Here are three things you should know about me:

1) This year I am striving to walk/run 1,200 miles.
2) I must listen to music when I run. My body is incapable of making the motions one must make in order to run without music playing in my ears. Seriously.
3) The last time I updated my running playlist the United States hadn't yet had an African American president.

OK. That last statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but Nas' song "Black President" (which was released during Obama's first campaign) is on my playlist.

My point is this -- I desperately need some new music to run to!

I'd love a list of girl power anthems to listen to as I run the Hot Chocolate 5K in Atlanta on January 25.

Can you help?

Here's a list of some of songs I currently run to so that you can get an idea of what I like:

"Run the World (Girls)," Beyonce (I'm probably never replacing this song.)
"Fergalicious," Fergie
"4 Minutes," Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
"Bang Bang," will.i.am
"Boom Boom Pow," Black Eyed Peas
"Countdown," Beyonce
Everyone Nose" Remix,  N.E.R.D. ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pusha T. (No, that's not a typo in the song title. Yes, this is a song about using drugs.)
"Eyes Like Yours," Shakira
"Headsprung," LL Cool J
"Hero," Nas
"Lights Camera Action," Mr. Cheeks
"Street Lights," Kanye West
"Streets on Fire," Lupe Fiasco
"Stronger," Kanye West
"Tunnel Vision," Justin Timberlake
"Yellow," Coldplay

What songs should be on my new "Run Like a Girl" playlist? 

Here I am after having a "talking mirror" experience of my own.

At major blogging conferences for women like BlogHer and Blogalicious, it's not uncommon to return to your hotel room after a long day of sessions to find gifts from a sponsor. You could walk through the door and find anything from cupcakes to a gorgeous coffee table book sitting on your bed. 

But this year at BlogHer those of us who stayed in one of the official hotels got a different surprise. On our bathroom mirror we found a sticker declaring that "I'm Enough!" Considering how often we women look in the mirror and think about all the things we lack, I thought this was the best thing a sponsor could do for us girls.

OK. I think bathroom mirror selfies are the worse, but I was willing to take one for the Mrs. Band. 

I'm enough. And you are enough too. 

Later I had a chance to learn the story behind this surprise. 

The surprise was the brainchild of The Mrs., an all-female rock band from Austin, Texas that's comprised of drummer Andra Liemandt, lead vocalists.guitarists Mandy Prater and Jennifer Zavaleta, vocals/keyboardist Larissa Ness, and bassist Jenny Mason. 

For their debut EP, which will release this fall, The Mrs. set out to create something very different from what you'll hear on most radio stations. Instead of tales of teenage heartbreak or wild nights at the club, the music of The Mrs. is about careers, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and how women juggle all this while still maintaining their own identities. 

Their new single "I'm Enough" is all about encouraging women to celebrate and appreciate themselves. But they didn't stop with simply making a song. 

They developed a project they call "The Talking Mirror," which I had the honor of experiencing at  BlogHer. I could try to describe it, but it's best if you just witness it for yourself. 





Watch the video below to learn more about The Mrs. and how the band began.

Learn more about The Mrs. at themrs.com, or follow them at Facebook.com/themrsband and Twitter @themrsband.

Last night I went to Beyoncé and Jay-Z's On the Run show in Atlanta. I want to pretend to be music writer like my husband and give you a concert review, but it's hard to find words to describe such an epic experience.

I want to tell you all about the set list. I had so much fun I didn't sit down during a single song. Beyoncé not only performed songs from her new album -- like “Partition,” “Haunted” and “Pretty Hurts” -- but also older cuts like “Why Don't You Love Me,” “Single Ladies,” “Baby Boy” and many others. 

I want to convey how impressed I was by Bey’s performance, but I think my husband summed it up best in his review for his blog Soul In Stereo. He writes:

Beyonce…proved to me that she's the best performer of our generation. Bey's arena-rattling performance of feminist anthem "Flawless" nearly had the crowd in hysterics. Her ability to connect with fans up in the rafters is truly a sight to behold. Bey morphing from enigmatic specter on "Haunted" to acrobatic pin-up girl on "Partition" is one thing, but her true talent lies in her  immaculate vocals. She sounded studio perfect on every single song - never out of breath, never off key. It's mind-blowing that a woman who spent nearly three hours stomping around a stage and swinging from chairs could pull of the simmering ballad "Resentment" without a flaw.

