Twist Magazine January 98

*Suddenly, girl rockers are everywhere: in huge sellout concerts, on every radio station, and at the top of the charts. Now they're in 'Twist' because you told us THESE GIRLS ROCK!
Written By: Mark Binelli, Jena Hofstedt, Kristen Kemp, and Marc S. Malkin

FIONA APPLE
6 Reasons, Why We Think She's Cool

1.*Fiona's proof that you don't have to be in your 20's and 30's to be totally creative.*
She was only 15 when she wrote some of the songs on her awesome debut album, Tidal; she was 17 when she was discovered, A bigwig entertainment executive played Fiona's demo tape at a party and producer/manager Andy Slater (he works with the Wallflowers) heard it, loved it, and immediately called her. Within a year, Tidal was released. Now, it's gone platinum (that means more than one million of us were smart enough to buy it).

2.*She's triumphed over something really horrible.*
When she was 12, Fiona was raped by a stranger. But she's learned to move on; she's only written about the rape once: in a verse in "Sullen Girl." "I don't want to be like the rape poster girl," she says. Still, she's totally open about it. "It's part of who I am, and it was a personal principle of mine to say something about it because it shouldn't be like something I should have to keep from the world."

3.*This girl speaks her mind-even if what she ends up saying is controversial.*
During her acceptaince speech when she won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist In A Video for her song "Sleep To Dream," Fiona refused to ramble off one of those long boring lists of thank-yous. Instead, she said, "This is bull****!" and went on to encourage fans to just be themselves. Later she explained that she was thankful for the important people in her life, but felt it was more important to talk directly to her fans than bore them with a very forgettable speech.

4.*Fiona keeps guys guessing.*
Apparently, some of her ex's have been online trading e-mails trying to find out which song-if any-are about them. Fiona finds this funny and won't fess up. It's her music and she doesn't owe anyone any explanations!

5.*Fiona's got her own style.*
One day you might see her all glammed up in an expensive designer dress and heels and the next day she'll be in another cool dress, but this time wearing clunky black boots. And you just can't miss her funky belly-button ring!

6.*She's totally into her fans.*
When Fiona cancelled a few European shows this summer because she wasn't feeling well, she went online and apologized to her fans on the internet. Obviously, her apology was accepted. Her fans sent her back a bunch of get-well wishes. "These are the people that I have to listen to," she says.

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