Ani DiFranco
A true maverick, DiFranco has fashioned a career every bit as far from the mainstream as her poetic, politically charged brand of alternative folk music. Openly bisexual and highly critical of greed and commercialism in the music industry, she has refused major-label deals and has chosen instead to release 11 albums on her own Righteous Babe Records, the company she runs from an office in her hometown of Buffalo. Her latest, which may upset her possessive cult of fans by crossing over to a wider, pop audience, is a gem that is at once funny, moody, meditative and challenging. Full of DiFranco's pet peeves and ironic musings ("people talk/about my image/like I come in two dimensions/like lipstick is a sign of my declining mind"), the album will make listeners laugh, think and tap their feet. (Righteous Babe)
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