Ani DiFranco: Don't Call Her a Pretty Girl!

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I am not a pretty girl
that's not what I do
I ain't no damsel in distress
and I don't need to be rescued. . .

And I am not an "angry" girl
but it seems like I got everyone fooled
cause every time I say something they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger, never to their own fear
and imagine you're a girl
just trying to finally come clean
knowing full well they prefer you were dirty
and smiling. . .


These lines are from the song "Not a Pretty Girl" by self-described "Righteous Babe" Ani DiFranco. Because she is as full of humor and wit as she is musical genius, Ani refers to herself as a righteous babe in a half-joking, almost self-deprecating kind of way. But to her fans, that is exactly what Ani is: a righteous babe who gives voice to the joys, sorrows, frustrations, and pains of women who, like her, want to be so much more than "pretty girls." She is an artist in the truest sense of the word whose life and lyrics bear witness to her passion for truth, justice, peace, and equality.

I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard Ani's buzz-saw-through-cotton-candy vocals set to a jarringly eclectic musical mix of rock, folk, funk, soul, and rap. It was 2002, and three girlfriends and I had decided to take a road trip to Indiana University to see the poetic prophetess and literary Goddess Maya Angelou. Tasha, who was driving, reached into the console, pulled out a CD, and popped it into the player. I sat in the back in stunned disbelief. "Who the hell is this?" I demanded, to which Tasha hollered back, "Ani DiFranco!"

As I listened I thought this woman had somehow climbed into my head, stolen all my thoughts, ideas, and life experiences, turned them into lyrics, and set them to music. She was bold, brazen, and completely fearless. She got all up in your face and commanded you to hear her, yet the pain in her voice and the intensely personal nature of her lyrics betrayed a tenderness and vulnerability that made you want to wrap your arms around her and go, "I know girl, I know!" Hearing and seeing so much of myself reflected in Ani's words and music was an experience that I can only describe as both terrifying and exhilarating. She was me, she was my friends, my sister, my mother, my grandmother, my aunts, and nearly every woman in my life who had rejected patriarchy and feminine inferiority and paid for it with bits and pieces of their hearts and souls. A dear price indeed for refusing to remain "dirty and smiling."

Over the course of her 18 year career, Ani has proven again and again that she is more than a pretty girl. After becoming founder, CEO, and fierce mother bear of Righteous Babe records, Ani stuck up her middle finger to the male-terrorized (sorry fellas, it's the truth!) world of the mainstream recording industry and started churning out album after album on her own label. As a self-described "Tour Hag," Ani worked hard to build a following by playing every dump and dive that would let her step foot in the door before finally working her way up to auditoriums and stadiums.

Her latest release, Red Letter Year, is testimony to the fact that 18 years of being a lone woman ranger in a male-dominated industry has only made her stronger, wiser, and even more committed to peace, justice, and equality than ever before. Yet it also shows that Ani has not lost her trademark humor, wit, humility, and tenderness, nor her ability to knock you right out of your complacency with her music and lyrics. An amazing work of art from an amazing woman.

Check her out at http://www.righteousbabe.com/

If you want to hear some Ani music and don't know where to start, I recommend beginning with So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter. This double CD set of performances recorded live from a variety of venues all across the U.S., Canada, and France is an absolute Ani must-have and a kind of primer for getting into the art, mind, heart, and soul of Ani DiFranco. Enjoy it and let me know your thoughts on it.