Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple Announces North American Tour Dates

09 Apr 2012 11:23:34 EDT

Apple returns to the road on June 19 in support of The Idler Wheel ..., her first album in nearly seven years.
By James Montgomery

Last week, Fiona Apple officially started the comeback clock when she revealed a spate of information about her first album in nearly seven years, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (phew), including the release date, full track list and cover art ... which was drawn by Apple herself. The news came after she had just wrapped a run of small club shows, and had her long-waiting fans hoping that soon there'd be a full-blown tour in support of the disc. Well, one week later, we've got the dates. Beginning on June 19 — the same date The Idler Wheel ... hits stores — Apple will hit the road for a run of shows that will take her across North America. The tour kicks off in Ithaca, New York, and wraps on July 29 at the Hollywood Palladium, and will make stops at iconic venues like Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, historic opera houses, fests like New York's Governors Ball on Randall's Island, and refreshingly few venues named after cell phone brands. Tickets for some dates go on sale as early as Friday, April 13. For more information, check out Apple's official site. Also on Monday (April 9), Apple revealed that the first single off The Idler Wheel ... would be "Every Single Night," one of a handful of new tracks she performed on her recently wrapped mini-tour. The song will be available via iTunes, where fans will also be able to pre-order the album, beginning on April 24. Fiona Apple's 2012 tour dates, according to her reps: » June 19 - Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
» June 20 - Baltimore, MD @ Lyric Opera House
» June 22 - Mashantucket, CT @ MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods
» June 23 - Holyoke, MA @ Mountain Park
» June 24 - New York, NY @ The Governors Ball Music Festival
» June 26 - Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
» June 27 - Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
» June 29 - Danbury, CT @ Ives Concert Park
» June 30 - Boston, MA @ Citi Performing Arts Center
» July 1 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre
» July 3 - Montreal, QC @ Olympia Theatre
» July 4 - Toronto, ON @ The Sound Academy
» July 6 - Cleveland Heights, OH @ Cain Park
» July 7 - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
» July 10 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
» July 11 - Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre
» July 13 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
» July 14 - St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
» July 16 - Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
» July 17 - Kansas City, MO @ The Midland by AMC
» July 20 - Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
» July 21 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kingsbury Hall
» July 24 - Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum
» July 25 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
» July 26 - Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
» July 28 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
» July 29 - Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood, Palladium

Related Artists

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple Reveals Idler Wheel Comeback Details

03 Apr 2012 14:10:50 EDT

Singer's first album in nearly seven years is due June 19.
By James Montgomery

Fiona Apple has already made her return to the stage — and what a return it was — and now, she's moving one step closer to completing her comeback, revealing details of her much-anticipated fourth album.

Much like her (excellent) 1999 album, When the Pawn ... (you know the rest), Apple's new disc comes with an unwieldy title: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, though, chances are, you already knew that. But in a Facebook post Monday, Apple unveiled the full track list and artwork for the album and the official release date too: June 19.

Several outlets reported The Idler Wheel ... is due June 26, but a spokesperson for Apple's label, Epic, confirmed to MTV News that the 19th is actually the correct date.

Apple's new album — her first since 2005's Extraordinary Machine — features 10 songs, some of which ("Anything We Want," "Valentine" and "Every Single Night") she's previewed during her recent run of club shows. And the album's swirling, vaguely psychedelic cover art resembles the hand-drawn T-shirts she's been selling at those shows too.

Despite the brand-new information, there's still plenty we don't know about Idler. It's not clear who produced the disc (early reports had drummer Charley Drayton listed as co-producer, along with Apple) or which track will be selected to serve as the first single. Apple just completed her run of intimate gigs leading up to the album, though at the moment, there are no tour dates lined up around its release; her only confirmed show is June 24 at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York. But all in due time. For long-suffering Fiona fans, any bit of news is good news.

The track list for The Idler Wheel ... , according to Fiona Apple's Facebook:

» "Every Single Night"
» "Daredevil"
» "Valentine"
» "Jonathan"
» "Left Alone"
» "Werewolf"
» "Periphery"
» "Regret"
» "Anything We Want"
» "Hot Knife"

Are you excited for the return of Fiona Apple? Let us know in the comments!

