imperfectly

Ani DiFranco is an angry woman with a guitar and the gifted ability to write strong songs that embrace that anger. I'll be the first to admit that whether they be men or women; angry young musicians who whine or are full of angst tend to bore me. But there's something different about DiFranco. First of all she is definitely not whining, and rather than directionless anger, she is actively looking for solutions and answers.

When she questions basic existence on "What If No One's Watching," or talks about striking back at unfairness in "Make Them Apologize," she takes us with her on a journey of recognition. Most of us would be hard pressed to deny that we have never asked the same questions or lashed back in anger at the forces that control our lives. But don't think that DiFranco is smug or self-righteous in her observations. Rather, listen to "I'm No Heroine," with it's soaring vocals melding with George Puleo's electric guitar. "I'm no heroine/Least not last time I checked/I'm too easy to roll over/I'm too easy to wreck/I just write about what I/Should have done/I sing what I wish I could say/And I hope somewhere/Some woman hears my music/and it helps her through her day."

When she shows recognition that some people will make the same seemingly inappropriate choices no matter what kind of advice they've been given, you realize that she is tempering her idealism with reality. She questions a friends's choice in "Fixing Her Hair," then realizes that it won't make a difference, "And I say to her/You know, there's plenty/Of really great men out there/But she doesn't hear me/She's looking in the mirror/She's fixing her hair."

Many of the songs on Imperfectly may make the average listener uncomfortable. Maybe that's good. Her strident percussive guitar playing and her defiant lyrics leave no doubt that she is certain about her thoughts and opinions. "I ain't got time for halfway/I ain't got no time for half assed." That's a pretty good description of how DiFranco seems to approach things. I'm glad she does.

Denise Sofranko (Baltimore, MD)