A collection of Ani DiFranco’s favourite albums
Music is constantly changing. It has to. If it didn’t, we would no longer be able to connect with it or acknowledge it as exciting and innovative. Instead, things would become stagnant. As such, when you examine the progression of music, from Elvis Presley and early incantations of rock ‘n’ roll to what we have today, it has come a long way.
As music changes, so too does the musician. It’s no longer the case that an artist needs the backing of millionaires and major labels to make a name for themselves. Instead, because of our access to recording equipment and the quick nature that music can be published, artists can remain completely independent in what they are doing.
In that sense, there is no such thing as the “modern artist”, as that can be represented in a number of different ways; however, Ani DiFranco represents a specific branch of the modern artist that thrives on innovation, independence and an imaginative approach not only to making music but also to distributing it.
Ever since she was young, the spirit of music has been a big part of her life. She started playing the guitar at age nine and has been writing and performing since, meaning she regularly went out on tour and wrote exciting songs from 19. She opted for the independent route of being an artist, now embracing technology; when she initially started making music under her own label, Righteous Babe Records, she began by duplicating tapes and writing her titles on them. The independence has always benefitted her as an artist as it meant she could make music at her own pace, write about the topics she saw fit and release tracks when the timing was right.
With such a free-thinking approach to music, she also has a very liberating taste, one that stems from different decades and ignites various emotions. She spoke recently about some of her favourite songs, and they make for an intriguing and varied listen.
She particularly mentions Gracie and Rachel, a duo that releases on her label and makes exciting and emphatic music. DiFranco is open about how happy she is to be able to support good musicians trying to do honest work and sees the duo as one of the best examples of this, particularly their album Nowhere Now Here.
“I’ve realised more and more in life that fighting the bad guys is more often than not a futile enterprise and that building each other up, supporting the good guys, and supporting good people just trying to make art [is the better choice], she said, “In the label there is a lot of mentoring from the beginning […] independent musicians who need a leg up or some support. And now, even more than ever, I feel like there’s a community that we’re fostering through the label.”
Her favourite LPs aren’t limited to artists attached to her label, though. She admits that a lot of the albums she loves come from a variety of different artists, including Lizzy McAlpine, Lizzo and Tune-Yards. She also shouts out SAULT and their record, UNTITLED (Black Is).
“Another group of mystery,” she said, “A whole group of people who are intentionally mysterious about their identities and their wherewithals and what-have-you’s, which is awesome […] And that track, I don’t know. I love it.”
Ani DiFranco’s favourite album collated
- Lizzo – Lizzobangers
- Low – Ones and Sixes
- Lizzy McAlpine – Give Me A Minute
- Sault – Untitled (Black Is)
- Tune-Yards – sketchy.
- Jocelyn Mackenzie – Push
- Gracie and Rachel – Nowhere Now Here
