Credit: Redferns

You guys don't even understand how hard of a job it is having "Flashback Friday" as your responsibility. Do you know how many hours can just pass and pass while you're withering away in the black hole that is MTV's video vault? MANY HOURS. It's so hard to choose!

This week we're revisiting Fiona Apple's "Criminal," and let me tell you why. Yes, Britney Spears is an icon and Beyoncé is a queen and Lady Gaga is pop royalty, but guys, Fiona helped pave the way for all of them. "Criminal" won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1997, and the song's album, Tidal, went three times platinum in the U.S. Fiona's collaborated with music legends Johnny Cash and Cat Stevens, and -- little known fact -- she's basically BFF with the ridiculously hilarious Zach Galifianakis.

And of course, let us not forget the acceptance speech heard 'round the world. Fiona Apple declaring, "This world is bulls***!" when she won the 1997 MTV VMA for Best New Artist, was, to date, the most swagged out ish I've ever seen in my life. Sure, I can recite every one of her songs backwards and forwards, blindfolded, with my hands tied behind my back, but regardless, the lady is a trailblazer, people. Recognize!

Rewatch Fiona Apple's video "Criminal" below, and LOL with me that this was considered "scandalous" in 1997.