 

She's not bossy. She's the boss.

I want to tell you about how I got chills during the performance of “Flawless.” I worried Bey would omit the second verse of this song for the concert and not let us hear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wise words on gender inequality. But I not only heard Adichie's words booming across the Georgia Dome but also saw them displayed before me on the Jumbotron. For me, seeing the word FEMINIST displayed larger than life at a mainstream music concert is nearly a religious experience.

I want to tell you about how I felt like a teenager again during the show. The beat dropped for “Run the World (Girls)” and Beyoncé asked all the women in the audience who make their own money and buy their own shit to make some noise. I screamed until my throat was sore. In that moment I was 19 again, which is how old I was when I saw Destiny's Child live. It was the same day I purchased my first car with money I saved from working two jobs. When they sang “Independent Women” I felt like they were singing it just for me, like the whole world was celebrating what I had accomplished that day.

View from Row 11 

Bey did a cover of Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor" and memories of high school heartbreak came flooding in. But then I looked to my left and saw my amazing husband standing next to me. No more heartbreak. No more wondering “who I have to be to get some reciprocity.” I closed my eyes for a few seconds to thank God for sending me a man who truly loves me for me.

On the Run Selfie with My Boo!

My husband went with me to the show because he's a huge Jay-Z fan and because I figured this show could and would be the ultimate date night. But I worried the show would be Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z and that hubster wouldn't have a good time. I worried for nothing. The show was definitely a shared ventured and I was so impressed with Jay-Z. He was so charismatic and energetic and such an overall great performer that I found myself enjoying his sets just as much as Bey's. I was jumping up and down like a chick in a mosh pit as soon as I heard the first few notes of "N*ggas In Paris." I was brushing my shoulders off and I was singing about my hard knock life.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter’s collaborations were golden. They had amazing chemistry on “Upgrade U,” “Drunk In Love,” “Part II (On the Run),” “Young Forever” and more. Bey even joined Jay on tracks like “Holy Grail.”

As my husband described in his review:

“They looked like they were having the time of their lives bouncing on stage like teenagers during "Drunk In Love" while, later, coming off like the mature married couple on "Young Forever." They didn't sound like two artists sharing a concert billing, they sounded like two lovers sharing their experiences with the world.”

I want to tell you about all of this and more. But none of this is as important as what I want to tell the young women in my life. Many of my female students are big Beyoncé fans and I swear some of them were more excited about the fact that I was going to the show than I was. On my little black dress for the show I wore a glittery red star with Beyoncé's name on it that was made by one of my girls.

I went into the show thinking about them and how I wanted to leave with something inspiring to tell them.

When I arrived at the Georgia Dome the words THIS IS NOT REAL LIFE were displayed on the Jumbotron. I stared at the statement for a moment wondering what it meant but as soon as the show began I got lost in the magic. I got lost in the music and the Bonnie and Clyde-inspired cinematic scenes that played out in the background.

But at the end of the show while Bey and Jay performed “Young Forever” the movie reel changed. Images of the Carters shooting guns, robbing banks, and speeding down highways were replaced with video footage from their wedding and the birth of their child. We saw scenes from family vacations and adorable moments of Jay-Z doing push-ups with Blue ivy on his back and pretending to sit on her back as she attempted to do push-ups too. And then these words filled the screen: THIS IS REAL LIFE.

And suddenly I knew the message I wanted to convey.

It's fine to admire celebrities like Beyoncé. I think it's even OK to be interested in their lives to a point, but don't forget about your real life in the process. Don't become so obsessed with watching Beyonce live out her dreams that you neglect achieving yours.

Be your own Beyoncé.

Feeling flawless the morning after the show -- even with frizzy hair!

If you admire Beyoncé because of her body confidence, don't strive to look like her. Strive to love the skin you're in and to love the body you already have. If you admire her for her talent, figure out your passion and strive to cultivate a talent of your own. And if you admire her simply because she's rich, then, dammit, get rich yourself!

When Sheryl Sandberg interviewed Beyoncé for her feature in Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world she asked her the question she loves to ask all women: What would you do if you weren't afraid? Bey's answer: “Watch me. I'm about to do it. You can, too.”

Yes, you can, too.

So sure, watch Beyoncé for a moment but then go out and be fearless (and flawless) yourself.

In honor of last night's 2014 Grammy Awards I thought I'd pretend to be a music blogger and write about some of the female musicians who rocked my world last year. 