Related Artists

Fiona Apple

Amy Winehouse Postpones North American Tour; Plus Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Spike Jonze, M.I.A., R. Kelly & More, In For The Record

21 Aug 2007 20:55:00 EDT

West calls Timberlake his 'biggest competitor'; Furtado makes directing debut; Jonze interviews M.I.A.
By MTV News staff

First Amy Winehouse pulled out of shows in Norway and Denmark two weeks ago, then she pulled the plug on her V Festival appearances last week — now the U.K. starlet is shelving her remaining 2007 North American tour dates until next year. "Due to the rigors involved in touring, Amy Winehouse has been advised to postpone her upcoming September U.S. and Canadian tour dates," Winehouse's publicist said in a statement Tuesday (August 21), according to The Associated Press. "Amy's European and U.K. tour dates in October and November remain in place. Plans are being made to reschedule her U.S. tour for early 2008. Until then, Amy has been ordered to rest and is working with medical professionals to address her health." It is unclear whether the change in her North American tour plans will affect Winehouse's previously announced performance at the VMAs on September 9. ...

Forget 50 Cent — Kanye West considers Justin Timberlake his biggest rival. In an interview with XXL magazine for its October issue — which hits stands September 11 — Kanye called Justin his "biggest inspiration and biggest competition," adding that "he's the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level — black radio, white radio. If Justin hadn't come out and killed the game, I can't say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they're on. We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day." ...

Award-show nominations and #1 records don't seem to be enough for Nelly Furtado this year, so the Canadian beauty decided to add directing to her lengthy list of 2007 accomplishments. Furtado recently made her debut behind the camera shooting a clip for the Loose song "Do It" with co-director Aaron A., her tour documentarian. The video was filmed on location in Detroit during a tour stop and included her dance team, among others. Furtado also announced that she will re-release Loose with bonus material — including her cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" — this fall. ...

Spike Jonze has launched a series of diary-style video interviews through online-broadcast network VBS.TV. The series will capture Jonze interviewing and traveling the world with various artists and entertainers, including the premiere guest, M.I.A. The set kicks off this week with a six-part episode that follows Jonze and M.I.A. around London and at the singer's various enclaves. An interview with Kanye West is scheduled to go live next week. ...

R. Kelly appeared Tuesday in a Chicago court where prosecutors and defense attorneys ironed out a few more details in the R&B singer's child-pornography trial before jury selection starts September 17. After the prosecution tried for a reversal, Judge Vincent Gaughan upheld his ruling that the media and public could view the sex tape that allegedly depicts Kelly having sex with an underage girl and is at the heart of the charges. Gaughan said he wouldn't reconsider his original ruling because the girl who prosecutors say is in the video isn't cooperating with investigators and denies that she's the person on the tape. Had she said she was, the judge would give her victim status and protect her from a public viewing. Instead, he ruled Tuesday that the state can't call her a "victim" but must instead call her an "alleged victim" or the "state's witness." To attempt to prove that she is in fact the girl on the tape, the prosecution wants to call an expert witness to testify that denial is a common issue with victims of child pornography, but the defense argued that the theory is not backed up by science. Judge Gaughan delayed ruling on this, as well as whether an expert could testify that the veins in Kelly's hand are consistent with those in the hand of the man in the video. He is expected to rule on those matters at the next hearing, on September 10. ...

Another day, another problem for Foxy Brown. The troubled rapper is being accused of lying to police during a traffic stop on Wednesday in suburban Mahwah, New Jersey. According to Bergen County's The Record, Brown (born Inga Marchand) was pulled over for talking on a cell phone and failing to stop at a stop sign while driving her SUV. After a check found that the car's registration had been suspended, Brown, 27, reportedly gave officers a different version of her real name and a birth date that was a year off. When the information didn't come up, Brown then gave her correct information, at which point the officers found out that her license was suspended. She was taken to police headquarters and given seven traffic tickets and released. The traffic tussle came one day after Brown was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a New York neighbor with a BlackBerry. But still, Brown has some good news to help take her mind off things — according to the New York Post, she said outside a store in New York earlier this week, "I'm getting married in September. I'm pregnant." ...

With Jane's Addiction on ice and his latest project, the Panic Channel, without a label deal, Dave Navarro has taken up a new side gig: porn-movie director. The guitarist has shot a feature-length adult film titled "Dave Navarro: Broken," the first in a series of flicks to be directed by celebrities. The film for Teravision — owned by adult star Tera Patrick and rocker husband and former Biohazard member Evan Seinfeld — is due September 27 and features an all-star cast of porn actors and actresses (Victoria Sin, Spyder Jonez, etc.). ...

Ben Lee really likes the new Against Me! album, New Wave. In fact, the Australian pop singer likes it so that he has posted a song-for-song cover album on his MySpace page and blog that are available for download or streaming. He's even cooked up his own cover for the effort, Ben Lee Sings Against Me! New Wave — it replaces the fearsome panther on the Florida punk band's original with a less ferocious kitty cat. ...

