Music / Ani DiFranco

Angela Maria “Ani” Difranco was born on September 23rd, 1970 from parents with Italian and Jewish-American backgrounds. Both her father, Dante, and her mother, Elisabeth, were folk musicians. She grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. and played her first gigs at the age of nine, playing in local bars in her hometown. She moved to New York City at 16 and in 1988 she made a demo which has become a highly sought-after fan item. She is now a prolific artist.

Ani’s lyrics focus, amongst other topics, on war, GLBT issues, sexual assault, the music industry and, recently, the joy of motherhood.

Tropes:

• Big Applesauce : Although Difranco is from Buffalo, she lives and works in NYC, and many of her songs reflect this.
  I live in New York New York, the city that never shuts up.
• Beauty Is Bad:
  God help you if you are an ugly girl
  Of course too pretty is also your doom
  'Cause everyone harbors a secret hatred
  For the prettiest girl in the room
• Book Ends: Especially in her earlier discography, she will repeat the first verse of a song at the end.
• Cover Version: How she got to the Billboard Top 40, when her song "32 Flavors" was covered in 1997 by fellow singer-songwriter Alana Davis (with some lyric changes).
• Damsel in Distress: "Not a Pretty Girl" begins as a defied example, but eventually deconstructs the trope itself:
  And what if there are no damsels in distress?
  What if I knew that, and I called your bluff?
  Don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down
  Whether or not you ever show up
• Folk Music: With a percussive and decidedly funky feel.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion : Averted with "Tiptoe," a poem about abortion.
• Granola Girl
• I Am Not Pretty: Eventually deconstructed in "Not a Pretty Girl."
  I am not a pretty girl
  That is not what I do
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Played tragicomically straight in "Untouchable Face":
  Too bad you had to have a better half
  She's not really my type
  But I think you two are forever
  And I hate to say it but
  You're perfect together
  So fuck you
  And your untouchable face
• Inconvenient Attraction: What "Dilate" is all about.
  And you are so lame
  You always disappoint me
  It's kind of like our running joke
  But it's really not funny
  And I just want you to live up to
  The image of you I create
  I see you and I'm so unsatisfied
  I see you and I dilate
• Lonely Piano Piece: While it has lyrics, "You Had Time" is a slow and mournful break up song, used to its full effect in the film Lost and Delirious.
• Love Martyr: Subverted in "Out Of Range", in which the singer finally leaves her abusive lover.
• No Bisexuals: "In Or Out" is about her frustration with this trope.
• Precision F-Strike:
  Fuck you and your untouchable face.
  Fuck you, for existing in the first place.
  • Even funnier in "Napoleon", where it's crooned in a gentle voice like a lullaby:
    'Cuz eeeeeeeeeeveryone
    Is a fucking Napoleon
    Yeah eeeeeeeeeeveryone
    Is a fucking Napoleon
• Rock-Star Song: Subverted in a few songs, where she deconstructs the record industry, notably "Napoleon".
• Singer-Songwriter
• Soapbox Sadie
• Unrequited Love: "Untouchable Face", "Unrequited."

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