First, however, I must digress for the dudes, because my favorite performances last night were all by men in music. Metallica's set made me miss the days when I (believe it or not) was really, really into rock. And didn't you just love the performance of the hit song "Get Lucky"by Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Niles Rodgers and Stevie Wonder? They hit the stage and suddenly the Grammys turned into a big party with all the audience members on their feet dancing and having a good time. With songs like "Get Lucky" and the Oscar-nominated "Happy," Pharrell is making music fun again. (And considering how many awards he won last night, it seems the Grammy folks agree with me.) 

But that Kendrick Lamar/Imagine Dragons collaboration was the best thing I've seen on television in a long time. That performance gave me chills and had my heart racing like I was running a half marathon. In fact, I felt like I could've run a half marathon in that moment.

 


Now back to the ladies. 

When last night's 2014 Grammy Awards opened with a performance by Beyonce and Jay-Z my hips and shoulders just started shaking and swaying on their own. That's what happens whenever I hear "Drunk In Love" or just about any other song from Bey's latest album, the album that I'm still listening to at least twice a week even though it was released a month and a half ago. 

Although Beyonce's performance was a bit lackluster compared to what we've come to expect from the Queen, I will continue to rock out to her unapologetically feminist album. (And no, I don't think Beyonce's sexually explicit songs or last night's sensual performance makes her less of a feminist. Women are sexual beings just as men are and, guess what, that's OK.) Also, I must admit that the way Mr. and Mrs. Carter were gushing over each other throughout last night's show had me gushing too. Remember, y'all, feminism is for lovers. 

Later in the night Sara Bareilles had the chance to perform her song "Brave" with her idol Carole King. Bareilles has been wowing me with her songwriting and her vocal prowess since her debut album Little Voice with ballads like "Gravity" and feminist tracks like "Fairytale."  

I've seen Bareilles perform live twice and she's one of those few artists who actually sound better sans studio help. I stood in line for hours before the show so I could be front and center for the performance and for hours after the show so I could get a snapshot with her. 

She signed my CD too. 

New and edgy pop singer Lorde took home the Grammys for best pop solo performance and song of the year. She also performed her hit song "Royals" which was my anthem this summer. You can find Lorde's debut release Pure Heroine in heavy rotation in my Mazda. This 17-year-old won me over with her interview last year with Rookie Mag when she stated: 

I’m speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn’t even be something that people find mildly surprising, it’s just a part of being a girl in 2013. 

Yes. Feminism is natural. That's music to my ears.

This morning I woke up and took a photo of myself.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've taken a selfie. But this morning I just had to. I woke up with Beyonce's "Flawless" playing in my head: "I woke up like this/ We flawless, ladies tell 'em."

"I woke up like this."

Like most Beyonce fans I spent most of yesterday in a state of disbelief. Did Queen Bey really drop a surprise album in the middle of the night? Does this album really feature more than a dozen songs and more than a dozen music videos?

I rushed home from work yesterday so I could sit down and carefully listen to all the tracks. The album immediately won me over with "Pretty Hurts," which speaks to the pressures of fitting society's beauty standards. In "Ghost" Beyonce gives listeners some insight into her business strategy and bluntly says she doesn't trust record labels. Tender tracks like "Superpower," "Heaven," and "Blue" (which features an adorable cameo from her daughter Blue Ivy) show off Bey's vocal prowess and tug on heart strings. And while the sexually explicit lyrics of tracks like "Drunk In Love," "Blow," and "Yonce"/"Partition" are a bit much at times, Mrs. Carter certainly does a good job of dispelling notions that married folks don't have good sex.

But then you hear "Flawless" and you realize she's doing so much more.

"Flawless" is a revamped version of the previously released track "Bow Down." And I will admit, when I first heard "Bow Down" I was confused. I didn't get it and I didn't like it. "What is she doing?" I asked myself.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

But "Flawless" is now about to be that track on repeat in my car when I'm running errands or driving to work. Yes, the song starts with Bey telling her haters to show some respect for the path she has paved, but don't think for one moment this means she's turned her back on sisterhood. The entire second verse features snippets from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk "We Should All Be Feminists." This is one of my favorite TED Talks and one that I show to the students in my Women & Media class.

I get chills listening to Adichie's words to the backdrop of Beyonce's soaring soprano. And with Adichie's words, Beyonce's message becomes clear.