Devra Robitaille, one of Phil Spector's ex-employees, testified Tuesday that he once threatened her at gunpoint when she attempted to leave his house. The scenario is similar to the ones outlined by four additional women during the music producer's murder trial. After the defense announced it was conditionally resting its case — and that Spector would not be taking the stand during the trial — the prosecution called Robitaille as a rebuttal witness, contrary to the wishes of the defense. She recalled being in Spector's house during a party in which he became heavily intoxicated, after which she said she was going to go home. "He said no and locked the door," testified Robitaille, who added that she had a romantic relationship with Spector. "I remember standing in the lobby with a door in front of me, and when I turned, there was a gun pointed at my temple. ... It was like a long-barreled shotgun." She added that Spector repeated three times, " 'If you leave, I'll blow your f---ing head off.' " Robitaille said he eventually put down the gun and let her leave. ...

Some Lollapalooza footage — of performances by LCD Soundsystem and the Black Keys — finally went up on AT&T's Blue Room site last week, following the revelation that its webcast of the festival featured several edits of anti-President Bush comments made by Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder. Clearances are still being sought for Pearl Jam and other artists, while Lupe Fiasco's comments against Bush — which were also reportedly edited — have not been posted. ...

Five people were arrested early Sunday morning at a campground near the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, following the Warped Tour performance at the venue Saturday night. The Associated Press reported that sheriff's deputies were called out to the campground following reports of a person being injured at another nearby campground. When officials arrived, they reportedly saw a number of campers involved in fights and a comfort station with portable toilets and sinks that had been set on fire. Some of the 400 campers in the area allegedly set additional fires and pelted deputies with beer bottles, cans and rocks, shattering the windshield of a fire truck with debris. Those incidents led to five arrests for obstructing a law-enforcement officer, disorderly conduct and intimidating a public servant. ...

Additional shows for Van Halen's first tour in more than 22 years — with original frontman David Lee Roth — have been added in Philadelphia (October 3); Detroit (October 20); and Washington, D.C. (November 1). Tickets for the previously announced gigs went on sale over the weekend, and fans snatched them up fast — sellouts were reported in at least five markets so far. ...

Pete Doherty — who was arrested on suspicion of drug possession in London early Monday morning — was released Tuesday because authorities didn't get him to court on time. The charge of breaching bail conditions that he was facing has been dropped as a result of the technicality. ...

The Jacksonville, Florida, chapter of the NAACP is protesting an editorial cartoon that criticized the "no snitchin' " street mantra and ran in the Friday edition of The Florida Times-Union. The image shows a black man wearing a "Don't Snitch" T-shirt, holding a smoking gun and standing over a gunshot victim. Behind him are

Related Videos

Van Halen 'Jump' Headfirst Into Reunion Tour

Related Artists

Fall Out Boy, Panic, Marilyn Manson Add To New 'Nightmare Before Christmas' Soundtrack

28 Aug 2006 15:27:00 EDT

'The songs in the film are pretty much the best things ever,' says Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz.
By James Montgomery

When Tim Burton's kinda-spooky, kinda-silly "The Nightmare Before Christmas" first lurked into theaters in October 1993, it was greeted with lavish critical praise and ... well, that's about it.

Though it would eventually go on to gross a respectable $50 million at the box office, the film struggled to connect with mainstream audiences and was regarded by execs at Disney as a bit of a flop — a grand, goth-lite experiment in stop-motion animation that failed to live up to commercial expectations.

But when the film was released the following year on VHS, something amazing happened: "Nightmare" became massive, spawning merchandise and a devoted cult following that included tons of goth kids, their younger siblings, basically every emo-punk band on the planet and a whole lot of decidedly un-emo acts too.

So when Disney announced earlier this year that it planned to bring "Nightmare" back to the big screen — it arrives in select theaters October 20 in a fancy, digital 3-D format — the logical decision was to reach out to some of those bands to supply music for the film.

As it turns out, a whole lot of them were more than happy to comply. Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple and She Wants Revenge will all appear on a special two-disc edition of the "Nightmare" soundtrack, contributing cover versions of songs featured in the film. The double-disc set will hit stores October 24.

"Disney approached our management about us doing a song," Fall Out bassist Pete Wentz told MTV News. "And we're obsessed with that film and Danny Elfman [who wrote the score]. And of course I've got my 'Nightmare' tattoos, so we were like, 'Yes!'

"The songs in the film are pretty much the best things ever," he continued. "They're Elfman at his prime. And our song 'Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner' [from 2005's From Under the Cork Tree] blatantly rips off a crescendo from one of them. They're absolutely amazing."

Fall Out Boy contribute a raucous version of "What's This?" (a song belted out in the film by protagonist Jack Skellington). Fellow Decaydancers Panic! at the Disco offer up an orchestrated version of "This Is Halloween" (sung by the citizens of Halloweentown in the film), as does Marilyn Manson. Fiona Apple covers the somber "Sally's Song," while She Wants Revenge do "Kidnap the Sandy Claws."

