The powerful vulnerability of a teenage farewell: Fiona Apple’s Tidal
Fiona Apple’s 1996 debut album introduced the world to a soon-to-be 19-year-old, her smoky alto and incredibly introspective lyrics — those that could only be written by someone who has been through adolescence as a girl.
Apple was a new yorker, she grew up in Harlem with her mother and sister. Her summers were spent on the west coast with her father, who lived in Los Angeles. As a child, she was classically trained in piano and by the age of eight, Fiona began composing her pieces. When proficient, she began to play along with standard jazz compositions — and, it is not difficult to see the impact it had on her music.
The “Sad Girl” Avant Garde
In the nineties, before Lana Del Rey, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, Lorde or Lucy Dacus, there was the rapidly blossoming Fiona — whose influences varied from Billie Holiday to Patti Smith and even Maya Angelou — who could be considered this movement’s precursor.
Even if you’re not familiar with the recently coined term, you have probably noticed in the past few years the rise of young women and their angsty, trauma-dumping lyrics. It is not as if women had never sung about such things. Still, Fiona Apple had a certain edginess and honesty to her that encouraged other women to do the same — today’s archetypal moody females in the music industry certainly owe a lot to her.
Tidal: powered by the rise and fall of the sea
Produced by her manager, Andrew Slater, Tidal led Apple to her first Grammy win, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, alongside two other nominations: Best New Artist and Best Rock Song (Criminal).
Despite its brilliance, the album was not an immediate success, Shadowboxer – the first single off of Tidal – was the perfect appetizer for what was to follow: Criminal.
I’ve been a bad, bad girl
I’ve been careless with a delicate man
And it’s a sad, sad world
When a girl will break a boy just because she can
According to the singer, she wrote the album's flagship in 45 minutes because her label wanted a single, and to this day, it still is one of her most recognizable songs. Directed by Mark Romanek, Criminal’s music video received some unfair criticism at the time for being ‘too sexually suggestive’.
Even though the press was hard on Apple from the start, the video became the catalyst for comments about the singer’s body and sexuality. Fiona had spoken openly about being a rape survivor and about struggling with an eating disorder but, still received backlash.
Every track showcases a new layer of Fiona Apple. In Sullen Girl, the singer depicts the impact of the abuse she suffered at 12 years old, although, some listeners thought it was a breakup song.
I used to sail the deep and tranquil sea
But he washed me ashore and he took my pearl
And left an empty shell of me
This world is bullsh*t!
In 1997, Apple was accepting her award for the single (and opening track) ‘Sleep to Dream’ at the MTV VMAs. After apologising for not preparing a speech, the singer went off to give one of the most memorable acceptance speeches of the nineties.
This world? This world is bullshit. And you shouldn’t model your life about what you think that we think is cool and what we’re wearing and what we’re saying and everything. Go with yourself.
This moment was pivotal for Fiona’s media narrative, reinforcing her confidence, edginess and defiant nature, but, at the same time, the pain, innocence and vulnerability.
The Tidal era perfectly encapsulates the paradoxical life of a teenage girl, and for that reason, Fiona Apple will always be relatable, her music is still going to be as intoxicating as it was almost 30 years ago, for as long as adolescence exists.