Bey's braggadocios lyrics fly in the face of the notion that women should "aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man."

And when Mrs. Carter says "I took some time to live my life/ But don't think I'm just his little wife" she challenges the fact that girls are often taught to, as Adichie explains, "aspire to marriage."

Adichie says, "Marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don't teach boys the same?"

Adichie goes on to ask, "Why do we raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments -- which I think could be a good thing -- but for the attention of men?"

And when Adichie declares that "We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are" suddenly even those raunchy rhymes from previous tracks have more purpose.

In case you were wondering if Beyonce is a feminist -- yes, she is. And in case you're not sure what that means, Adichie breaks it down: "Feminist - a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes."

And no, Beyonce has not turned her back on her Beyhive. The song ends with Queen Bey inviting all of us to join her in declaring that we're flawless -- not because of makeup, plastic surgery, or expensive clothes, but because we "woke up like this."

I missed church on Sunday morning but on Monday night I left Birmingham's Bartow Arena feeling like I'd heard one of the best sermons of my life.

Yesterday hip-hop star Common gave a lecture to several hundred students, faculty and Birmingham residents at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Bartow Arena. Common's visit was part of a UAB's Black History Month celebrations.

People who know me know that I love Common! I love him so much my husband has been joking for weeks about me trying to run off with the king of conscious hip-hop during his visit. I love him so much that I went to last night's talk despite the fact I've been fighting an illness since late Friday night. (I've coughed so much that I can't speak above a whisper right now.) But Common's talk was so worth braving last night's rainy weather.

The focus of his topic was simple: greatness. Com said that for him greatness is not only about using your gifts to take yourself to a higher level, but also about inspiring others to reach their highest potential as well. Jesus, Common said, was an ultimate symbol of greatness because one could be healed by simply being in his presence. If God sent Jesus to be an example for us, then we must aspire to be great as well. But how do we get there? How do we achieve greatness?

The Chicago-born rapper, actor and author broke it down saying you must 1) find your path 2) believe in your path and 3) live it!

First, find your path. Find your passion and pursue it wholeheartedly, even if those you love don't share your vision. Common said when he decided he wanted to be a rapper his mother wasn't a fan of the idea and wanted him to focus on education instead.  Even though he knew his mother only wanted what was best for him, he also knew he had to follow his heart. And we conscious hip-hop fans sure are glad he did.

Second, believe in your path. During his talk Common admitted that even after the success of songs like "I Used to Love H.E.R." and "The Light" he still didn't quite believe in himself. Com spoke with honesty and talked about the heartache he felt after his break up with songstress Erykah Badu. But during his healing process he learned something valuable about himself: he was always playing second fiddle to other people, be it in relationships or to other artists. "I was willing to dim my light," he confessed. But the light we have is not meant to be dimmed. After Common stopped dimming his light for others he released Be, an album considered by music journalists as an instant classic and an album that garnered five Grammy nominations.

Our light is not meant to be hidden, but meant to shine on others, he said, calling to mind Matthew 5:14-16, which reads:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way. let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 

See, I told you this man took us to church. And it didn't stop there.

Thirdly, living your path is about holding on to your dream even in the face of adversity. "Everything you believe and everything you want won't come exactly when you want it," he said.  "You will be challenged." Common has had his share such as the disappointment he felt when he didn't win any of those Grammys for which Be was nominated or the grief he endured after losing a close family member a few years ago. But the challenges we face, even those that cause us to question God, are meant to help us grow. And this time Common actually did pull out Scripture to bring home this point, quoting from James 1:2-4, which reads:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers (and Common added "my sisters," making my feminist heart swoon a bit), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

By this point I was ready for an altar call. And I had made a decision that I believed in my heart and was ready to confess with my mouth, except for the fact that I've lost my voice and can't speak. So I'm confessing here on my blog instead:

I believe that it is my path to start a magazine because this has been my dream for nearly two decades. And I believe it is my path to grow See Jane Write into a mighty organization that can help other women make their dreams come true too. I believe I can and will do these things and I'm moving forward whether you're with me or not.

Thanks to Common I've seen the light and I know it's time to be great.

There's often chatter on some of my favorite blogs about whether superstar Beyonce is or isn't a feminist. Her girl power anthems, all-female band and determination to be independent lead some to say that Bey is absolutely a feminist. But some look to her sexy persona and performances and say she's a pawn to the male gaze. Some folks even complain about her decision to name her upcoming tour "The Mrs. Carter Show."