Also included on the second disc of the set are two demo versions of songs Elfman originally wrote for the film, "Making Christmas" and "Oogie Boogie's Song." Disc one presents Elfman's score — including 10 original songs — in its entirety.

For Panic frontman Brendon Urie, just the chance to be included alongside Elfman was reason enough to get on board. Well that and a little good-natured band rivalry of course.

"Everyone in Panic loves Danny Elfman, so it's a bonus to be included alongside him," Urie said. "And I spoke to [drummer Andy Hurley] from Fall Out Boy about it, and he said they were on it, so we wanted to get on there too. So many bands that we're friends with and bands we tour with are a part of it and such huge fans of the movie. We all watched it as kids and we all watch it now, so it's really cool to be a part of it."

Related Artists

For The Record: Quick News On Nick Lachey, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Paris Hilton, Velvet Revolver & More

19 Apr 2006 16:22:00 EDT

Lachey says marriage 'just didn't work'; Carey writes ringtones; LL shares body-sculpting tips.
By MTV News staff report

Nick Lachey opens up about the dissolution of his marriage to Jessica Simpson in the next issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands Friday. There's no easy explanation for the breakup, he says, adding that he doesn't blame "Newlyweds," the interference of his father-in-law, Joe Simpson, or even Jessica's alleged infidelities. "We just didn't work," Lachey said. "I don't know if we would have worked if we'd been soybean farmers in Iowa. ... I don't know if there were other men. But if she did cheat, it was the result of something bigger, not the reason we didn't work." Lachey said that he and Jessica never discussed the cheating allegations (he chose to trust her), but sometimes he wishes he'd caught her in the act, just so he'd know for sure. "That would be clear-cut. End of story." Lachey revealed that he tried to convince Jessica to try marriage counseling when she asked for a divorce, "But she didn't want to go." Lachey also said that he's opted not to pursue spousal support, though he legally reserved that right in February. ...

Twenty of the more than 100 original ringtones that will be available as Pepsi Cool Tones on Motorola phones this summer will be written and produced by Mariah Carey. "I had a lot of fun with this project," Carey said. "It was a great creative outlet because musically I could do things here that I would never think to do for one of my albums." Carey will also star in a Pepsi ad directed by Paul Hunter, due to air in May, and will kick off her summer tour in July with a Pepsi Smash concert at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Speaking of Carey commercials, Mariah is also selling the Escada dress she wore in her Intel Centrino Duo commercial. The auction, to benefit VH1's Save the Music Foundation, runs through May 3 at VH1Auctions.com. And Carey fans who want to benefit themselves can enter to win a specially designed — it's got butterflies — Intel Centrino laptop autographed by Mariah at intel.com/centrinoduo. ...

Want LL Cool J's body? The rapper/actor wants to show you how to get one just like it, via a fitness book he's planning to co-write with his trainer, Dave Honig. They've just inked a deal (along with writer Jeff O'Connell) to create "LL Cool J's Platinum Body," which will describe an accessible fitness program with four levels of increasing intensity. Rodale plans to publish the book in January 2007. ... Paris Hiltonhas just signed a deal to develop and market sunglasses, in addition to her other accessories ventures of watches, handbags, small leather goods, cosmetics and fragrances. Hilton has also expanded her watch line to be distributed throughout Europe (excluding Russia) and is working on a third fragrance as well. ... Fresh off her opening slot on the Coldplay tour, Fiona Apple is hitting the road for a headlining trek of her own. Kicking off June 20 in Phoenix, the 34-date tour will run throughout the summer, wrapping up August 10 in Cleveland. Openers will include Damien Rice and David Garza. In addition to the tour, Apple will play two May shows, in Florida and South Carolina, plus a July 26 performance as part of New York's Central Park Summerstage concert series. ...

Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland and Duff McKagan will be taking a break from recording the band's second LP to act as guest judges on USA's "Nashville Star" Tuesday, according to the band's publicist. The episode will also feature a performance by Hank Williams Jr. ... (ONe), the forthcoming debut from former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro's new band, the Panic Channel, will be in stores September 12. "If there was a channel that showed nothing but hysteria and panic, it would be the highest-rated channel on TV," Navarro said. "We like to think of creating music as a way to channel the panic into something tangible." The group also features drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney, both former Jane's members. On May 16, the day the band will launch its first-ever tour in San Diego, a two-song digital-only release will be made available, including the tracks "Why Cry" and "Tea House of the Spirits." ... California metallers Bad Acid Trip have been added to the second stage for this summer's Ozzfest. The band, which has toured with System of a Down, released their debut, Lynch the Weirdo, on System frontman Serj Tankian's Serjical Strike label in 2004; the album was produced by System guitarist Daron Malakian. This year's Ozzfest begins June 29 in Auburn, Washington, and will run through August 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida. System of a Down, Disturbed, and Hatebreed are among the bands lined up for the tour, which also includes Ozzy Osbourne for 10 dates. ...

