Fiona Apple Dishes The Juicy Details How Bob Dylan Chose Her To Play On New Album’s, “Tramp Stamp”!
“This summer, we learned that Apple played on the new Bob Dylan album
Rough And Rowdy Ways. It turns out that she plays piano on the 17-minute
Kennedy-assassination meditation “Murder Most Foul.” In the Pitchfork
interview Apple tells the story of how it happened:“So I’m sitting here with Zelda in February, really relaxed, and we’re about to
have dinner, and I look down at my phone and see [longtime collaborator] Blake
Mills texting me. I hadn’t heard from Blake in months. And he’s like, “So I’m
working on something, I can’t tell anybody about it, but we want you to come
in and do something.” And I was like, “Um, I can’t I’m busy.” And he was like,
“Can I call you?” So he called me and he goes, “OK, it’s Bob Dylan. Bob is
asking if you will come here and record.” And I went: “When?” And he went:
“Now.” And I said “FUCK” so loud that I could hear people on the other end of
the phone laughing.I was like, “I’m not trying to put myself down here, Blake, but you and I both
know that I’m very underqualified for this job. There’s no point.” And he’s
like, “He just wants you to come in to be you.” So I went in the next day. I’m
only on “Murder Most Foul.”…”I couldn’t believe it. I had met him many years ago, but I don’t really know why I’m on the record. I was there a total of like seven hours. I told Bob I
was really insecure about it, and he was really encouraging and nice. He was
just like, “You’re not here to be perfect, you’re here to be you.” To have Bob
Dylan say that before my record came out was a huge deal for me. And I mean,
this was like the one person I could have met who’s alive right now where it
actually would have meant something to me as a kid.————————————————
Apple also tells a story about the tattoo that she got for an ex-boyfriend,
the magician David Blaine:I have what they call a “tramp stamp,” but it looks cool. I got that tattoo
for [ex-boyfriend] David Blaine, and for myself, because he had gotten a
tattoo of my name on his shoulder, which is now covered up with the face of
the devil, and I felt like I needed to do something in return. But I didn’t
feel right getting “David” tattooed on me. I felt like we were kin, and he’s
always going to be in my family. So it’s this symbol that I used to draw when
I was a kid, and above it I put, “Kin.” But it’s half removed now, because
another boyfriend didn’t want me to have it. It’s a faded tattoo now.Also, I really like what Apple has to say about the overwhelmingly positive
reception to Fetch The Bolt Cutters:With this record — I haven’t looked at stuff, but I know it was received well.
Knowing that, and knowing how many fuck ups there are, and how imperfect
everything is on it — I feel like I’m in a good relationship with the world. I
feel like I showed up for a date with no makeup on, like I banged my head and
I lost my tooth and I showed up bloody and wearing half a T-shirt and one
sock, and my date went, “Hey, I like you, come on let’s go. That’s OK with
me.” Which is a great feeling. I’ll still kick myself for not being the kind
of musician that I think is the cool way to be a musician. But I like that I
finally went: “I’m me. I’m going to accept what I am and try to make something
good out of that.” I’m proud of myself for getting to a place where I could
say: “don’t wait until you’re perfect.”” – Pitchfork.com
