any Ani Difranco fans here?

[3-LockBox]

I done hear'd her latest at the rekkid store last night, Red Letter Year (and what a red letter year its turned out to be for music). My first listen to her music, and I liked it. Edgy, ecclectic folk-rock, kinduva like a gravely voiced rock version of Ricky Lee Jones or Victoria Williams (Crazy Mary), but not raw enough to be compared to a Patty Smith or anything (she sounds like she shaves arm pits anyway).

[Hyfi]

She has a wide range of stuff from good jamming guitar work years ago thru the same ole boring singer songwriter stuff to the latest "Edgy, ecclectic folk-rock" as 3lb said. My problem is I could not find a disk I would like all the way through.

She can play some amazing stuff if she wants to.

[3-LockBox]

Yes, this too gets singer-song writery towards the end.

[kexodusc]

I think she's a helluva musician and certainly talented. I just find her song writing boring and with no real catchy melodies that stick in my head. I always wished she'd duo with some else.
Quite frankly I've always believed her lyrics and messages have resonated with people way more than her music, and I've just heard all that before and don't find her interesting. Where people see "edgy" I see "safe" and "done before".

I find political music falls on its ass when it doesn't have the melody or hook to support it and with her it's too obvious - here's a test - swap some of her messages with lyrics about love or yearning to return to her days as a child, and she becomes no different than one of a hundreds of talented but unremarkable performers playing at bars every weekend.

I don't hate her or anything but whatever people see in her remains a mystery to me.

Now Grace Potter - she's freakin' awesome....