Taking Back Sunday and Angels & Airwaves will hit the road together this summer on a North American tour. While details are sketchy, a spokesperson for TBS' label, Warner Bros., said the trek will kick off June 22 in Jackson, New Jersey, and that dance-minded rockers Head Automatica have been tapped to open. ... Seether will release a live acoustic album called One Cold Night on July 11. The collection, recorded at Philadelphia's Grape Street on February 22, will also include a DVD. Meanwhile, Seether just shot a video for "The Gift" in Oaxaca, Mexico, with director Meiert Avis. ... Alanis Morissette will reprise her role in the play "The Exonerated" for a week in London from May 23 to 28. Morissette first starred in the off-Broadway production in 2003 as Sunny Jacobs, a hippie who spent 16 years on death row after being framed for the murder of two policemen in the mid-1970s. ...

Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss will be among the first inductees in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, according to the official Kiss Web site. The museum will honor artists or groups that were either born in Long Island, New York, or resided there for a significant portion of their career. Billy Joel, the Ramones, Neil Diamond, Louie Armstrong, Twisted Sister and Tony Bennett will also be honored by the fledgling hall. In related news, Kiss have teamed up with Gemini Cosmetics, Inc. to develop a line of his-and-her Kiss fragrances that will hit stores in September. "Like Kiss, these fragrances make no apologies for embodying an attitude that is unrepentedly sexy, aggressive and incredibly unique," Stanley said in a press release. Simmons explained that the fragrances, the latest in an ever-growing line of Kiss-related products that even includes coffins, "have the smell of success for us ... and for all the men and women who will wear it. These fragrances hit all the right notes and will top the charts in no time."

04.18.2006

Michael Jackson had planned to release his forever-forthcoming Hurricane Katrina charity single on a fledgling label called Two Seas Records, which was set up by his benefactor, Bahraini Prince Abdulla Hamad Al Khalifa. But now the singer's signed to the label himself, promising to record a new album for release by next year, the label announced Tuesday (April 18). British music-industry exec Guy Holmes, who has been named CEO of the label, will also take on the role of Jackson's manager. "I am incredibly excited about my new venture," Jackson said in a statement, "and I am enjoying being back in the studio making music." ...

Jennifer Lopez is putting the finishing touches on her upcoming Spanish-language album, Como Ama Una Mujer (which translates to How a Woman Loves), but she's already brainstorming her next project, she revealed to Harper's Bazaar in the magazine's May cover story (Click to see Lopez's Harper's Bazaar photos.) The singer said her follow-up will be a ska-tinged pop album and spoke highly of former ska-pop queen Gwen Stefani. "Women who've started their own trends, who don't care what other people are thinking ... I admire Gwen Stefani's style and Madonna's. Those two have blazed their own trails." Meanwhile, Lopez has revised the dates for her upcoming international tour. She's nixed shows in Mumbai, India, and Istanbul, Turkey, and has added one in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 2. ...

Ashley Parker Angel shows off his lack of cooking skills on Tuesday's episode of Diddy's weeklong series, "Celebrity Cooking Showdown." "I do not cook," Parker Angel said. "I'm the first one to say it. Coming into this thing, I knew how to make Eggo [waffles] and ice cubes, and that was like it." Competing with the likes of Tom Arnold, Patti LaBelle and Gabrielle Reese, the former O-Town singer said he had to overcome his fear of chopping off his fingers to please his partner chef, Wolfgang Puck. "Wolf was like, 'Faster, faster,' and I play guitar, I play piano, I need my fingers, you know?" If Parker Angel makes the cut, he'll compete again on Thursday for the final cook-off. The show airs at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and the winner will be announced live on Friday. ...

Yellowcard will hit the road this summer for a string of festival and club dates. The tour kicks off in earnest May 7 at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee, and makes stops at radio festivals in Boston, Providence and Columbia, Maryland, before hitting its stride with the first club gig June 1 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona. The club tour is currently scheduled to run until the end of June, but more dates are expected to be announced shortly. Matchbook Romance and Hedley will jo

Related Artists

If You Think Fiona Grew A Beard, You're Not Paying Attention

30 Jan 2006 19:59:00 EST

She's the one in the 'Not About Love' video who's not singing.
By James Montgomery, with additional reporting by Rodrigo Perez

Fiona Apple's clip for the song "Not About Love" took one day to shoot, cost her only a few digital tapes and was never intended to be a proper music video.

