Being great isn't so great all the time
December 19, 2020

Fiona Apple: Being so validated messes with your idea of yourself

'Fetch the Bolt Cutters' is one of the most critically acclaimed albums this year, but it wasn't so assuring for Fiona Apple when she was making it, as she's told the Guardian: "I started everything over once and then over again feeling like it wasn’t going in the right direction. There were times when I felt, I love all the work that we’ve been doing and I don’t regret any of the time that we spent, but maybe I just don’t wanna deal with this. Maybe I’m in a good place to call it quits and go live a different kind of life. But then it started feeling right. I didn’t have any idea that it was gonna be loved so much". While making it she said she had provided herself with "the right environment and getting to a place where – it sounds strange to say – I could believe myself as I was performing". Being so validated like herself with this album isn't that great either: "I’m happy that I feel respected in a way that I wasn’t before but it also messes with your idea of yourself... I don’t know how we get out of letting other people tell us who we are".