Took me a minute when I bought "Controversy" to figure out that the Joni he was referring to was Joni Mitchell. Since that nod and the mention of Hissing Of Summer Lawns, my life hasn't been the same.

So who's gonna be the brother that has "Ani" on his album cover? eh? This woman is the shiz. And yes, I hate that it took playing with Prince for me to finally jump on the bandwagon. (Damn him!)

That given, I admit that I only possess the albums from Living In Clip onward and here are my favorite joints. Please feel free to make recommendos. AND I LOVE (the new album) EVOLVE! listen daily!

Promised Land
Grey
To The Teeth
Here For Now
Everest
Two Little Girls
Soft Shoulder
Providence (yeah, I said it!)
In The Way
Pulse

It was more or less the same with me... I mean, I had heard of Ani Di Franco for quite a while when I first read that Prince really liked her... but everytime I went to a record store and had a look at what she had already released there was this pile of cds and it was really impossible to choose... obviously the Prince collaboration pushed me towards "To the teeth"... and I was struck and stuck! I don't have all of her albums (yet) because they're just sooo many, but I must say I own quite a few and I managed to see her perform live 3 times here in Rome (luckily enough she loves this town!). Well, I really admire her for her spirit, her wit, her words, her music, her voice, her strength, her courage, her determination, her sense of humor, her depth, her conciousness, her humbleness (does this word exist by the way?)... and I could go on and on and on...
It's nice to see there are more and more people appreciating this little-big woman.

Both of your stories describe my introduction to the little folk singer...she's my female Prince...I've only seen her live once but I'm already a huge fan...

I started (of course) with "To the Teeth" and I too was hooked...I love "Revelling/Reckoning" and "Evolve" but the discs that get the ultimate play is "So Much Shouting So Much Laughter." Tracks like "Dilate," "Loom-Pulse" kick my ass on every listen...

"...and you are so lame you know you always dissappoint me it's kinda like a running joke, but it's really not funny and I just want you to live up to the image of you I created I see you and I'm so unsatisfied I see you and I dilate."

P turned me on to her to. I've downloaded tons of cool audio & video. My favs (that I bought) are:

living in clip
reckoning

hi, all P got me into ani as well. ive only seen her live once but i would go again in a heart beat. during the concert i was at she made a funny face in my direction cause i was laughing at her dancing. this was a happy laughter though it was not meant as an insult of any kind. i was just glad to see her moving ya know? anyways my fav albums of hers that i own so far are 1. little plastic castles 2. up, up, up,... 3 to the teeth 4. folk hereo (this is a live boot from japan where she does some classics and covers p's wdc. ) i plan to get all her albums some time soon hopefully. peace all

P also got me into Ani. I read an interview with him in '95 or early '96 about his praising Ani's independence from contracts and corporate record companies. I decided I would give her a listen and bought Living in Clip. I was hooked immediately. I saw her live for the first time in April of '97 and that got me further into her music. I now have all her albums and some bootlegs and have attended six 7 shows. She is definitely the female counterpart of Prince.

my old roommate was (is) a huge fan of ani's so i am very familiar with her work. i don't know the titles to her discs but there is one relatively recent, two disc set that caught my attention. i don't usually find anything of hers interesting or appealing but one of those discs has a lot of funky little tracks. i dig that disc a lot. other than that i just find her annoying. that gasping for breath thing she does while singing irritates me to no end. lyrically speaking though, the woman's got a lot of passion and brains.

I had all of her albums up to dialate, then her schtick seemed to get a bit tiring, not taking anything away from her, I readily admit shes a tremendous guitar player and has some very insightful lyrics, but i can only take so much until i'm like . Then what do you know P appears on one of her albums and I yet to hear the track that he's on,and her appearance on rave was a joke i'm sure she was even like wtf? well anyways to make a long story short I sold all of her cd's except puddle dive and Not a pretty girl, i feel that's all i need.

to the teeth is my fave

ani rocks!

I too was introduced to Ani by Prince-- personally? I wish. When I heard Imagine, To The Teeth, and Okay? on the NPGMC Ahdio show I decided to check her out. I started with Revelling/Reckoning which has many good songs like Next Bold Move and Grey. I've also got the So Much Laughing So much Shouting set (my current favorite), Living in Clip, and To the Teeth. When I get home from school I'll get Evolve.
I've never seen her live but I've got a ticket for her June 28th show in Columbus, Ohio. Should be good.
It also occurred to me that she is a great complement to Prince. She seems to have the same spirit and energy Prince used to bring. They are both superb vocalists and understand how to use their voices as instruments to great effect. She is an awesome lyricist and talented musician and he is an awesome musician and talented lyricist. Sadly, nothing significant could ever come of any collaboration between the two because P wouldn't allow it.
[This message was edited Fri Jun 6 22:31:39 PDT 2003 by whodknee]
[This message was edited Fri Jun 6 22:33:12 PDT 2003 by whodknee]

Little Plastic Castles is her best album. Came out in 97(?), funky and folky at the same time, she is easily one of the best lyricists of the last 15-20 yrs. Funny and poignant...

Reckoning Reveling gets the most spins in my house, though. She seems so much better with the band, loose and funky. I really only listen to disc one (yellow disc)...

Dilate is the one that put her on the map. NPR jumped on her bandwagon. It was the summer of Alanis, and ANI was the new angry white chick on the scene, but, hey, she's independent and doesn't want a deal... Dilate got her offers from Sony, Warners, and others, she answered with a resounding NOOO.

See her live. she's touring solo acoustic right now, and while she's not the greatest guitarist in the world, she more than makes up for it in energy and charisma...