It also hardly features Apple at all, focusing instead on the impassioned lip-syncing and bizarre interpretive dancing of bearded comedian Zach Galifianakis, perhaps best known (though probably not) for his short-lived 2002 talk show "Late World With Zach."

Despite all that — or perhaps because of it — the "Not About Love" clip has managed to become both an Internet sensation and a mainstay on mtvU, MTV's channel for college campuses. Ask anyone associated with the video, and they're just glad to hear someone is watching at all. When they made it back in October, the clip was only intended as filler for the DualDisc edition of Apple's Extraordinary Machine album (see "Fiona Apple's Long-Delayed LP Slotted For October 4 Release").

"When Zach and [director] Michael [Blieden] and I were making the video — we did it all at Zach's house in Venice [California] — I was telling them, 'My secret hope in doing this is that it actually won't just be on the DualDisc. I hope it actually gets turned into a proper music video,' " Apple laughed. "Which was sort of a weird goal because the whole thing is pretty low-key. Basically I'm with Zach the whole time and he's singing, and I just sit there trying not to laugh. And not succeeding."

"We just did the thing because we're all friends. I mean, I never really even learned the words to the song," Galifianakis said. "And all of a sudden I've gotten a bunch of e-mails from people telling me they've seen the video on TV and stuff like that, though I wouldn't be able to verify those claims because I don't even have cable."

Galifianakis and Apple had been friends for a while — both are regulars at Largo, the Los Angeles club that hosts a weekly performance by musician Jon Brion — though the idea for a collaboration between the two didn't materialize until Galifianakis gave Apple a tape of him lip-syncing. Suddenly it all clicked.

"I saw this video that he made where he's lip-syncing this Anita Baker song, and I thought it was the funniest thing. I would watch it every day because I thought it was a good way to start the day," Apple said. "So we had to do this DualDisc thing, and I asked him to do one of my songs. 'Not About Love' seemed like the best one to do, because it's has a lot of tempo changes in it and it's this sort of like schizo song."

The video's "performance" was taped in Galifianakis' bedroom under atypically laid-back conditions ("I think Fiona just, like, walked over to my house one afternoon" Galifianakis said), and then he and director Blieden hit the streets to record several dancing scenes, which run the gamut from strangely bad to just plain strange.

"We were just walking around the city, and I would put on my headphones and just dance in public. It was kind of hard work. I had to have my inhaler with me the whole time," Galifianakis said. "I can dance really well, really poorly. When I was a kid, me, my brother, sister and cousins would make up our own Earth, Wind and Fire videos, so a lot of my dance moves come from that."

And while Galifianakis isn't currently scheduled to re-enact the "Not About Love" video onstage with Apple during her opening slot on Coldplay's North American tour (see "Coldplay (And Their Fans) Unveil Dates For Next Tour Leg"), he said they've discussed it. In the meantime, he'd like to see if he could parlay this whole video thing into a paying career, though so far his only attempt to reach out to other artists failed miserably.

"I know a guy who is Alicia Keys' trainer, so I told him to invite her to one of my shows, to see what she thought," Galifianakis laughed. "So she came to watch me do standup and she absolutely hated it. We met afterward and she didn't want to look at me. So I think I can cross her off my list. But I'd like to keep trying to appear in videos, because I'm a complete whore."

Related Artists

Fiona Apple

New Pantheon Award Ceremony Postponed To Undetermined Date

26 Jan 2006 12:02:00 EST

Nominees for inaugural award include Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple.
By James Montgomery

It's been a pretty rocky three months for organizers of the New Pantheon Award ceremony.

When it was first announced back in November, the New Pantheon Award was trumpeted as a better version of the Shortlist Music Prize, the award created to spotlight albums that flew beneath the mainstream's radar. Pantheon organizer Tom Sarig said it would be "a platform and a way to shine a light on musicians who might not get the attention they deserve," though many failed to see the difference between it and the Shortlist (see "Linkin Park's Bennington, Shinoda Help Do The Honors For Shortlist's Successor"). Gregg Spotts, who founded the Shortlist with Sarig back in 2001, even went so far as to threaten his former colleague with legal action if the New Pantheon ceremony was to continue on as planned.

And now, less than two weeks before the first New Pantheon Award was supposed to be handed out — nominees include Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple and the Kings of Leon (see "Death Cab, M.I.A., Fiona Among New Pantheon Finalists") — organizers have announced that the event has been rescheduled, moved from February 6 to an undetermined date in March.

