Fiona Apple sits for a talk with Interview magazine and dishes on her new album called ‘The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do’. Yes, this is indeed one long title yet it is the second-longest title in Apple’s discography. In fact, it was her 90-word ‘When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing Fore He Enters the Ring There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You’ll Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You Know That You’re Right’ to enter Guinness World Records as having the longest title for an album by anyone ever.
Speaking about her mind going to tragedy first, the 34-year-old singer says that, “I think everybody’s mind does. That’s why we’re here — why humans have survived. Our ancestors always thought of the worst thing that could happen, and that’s why we’re alive.”
On the phrase that started the creative process of ‘The Idler Wheel…’, Fiona confesses that, “Hmm . . . I think the first phrase that I wrote off of for this album was at the beginning of the song “Left Alone.” I wanted to use the phrase “moribund sl*t,” which led me to use the phrase “orotund mutt.”
On the imagery behind the album’s title, Apple told Interview magazine that, “For years now, in many of my notebooks, there would always be something about an idler wheel. I like the idea of the idler wheel — it just sits in between things, but it makes such a big difference in the way that the machine is working. That concept has always been something that has interested me, but I didn’t really know why.”
As for that seven-year gap between albums, the singer admits that, “I really don’t like making a thing out of, you know, ‘I’m going to write songs now.’ [laughs] That’s why it takes so long.”
In her interview, Apple also talks about the sound of ‘The Idler Wheel…’ and how her music is seen. “I get that, yeah, but, you know, I have no idea if this album sounds different, or doesn’t fit with the ones from before. I don’t have any idea of how either I am really perceived or the music that I make is really perceived. I color it all with my own perception anyway,” she told the magazine.
When it comes to parenting, Fiona confesses that, “No, I’ve never wanted kids. But I do read about parenting a lot. For some reason it’s very interesting to me – I think because I’m just big on self-parenting. But I read this thing in a nautical book about how when ropes get frayed you’d use the whipping cords to fix the ends. The whole thing of the whipping cords is that, if I did have kids, I could either teach them how to stay out of trouble — or how to get out of trouble, which I think is more important. Because no matter how well prepared you are in life, you’re gonna fall down a hole, and if you can fix the frayed ends of things, then you’re better off.”
On Lana Del Rey having to face media scrutiny, Apple says that, “I just feel bad for anybody who gets trashed. I haven’t heard any of her stuff really, but I saw that first Saturday Night Live performance, and I didn’t think that there was anything about that performance that deserved to be trashed. If you gave me a whole movie’s worth of all the performances on Saturday Night Live with all of the people that they’ve had on there, she’d be way down on the list of people that I would trash. I don’t remember the song that I saw her sing, but that’s all I’ve seen of her.”
Read Fiona Apple’s full interview in Interview Magazine.
Photos courtesy of Interview