Despite the fact that I've been waving the flag of feminism for years, I actually don't care whether or not Beyonce has the label of "feminist." She continues to inspire me regardless. 

I had no intentions of writing about her HBO documentary, Life Is But a Dream, that debuted Saturday night. But when I found myself scribbling down notes throughout the program, I knew a blog post was about to be born. 

Believe it or not, sometimes I do have reservations about calling myself a feminist, but not because of the negative connotations and terrible misconceptions people have about what being a feminist means. Sometimes I feel as if feminism doesn't fully describe my politics, my life mission or my love for and devotion to women. Feminism is simply a belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. But my desire to improve the lives of women and help them express themselves is about so much more than equality. It's about sisterhood.

In the documentary Beyonce describes how much her love for women influences her work. She says, "I'm always thinking about women and what we need to hear." And with those words she describes exactly why I blog and why I started See Jane Write. 

Beyonce goes on to talk about how important it is for women to have conversations with other women and how much she grows from those heartfelt discussions. I feel the same way, which is why I want to build community here on this blog and offline through See Jane Write networking events. 

Life Is But a Dream is a compelling documentary because it reminds viewers that Beyonce is human. Yes, her life is acutely different from ours, but she still has insecurities and heartache, hopes and dreams. She's a woman of faith. And when she's talking about her husband you see she's still a girl in love with a boy, and suddenly the fact that she's calling her new tour the Mrs. Carter Show makes you smile.

But obviously it's when Beyonce talks about her concern for women that she makes my feminist heart flutter. In the documentary during a segment on her Billboard Music Awards performance of "Run the World (Girls)"  she says: 

It really pisses me off that women don't get the same opportunities as men do or money for that matter because let's face it: money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define our values and to define what's sexy and what's feminine. And that's bullshit. At the end of the day it's not about equal rights it's about how we think. We have to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead and reach as high as humanly possible. That's what I'm going to do, that's my philosophy and that's what "Girls" is all about. 

Yes. This. 

I love that she puts the ball in our court. It's time out for whining about men or "the Man" holding us down. It's time that we take control of our careers and our creativity. 

It's time to take control of your life so it can finally look just like the one you live in your dreams. 

Originally published on the See Jane Write blog.

Image by Stephen Barnett via Flickr/Creative Commons

"I think I'm in love with my radio

Cause it never lets me down

And I fall in love with my stereo

Whenever I hear that sound"

- "Radio" by Beyonce

When I was a teenager I believed no one could love me like my radio.

It was always there for me. I listened to the radio while getting ready for and riding to school each morning. My radio made evening homework sessions go by faster and every night my radio sang me to sleep.

I still have fond memories of calling my favorite DJ to request my favorite song and then waiting by the radio with a blank cassette in the tape deck so I could record the highly anticipated track.

R&B ballads by the likes of Mariah Carey gave me fuel for all the sad, angst-filled love poems I wrote  back then. And the anthems sang by girl groups like TLC stirred within me a sense of self-pride that would eventually blossom into my feminism.

Then one day everything changed. Radio and I grew apart.

I could try to blame it all on mainstream music.  I could say rap music became too sexist and senseless and that pop and R&B became too trite. But, truthfully, I'm the one who changed. My favorite artists became folks like Ani DiFranco, musicians who don't get mainstream radio airplay.  And club bangers started to give me a headache.

So I turned off my radio.

Enter WBHM, Birmingham's NPR station.

I admit that in the past I was never a huge NPR fan because I felt the radio was supposed to be a source of escape and entertainment. As I grew older I started tuning in to NPR for updates on major news events, but was still far from a loyal listener.

But when I moved back to my hometown of Birmingham I decided to give WBHM a chance. I quickly got hooked on station's programming and was impressed by events like Issues & Ales.

Radio and I began to rekindle the flame.

I am a fan of good music for the same reason that I am a writer -- I love stories. And WBHM is always telling me an intriguing tale whether it's about life for children in Palestine or the story of a gay man being reunited with his siblings after being cast out the family by his ultra conservative father. Just yesterday I learned about the evolution of hand dryers and last week I began my day listening to an inspiring interview with Sonia Sotomayor.

I've become one of those people who are almost late for work because they're sitting in the parking lot in their cars enraptured by an NPR feature report. Every weekend I look forward to listening to the word game Says You.

