your To the Teeth album, and “Eye Love U”—that’s E-Y-E—”But Eye Don’t Trust U Anymore.”

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ANI DIFRANCO: Yeah. Yeah, that was—so, I play a show in Minneapolis. He shows up for the first time and blows my mind. And then he invites me—I had the day off the next day, and he invites me to play on—come by Paisley Park and play on his new record. OK, sure. That should be fine, you know.

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So I show up with my cheap little guitar, and, you know, I sit down in the waiting room. And they say, “Just wait a few minutes. He’s busy.” And he was busy recording this piano ballad, just solo, that song, “Eye Love U, But Eye Don’t Trust U Anymore,” solo piano and vocal. Beautiful, exquisite, quintessentially him.

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And then I get brought in. And he says, you know, “It’s in G.” And I’m supposed to play guitar over this solo. I was just like, “Oh, OK. Kill me now.” First of all, I don’t know what G is. I’m not that kind of guitar player. I’m a just scratch-and-sniff guitar player, you know? So, mortal panic. Somehow I managed to just make it up and hang on to the song enough that he left it in. So it’s just me accompanying him on this beautiful ballad. But, you know, such an honor. And I remember—and then, I was—you know, I was so cheeky when I was young. So, the evening before, when he said, “Will you come by the studio and play on my new record?” I said, “Sure, if you’ll play on my new record.” So, he did me the kindness of, you know, singing on my song, too.

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AMY GOODMAN: And that song was?

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ANI DIFRANCO: “Providence,” that song. Yeah.

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Never heard that track Providence before. Sounds like Prince playing bass on it, as well as vocals.

Is she like, you know, mentally disabled?

TheFman said:

Is she like, you know, mentally disabled?

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Well, given that she said "you know" 19 times in this short excerpt, coupled with the fact that despite releasing 20 albums she can't play her guitar in G, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet.

Prince's background vocals/harmonies on Providence are midblowing. Some of my favorite vocal work from the man.

Providence is a beautiful song and collaboration with Prince.

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Ani is a smart, creative, and talented artist.

alexzander said:

Prince's background vocals/harmonies on Providence are midblowing. Some of my favorite vocal work from the man.

Yep! same here. That song definitly showcases how much of a complex, skilled and underrated vocal arranger he was.