Friday, May 28, 2010

Fiona Apple & Native Tongues: Birds of a Feather?



"Well, you ain't Fiona Apple. And if you ain't Fiona Apple, I don't give a rat's ass."

There's no point in calling it a "guilty pleasure" since there's really nothing to feel guilty about: I've got just about every Fiona Apple track released and "unreleased" resting comfortably in my iPod. I'm a fan. I've been an admirer of Fiona Apple's music since '96, when she dropped her debut album Tidal at the young age of eighteen years old (an impressive feat, given the album's remarkable depth). Since then I've picked up copies of her successive albums When the Pawn... and 2005's Extraordinary Machine. I eagerly await a fourth LP knowing damn well that day may never come...

As I was listening to Black Sheep's new track (yeah, I just typed that...wow!) featuring Q-Tip titled "Birds of a Feather", I quickly picked up on the lifted beat and noticed hints of Fiona's raspy voice strewn across here and there. Turns out the track samples "The Way Things Are" off her second LP. Keep impressing me, beat makers! I could get used to this trend.

SAMPLE: Fiona Apple - "The Way Things Are"
EXAMPLE: Black Sheep - "Birds of a Feather feat. Q-Tip, Dave & Mike Gee"