Lyrically speaking: Fiona Apple

I rarely buy new CD's anymore, but it was a given that I would buy Fiona Apple's latest album Extraordinary Machine. It's release this month comes after years of complications involving her longtime producer Jon Brion. The initial tracks she recorded leaked onto the internet amidst all this and became the online shared song. Eventually, Hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo stepped in to rework the album, resulting in a whole package that most people say is much improved.

Indeed, "Better Version of Me" is now a lot easier to listen too now that it isn't so busy with calliopes and such. The title track, however, is virtually the same. That's a good thing. The simplicity recalls her first two albums, particularly her song "Paper Bag" from the When the Pawn... album. For your reading pleasure, here are the lyrics to "Extraordinary Machine":

I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes
-And-
I certainly haven't been spreading myself around
I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb,
But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so
I can't stop changing all the time

I notice that my opponent is always on the go
-And-
Won't go slow, so's not to focus, and I notice
He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as
They go fast from whence he came
- But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so
He can't stop staying exactly the same

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day
You deem me due to clean my view and be at piece and lay
I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way, and say,
I've been getting along for long before you came into the play

I am the baby of the family, it happens, so
- Everybody cares and wears the sheeps' clothes
While they chaperone
Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease
- Courteous, to try and help - but let me set your
Mind at ease

(Chorus)

-Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side?
-It's very kind
But it's to no avail; I don't want the bail
I promise you, everything will be just fine

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. As with her other two albums, it's ... extraordinary.