"We've decided to reschedule the inaugural event for the New Pantheon Award to give us greater opportunity for reaching our goals of making the best show possible," Sarig said in a statement released to MTV News late Wednesday. "The New Pantheon was created as a forum to shine a light on and build audiences for the most creative albums of the year by emerging artists. Rescheduling to March 2006 will in effect allow us to achieve the vision we set out to accomplish."

No reason was given for the abrupt rescheduling, and Sarig was unavailable for further comment as he's out of the country. But a spokesperson for his management company, Esther Creative, said that the event was moved to March in order to accommodate the schedules of all the artists who wanted to be a part of the initial NP ceremony and concert.

The spokesperson went on to add that the rescheduling in no way means that the ceremony is in danger of being canceled altogether, saying that rumors of its demise are "completely incorrect" and that NP is still "completely on."

Related Artists

Death Cab, M.I.A., Fiona Among New Pantheon Finalists

11 Jan 2006 21:11:00 EST

Inaugural awards show meant to replace Shortlist Music Prize.
By James Montgomery

Though we won't know the winner of the inaugural New Pantheon award until next month, the list of nominated albums just got a whole lot, uh, shorter.

Organizers for the New Pantheon — a replacement for the on-hiatus Shortlist Music Prize, given to the year's most outstanding under-the-radar album (see "Linkin Park's Bennington, Shinoda Help Do The Honors For Shortlist's Successor") — gave MTV News an exclusive first look at the 10 albums that'll compete for the hardware.

Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, M.I.A.'s Arular, Sufjan Stevens' Illinois, Antony and the Johnsons' I Am a Bird Now, Death Cab for Cutie's Plans, Bloc Party's Silent Alarm, the Kings of Leon's Aha Shake Heartbreak, Animal Collective's Feels, the Arcade Fire's Funeral and the Decemberists' Picaresque are the 10 finalists for the inaugural New Pantheon award, which will be handed out February 6 in Los Angeles.

That list was culled from an initial slate of more than 90 albums, submitted by the New Pantheon's panel of celebrity judges, which include Beck, ?uestlove of the Roots, country musician Keith Urban and actor Adam Brody ("The O.C.").

Back in November, Tom Sarig — one of the founders of the Shortlist Prize and the man behind the New Pantheon — stated that his goal was to honor "left of center" albums that the mainstream might have missed, and for the most part, it looks like he's succeeded. Only Apple's Machine and Death Cab's Plans could be considered "hit" albums. Antony and the Johnsons' Bird did take home the Mercury Prize — given to the most outstanding British or Irish act — in September.

To be eligible for the award, an album must not have been certified as gold (500,000 copies shipped) by the RIAA in the period of July 1, 2004, to October 30, 2005.

Related Artists

Fiona Apple Haunts Ocean Liner In New Clip; May Release Alternate Version Of New LP

04 Nov 2005 21:10:00 EST

Singer plays ghost in macabre video for 'O' Sailor.'
By Rodrigo Perez, with additional reporting by John Norris

Critics have thrown more than a few pejoratives at Fiona Apple. They've called her a brat, a drama queen, a recluse, a waif and numerous other comments. But it's not likely that any of them would accuse the singer of being lifeless.

Well, that's exactly what she is in the video for "O' Sailor," the first proper single from her latest album, Extraordinary Machine (the quickie live clip for "Parting Gift" was a teaser). In it, Apple plays a sullen ghost, morosely wandering the ocean liner Queen Mary.

The ambiguous, dreamlike video — filmed over two days in Long Beach, California, last month — was directed by Floria Sigismondi in her signature macabre style. The director recently helmed the White Stripes' "Blue Orchid" and has masterminded iconic clips for Marilyn Manson ("The Beautiful People"), Christina Aguilera, Interpol and others.

"It's a ghost story," Sigimondi said. "It's Fiona singing from a place where her lover has thrown her overboard and left her to sink, drown and die. She haunts this big, old ship."

As ghostly plumes of smoke envelope the ship's corridors, a pale and ghostly Apple — dressed in an elegant silk gown and looking like 1940s starlet Veronica Lake — listlessly meanders past the ship's crew. The presence of water is implied, but never actually shown. Sigismondi, who was specifically chosen by Apple to lens the clip, wanted the story to be nebulous.

"You don't know if the sailors are really there, or if she's there alone and they're memories that she's singing about," the director said. "She's sort of there in spirit. I got really attached to the line [in the chorus], 'Letting it go by the boards' — a phrase that sailors use for throwing something overboard that they don't need."

Eventually, the video segues into a surreal dance sequence (choreographed by Michael Rooney, who also designed the chorus-line dance moves for Apple's "Paper Bag" clip) where the sailors trap and hang Apple in a chandelier, from which she sings forlornly about her former lover.

