Post by mitrope38 on May 21, 2012 18:17:54 GMT -5
Native to Buffalo, New York, Ani Difranco grew up in a household where she was encouraged to stay true to her opinions and speak her mind. Her musical ambitions were fostered by family and teachers who taught her that chasing her dreams and testing her limits would feed her soul. In such a supportive environment, DiFranco was able to land her first performance gig by age nine, which was followed, ten years later, by a move to New York City and nothing but a hundred songs in her pocket.
The self-proclaimed, “Little Folksinger,” made a huge splash in the underground music scene where she gained an enthusiastic cult following in the early 90’s. Soon after establishing herself, she founded Righteous Babe Records as a means of making her music available beyond a concert setting and traveled the country, sharing her stories and societal ambitions with crowds of indie-folk worshippers.
DiFranco’s cult success soon turned into a quasi-commercial success and she was regarded as “tender as well as biting.” Major record companies continuously sought after her voice and words, completely intrigued by the ardent firecracker that sang about world peace and making love to women. However, in true Ani DiFranco, anti-corporation style, she refused every offer that came her way, setting precedent for future songwriters to stay true to their individualism and be their own boss. From this, she garnered even more attention for her independent, “stick it to the man” attitude.
DiFranco’s passionate poetry and songs represent her political and social standpoints. With her shaved head and fearless attitude, she became one of the most prominent feminist figures of the 20th and 21st century. Through her record company, DiFranco formed Righteous Babe Foundations, which currently funds many women’s rights, as well as pro-equality, pro-choice, and peace enforcing organizations. She realizes that it is more effective to “fight fire with words, words are hotter than flames.” She is not limited, however, to her inspiring work as a humanitarian, DiFranco is also gifted with the ability to speak to the heart.
Aware of the fact that “some of life’s best lessons are learned at the worst times,” she reaches beyond the sugarcoated heartbreak heard so often on the radio in this day and age, and pierces the heart with her poetic, meaningful rhetoric. Though she strums softly and purposefully on her acoustic guitar, it is her jarring, painfully relatable lyrics that have given her such a loyal following of fans and a respected position in the music industry.
At times it is hard to see past the sourly infectious pop culture that has consumed contemporary society, but Ani Difranco, passionate and driven in her cause, has reminded us that true artistry still exists in our world. Her beautiful poetry and music moves past the point of pure entertainment and encourage reform. She goes beyond simply criticizing and highlighting the flaws she sees and motivates society to come together and create solutions. Her flawless words have provided an aid to the troubles that we all face. “The world owes us nothing,” she says, “and we owe each other the world.”
With that, I am honored to welcome the inspiring poet and songstress, Ani DiFranco.
Word Count: 532
The self-proclaimed, “Little Folksinger,” made a huge splash in the underground music scene where she gained an enthusiastic cult following in the early 90’s. Soon after establishing herself, she founded Righteous Babe Records as a means of making her music available beyond a concert setting and traveled the country, sharing her stories and societal ambitions with crowds of indie-folk worshippers.
DiFranco’s cult success soon turned into a quasi-commercial success and she was regarded as “tender as well as biting.” Major record companies continuously sought after her voice and words, completely intrigued by the ardent firecracker that sang about world peace and making love to women. However, in true Ani DiFranco, anti-corporation style, she refused every offer that came her way, setting precedent for future songwriters to stay true to their individualism and be their own boss. From this, she garnered even more attention for her independent, “stick it to the man” attitude.
DiFranco’s passionate poetry and songs represent her political and social standpoints. With her shaved head and fearless attitude, she became one of the most prominent feminist figures of the 20th and 21st century. Through her record company, DiFranco formed Righteous Babe Foundations, which currently funds many women’s rights, as well as pro-equality, pro-choice, and peace enforcing organizations. She realizes that it is more effective to “fight fire with words, words are hotter than flames.” She is not limited, however, to her inspiring work as a humanitarian, DiFranco is also gifted with the ability to speak to the heart.
Aware of the fact that “some of life’s best lessons are learned at the worst times,” she reaches beyond the sugarcoated heartbreak heard so often on the radio in this day and age, and pierces the heart with her poetic, meaningful rhetoric. Though she strums softly and purposefully on her acoustic guitar, it is her jarring, painfully relatable lyrics that have given her such a loyal following of fans and a respected position in the music industry.
At times it is hard to see past the sourly infectious pop culture that has consumed contemporary society, but Ani Difranco, passionate and driven in her cause, has reminded us that true artistry still exists in our world. Her beautiful poetry and music moves past the point of pure entertainment and encourage reform. She goes beyond simply criticizing and highlighting the flaws she sees and motivates society to come together and create solutions. Her flawless words have provided an aid to the troubles that we all face. “The world owes us nothing,” she says, “and we owe each other the world.”
With that, I am honored to welcome the inspiring poet and songstress, Ani DiFranco.
Word Count: 532