Pop

Ani DiFranco: “Binary” and “Angry Anymore”

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Ani DiFranco was born in 1970 in Buffalo. She moved out of her parents’ house when she only was 15. Before that – when she was nine years old – DiFranco was covering the Beatles in local bars alongside her guitar teacher. She started her own lable, Righteous Babe, when she was only 18.

Wikipedia describes her as a folk and rock singer who has added punk, funk, hip hop and jazz influences. Her debut album was released in 1990.

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Ani DiFranco (Photo: WEBN-TV)

The Sun has a good Q&A with DiFranco, whose early years sound quite harrowing, but in a subtle way. Nothing awful seemed to have happened, but the idea of a young girl essentially living hand to mouth alomst on the streets of Buffalo is a bit unsettling.

DiFranco made it through, however, and now is the mother of two. She cites Pete Seeger as an influence. Anyone who does so almost certainly has an affinity for Woody Guthrie as well. An early career highlight, according to Wikipedia, was performing in 1995 alongside Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Arlo Guthrie, Indigo Girls, Tim Robbins and Bruce Springsteen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The occasion was the opening of the Woody Guthrie Archive in New York City.

DiFranco has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. She won the Best Recording Package Grammy in 2004. Two years later, DiFranco also won the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.

Above is “Binary” and below is “Anygry Anymore,” which Paste Records’ Jenn Morson considers to be the top DiFranco songs. Others are “Swan Dive,” “Shameless,” “As Is,” “Garden of Simple,” “32 Flavors,” “Gravel,” “Dilate,” “Untouchable Face,” “Shy” and “Both Hands.”

The Sun story, which was posted in May 2016, says that she has released more than 20 albums that have sold more than 4 million.

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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