While the clip isn't as creepy as some of Sigismondi's previous videos, it's certainly darker than any of Apple's. "It's not that spooky," Sigismondi said. "But her performance is really heartfelt. It's an emotional video, like the emotional song. It has a lot of wounded soul, and that's what I tried to convey."

Meanwhile, the long backstory behind the making of Extraordinary Machine — an early version of which leaked online before most of the songs were re-recorded — looks like it might have a happy ending.

Apple said she's asked Jon Brion, who produced the album's original sessions, to compile his version of the LP with an eye toward releasing it in the not-too-distant future (see "Fiona Apple's Long-Delayed LP Slotted For October 4 Release").

"Then Jon and I can go in and mix them the way we want," Apple said. "I really think it would be cool to compare [the two versions]."

According to both Apple and Brion, this version would be much different from the one that leaked online in February (see "Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Songs Leaked On The Radio"). "People assume they have a [completed] record when they don't," Brion told MTV News, noting that the leaked version was missing key instrumental tracks and contained unauthorized mixes and overdubs. He recently told WNYC-FM in New York that he believes his version of the album will be released next year, and a source noted that it's possible the album will be a digital-only release. Brion also may play some dates with Apple on her tour this fall (see "Fiona Apple Announces Extraordinary Tour Dates").

"I think that I actually got really lucky to have two versions of these songs," Apple said. "Nobody really gets to do that — not on purpose, anyway. And if somebody likes one or the other better, it doesn't make a difference to me, really. I think it gives them both more attention. I lucked out a little bit."

Check out "Fiona Apple: The People's Champ".

Related Artists

Fiona Apple

Nickelback Calm Twista To Score First #1 Debut

12 Oct 2005 09:52:00 EDT

New releases from Fiona Apple and Franz Ferdinand make albums chart's top 10.
By Chris Harris

A cool wind wafted into American record stores from Canada last week in the form of Nickelback's fifth offering, All the Right Reasons, while a raging Twista, which first started swirling over Chicago, cut a path across the U.S. and left The Day After in its wake.

In the end, Nickelback's release had a bigger impact, debuting atop Billboard's albums chart with sales nearing 325,000 — the band's first #1 debut. Making the foursome's triumph even sweeter is the fact that All the Right Reasons also represents the band's best week-one sales showing; 2001's Silver Side Up debuted at #2 with 178,000 scans while 2003's The Long Road finished at #6 with more than 200,000 copies sold.

Twista tried to make it two #1's in a row with The Day After, which follows 2004's chart-topper Kamikaze. The Chicago rapper fell short of his goal, with After's sales clocked at under 129,000. His #2 finish hindered female country singer Sara Evans' run for Billboard glory; her newest offering, Real Fine Place, debuts at #3 with sales of nearly 126,000. The previous week's #1, Gretchen Wilson's All Jacked Up, falls three spots to #4, followed at #5 by Sheryl Crow's Wildflower, which netted second-week sales of 106,000. Kanye West's Late Registration hangs tough at #6 with over 94,000 copies soaring off shelves.

Fiona Apple's Mike Elizondo-produced second stab at Extraordinary Machine affirms the songstress' comeback, finishing its opening week at #7. The album sold close to 94,000 copies, besting Franz Ferdinand's latest by more than 10,000 scans; Apple's 1999 release, When the Pawn Hits ... debuted at #13 with 103,000 sold.

You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand's follow-up to their breakthrough self-titled debut, moved just over 81,000 copies during its initial week in stores to claim Billboard's #8 post. The Black Eyed Peas follow Franz at #9 with sales of 79,000 and change for Monkey Business while Faith Hill's Fireflies leaps 30 spots to #10, thanks to a 194 percent surge in retail interest that translated to week-10 scans of just under 79,000.

Trina's latest, Glamorest Life, came close, but couldn't quite score that top-10 cigar, debuting this week at #11 with 77,000 plus scans. Hers was one of several prominent discs to debut on the most recent Billboard chart. Melissa Etheridge's Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled opens at #14 with 66,000 in sales, while Shinedown's Us and Them takes #23 with 47,000 albums sold. O.A.R.'s newest, Stories of a Stranger, surfaces at #39 with sales of 28,000 and then some, and the Deftones' B-Sides & Rarities claims the #42 spot with nearly 27,000 scans. Liz Phair's latest, Somebody's Miracle, hits #46 with 24,000 in sales, while Dwele's Some Kinda ... opens at #54 (21,000), Atmosphere's You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having takes the chart's #66 (19,000) with My Morning Jacket's Z at #67 (18,000).

See "Fiona Apple: The People's Champ" for more on Extraordinary Machine.

Related Artists