‘Extraordinary Machine’: The song Fiona Apple wrote to reassure her loved ones
It takes an interesting mind to make exceptional music. A lot of the time, the mind that shapes the art we connect with the most is chaotic and tough to keep up with. When we look back at art throughout the ages, painters, musicians, and authors have been troubled because of the intensity of their own creative thoughts.
The creative process alone can be intense for many. The devotion to art is equal parts admirable and daunting, as Leonard Cohen once discovered. When he was writing, he locked himself away on the Greek Island of Hydra, doing nothing but writing. The feeling of time running out impeded his thought process and stopped him from making rational decisions. When he had finally finished his work, he fasted for ten days and wound up in the hospital.
“Leonard sat in his room in his house on the hill in Hydra, writing furiously,” recalled the writer Sylvie Simmons, “He was driven by an overpowering sense of urgency. He had the feeling, he said, of time running out.”
Leonard Cohen isn’t the only artist who has endured a difficult period. The way that individuals can pull themselves out of feelings of despair and difficult periods depends entirely on the individual. Some need to take a break from their art. For instance, when Robert Plant lost his drummer and best friend John Bonham, he took a break from Led Zeppelin to work out what he wanted with his life.
“When we lost John, we agreed unanimously that that was that,” said Plant. “I had to go and find out if I really want to do it. Did I want to do it, or did I just want to sit back there like a croupier at a gambling thing, and just kind of rake [the money] in. Or, did I want to actually continue this kind of gig of finding out where I’m going. I wanted to take all the trappings away, because I’d lost my best mate.”
However, there are other artists who use their art to remind themselves and those around them how strong they are using their art. One such artist was Fiona Apple, who managed to remind herself and others around her of her strength with the track ‘Extraordinary Machine’.
The song talks about a woman constantly pushing herself to leave her comfort zone and strive for something bigger. On the other hand, her partner is much more reserved and likes to keep things the same. The theme of the song touches upon the fact that the woman at the centre of it often comes across as fragile, but she is capable of extraordinary things. While the music is great on its own, its wider application is Apple telling herself and her loved ones that she is fine, strong and capable of great things.
“There were times when I wasn’t writing songs or going out a lot, and I seemed to be in trouble,” she said. “’What’s wrong with Fiona?’ It may seem like I like that kind of attention, but I don’t, and I don’t like the feeling that people are worried about me – it makes me feel worried about myself. So I had a bunch of people who felt that I was going to hell in a handbasket, and I wanted to write a song to tell all of my friends and family to shut up, because I’m always OK.”