But what about music? Well, if it weren't for WBHM I would have never learned about the artist Kendra Morris, whose album Banshee was one of my favorite releases of 2012.

Now WBHM and I are taking our relationship to a new level. We're really making things official. I've signed on to be a Race & Diversity blogger for the station's website. You can check out my debut post here.

And I leave you with this...

If you've been cruising down Lakeshore Parkway lately there's a chance you've pulled up next to a black Mazda 3 and caught a chick with big curly hair singing her heart out to the Alicia Keys song "Brand New Me."  That chick was me.

We're at the start of a new year and this is a time when many people start trying to make changes in their lives. As writers, we resolve to write a certain number of words each day, to read more, to blog more, and to be more aggressive in our efforts to get published. Then December rolls around and we haven't accomplished half as much as we had hoped. And this is usually the case with goals in other areas of life -- such as fitness and finances -- as well.

Where did we go wrong? Yesterday, my pastor had a pretty poignant message on this topic. He said that we ought to just start wishing one another a "Happy Improved Year!" instead of a happy new year because what we're trying do to with all our resolutions is change ourselves from the outside in instead of changing from the inside out. We're tying to do something different when we need to be someone different. Instead of improving the old you, become a new you. We need a New Year's revolution, not a New Year's resolution.

How do we do this? We must get centered. This will mean different things for different people, but it's imperative nonetheless. We must get focused on whatever is the cornerstone of our lives. Once we've done that we will want to do the things that must be done to accomplish our goals. It will no longer be a matter of wrestling with our wills to keep our resolutions to write daily or exercise five times a week. Once we're centered we will jump out of bed ready to write; we'll actually look forward to going to the gym.

For me getting centered means drawing near to God. It means praying constantly, reading Scripture daily, using my writing to encourage others, and forging meaningful connections with other women of faith. When I do these things I can feel myself transforming into the woman I'm meant be and I know that I will accomplish all this woman was meant to do.

Nearly every poem I wrote in college was in someway inspired by singer/songwriter Fiona Apple. Many of these poems were bad, really bad, but for better or worse, Ms. Apple was my muse. 


When I heard about the deluxe edition of her new album The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, more simply known as The Idler Wheel, I had to have it. Downloading some digital copy from iTunes just wouldn't do and here's why: instead of an ordinary jewel case, the deluxe version of the CD comes in a journal and with a DVD of Apple's performances at this year's SXSW festival, a poster, and two postcard-size prints. You had me at journal. 

The journal includes the lyrics to each track, handwritten by Fiona herself, some of her artwork, and even random studio production notes. I was eager to get my hands on this hoping it would give me some glimpse into the psyche of the mysterious Fiona Apple. She inspires me and I want to know what inspires her. 


As Fiona says in the refrain of the song "Every Single Night," I just want to feel everything. By delving into the pages of her journal while I listened to her music I was hoping I would somehow feel what she felt when she wrote those words. Silly, I know, but it was a fun experiment, nonetheless, as I lay in the middle of the floor (because I imagine this is what she does when she creates and because this is what I did in college) drinking in her lyrics. 

I must say I'm a bigger fan of her earlier releases, but The Idler Wheel, Apple's fourth studio album, is still a must-have for any Apple-head (yep, I just made that up) and both her voice and the music have a very raw feel to them that I love.


Fiona Apple inspires me because the music she creates is what I consider real art, not just entertainment. I've mentioned on this blog before that I believe true art inspires and transforms the people who encounter and understand it, even if only in a small way. Apple inspires me with her use of metaphor. Take, for example, this verse from "Werewolf": 

I could liken you to a werewolfThe way you left me for deadBut I admitI provided a full moonI could liken you to a sharkThe way you bit off my headBut then again, I was waving aroundA bleeding, open wound

Moreover, I believe that real art teaches us something about ourselves and Fiona Apple's music always does just that. Long ago, while listening to her lyrics, I discovered that I am not an easy woman to love. Fortunately, I've found friends and an amazing husband who are up to the challenge, but I am still keenly aware of this dark truth about myself. In "Left Alone" she writes: "How can I ask any one to love me/ when all I do is beg to be left alone."  Boy, can I relate to that. We writers can be weird that way. 


Fiona Apple was my poetic muse and later in college even inspired a number of my short stories. I hope that one day she'll influence a piece of creative nonfiction I write too. Well, actually, I guess she already has. 


What musicians inspire you?