David said:

I’m glad you put the MP3s out — at least for a little while. Fiona Apple’s album is pretty darn good. I can see how a bunch of execs wouldn’t quite know what to make of it. It ranges from burlesque (Extraordinary Machine) to Beatlesesque. But Apple’s sound is still intact — in fact it feels like she’s advanced into a newer, strangely nuanced sound. I’m a particular fan of “Oh Sailor” (Which sounds like it could have been on “Tidal” except for the discordant notes.) and “Extraordinay Machine” — with it’s caberet feel. Also “Red, Red, Red” contains some haunting strings and the chicken-peck piano, scratches … leading to this strange Cage-esque bridge of chaos — with Apple’s voice the only harmony keeping it together. Very nice. I’m surprised with this album. Apple has progressed from Tidal and certainly more than “Pawn”.

— Apr 06 2005 @ 10:11 AM

sven said:

Thank you again.

— Apr 06 2005 @ 2:02 PM

Amílcar Ortega said:

Thanks man, you rock.

— Apr 06 2005 @ 4:50 PM

Jorland said:

Well, you knew it had to happen eventually. Nonetheless, I applaud you for getting the music out there. I personally couldn’t be more grateful since I’d been longing for new Fiona for some time now.

I must say though, I’m finding it ridiculously difficult to find Extraordinary Machine in a high-quality format. I know it’s being offered in “CD-Quality” mp3 form, but that’s far from true wav quality audio. If you know of any other sources where I could find 320kbps mp3 or higher, I’d be forever in your debt.

And, thanks again. I’m glad you weren’t sued. :)

— Apr 06 2005 @ 5:03 PM

Em said:

Again, kudos.

— Apr 06 2005 @ 9:13 PM

jam said:

????????????

— Apr 07 2005 @ 1:58 AM

gauntman said:

???????????????
?????????????????
???????????????
???????????????

— Apr 07 2005 @ 2:07 AM

cill said:

great stuff!!
all round …
now! hows about we get some of our own money to fiona - DIRECTly..
ideas comments? does she have a non sony email?
yea team

— Apr 07 2005 @ 5:53 AM

cocksucker said:

Thank you…I wish I could eat your cock for posting these songs…Oh Sailor inspired one of the best performances I’ve given for a play that could carry this song in the soundtrack. You rock! I am in debt…if you would like to claim your bj please contact me @ my email.

— Apr 07 2005 @ 10:01 AM

Susa said:

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

— Apr 07 2005 @ 11:42 AM

maeby said:

fuck off cocksucker, its mine

— Apr 08 2005 @ 6:32 AM

Nick said:

Indeed, congrats on distributing so effectively and being linked by That Great SFGate Article. The .torrents live on!

— Apr 08 2005 @ 10:43 AM

Tom said:

Go to Hell RIAA!!!!! Thanks for spitting in the face of the Evil Empire.

— Apr 08 2005 @ 10:45 AM

Kathy said:

:(
:(
:(

— Apr 08 2005 @ 12:35 PM

Block Sheep said:

isn’t the point of copyright to protect PUBLISHED works???????????
?????????????????
????????????????
???? ! ?

— Apr 08 2005 @ 12:42 PM

sarahbella1012 said:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! The long wait has finally ended. I am excited to hear Apple’s growth as a singer, writer and vocalist all while maintaining her edge. This almost never happens anymore. Others seem to re-record the same material over and over. Jon Brion’s influence is also very strong on the production of the album. The style reminds me of Aimme Mann’s Bachelor No. 2…just a little. I will continue to look for the official release, as I firmly believe in boosting soundscan numbers (however corrupt they may be) for aritsts that I appreciate, as well as putting some money into their pockets (SONY should be CUT OUT). Ok, I’ll get off of the soap box now…

Many thanks - you rock!

— Apr 08 2005 @ 3:41 PM

blk_girl_who_luvs_fiona said:

I had to figure out how to download and configure from that .torrent site, but I finally got my hands on this superb album!!! As an “African-American,” it’s a damn shame that hip-hop and pop are the wave of the future. The new versions of it anyway. The music that’s being released now-a-days is GARBAGE!!! For once, an album that deserves to be sold and go double platinum is shelved???!!!! While other artists spit out sh*t that goes platinum, even though it doesn’t deserve to???!!! I know of another artist whose music was shelved for the same reason… it’s a shame that quality music never reaches the ears of an appreciative public!!! I would have loved to have purchased this album just to support the music and the artist. Hopefully she will be released from her contract, head to an independent label and continue to produce great music… meanwhile I stick up my middle finger to Sony and their execs!!!

— Apr 08 2005 @ 5:07 PM

grrrrlwithadream said:

In response to Cill, I agree it would be awesome to send Fiona Apple recompense for her brilliant music. I am an artist myself, and in in ideal society I don’t think that art should be bought or sold, because it can’t be priced, but… we don’t live there yet and us artists have to eat, so if there was a way to send fiona money that would be great or like knit her a sweater or paint her a picture. Something creative to express appreciation for her beautiful music. I am outraged by Sony, but not at all surprised. Personally, it was Never is a Promise that inspired me to start playing piano seriously again and I’ve been writing and performing for the past two years. Thank you Fiona!

— Apr 09 2005 @ 2:47 PM

Kyle said:

We don’t know each other, but I owe you everything- Fiona Apple is one of the last songwriters who can continue to make me want to cry when I hear her songs- NOT ABOUT LOVE is like a mixture of THE WIZARD of OZ soundtrack and I AM the WALRUS’ strings. . . OH, WELL is exactly right ” . . . what wasted unconditional love on somebody who doesn’t believe in the stuff . . . ” (story of my life) . . . OH, SAILOR, while I see what people mean as being TIDAL-esque, is much more dry, mature and equally as emotional as TIDAL . . . WALTZ is an OFFICE SPACE-style philosophy for me- and comes with a brilliant take on a common musical form . . . EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE is an extraordinarily authentic model of early 20th Century popular music (much the same way Paul wrote and performed HONEY PIE on THE BEATLES (”White Album”) . . . and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE - what way to end an album that won’t be released on the grounds that the album isn’t shit ” . . . give us something familiar; something similar to what we know already that will keep us steady- steady going nowhere.”

Thank you so much for giving me the chance to hear these amazing additions to the Fiona Apple collection- my sister made me a CD of all of the songs, in order, CD Production Quality, and it’s already one of my favorites. Her ability to write insightful lyrics, perfect melodies that float over insane chord progressions that somehow work (and brilliantly), and orchestrations that integrate with the music as if she had imagined everything happening as she wrote the song in the first place, makes me insanely jealous and emotionally satisfied at the same time.

I can’t possibly articulate how grateful I am, and to discontinue the hole I’m probably digging for myself . . . I give you my deepest thanks and I wish Ms. Apple the best of luck in getting this and future albums released.

P. S. How did you create a webpage of MP3’s? I want to put recordings I have made on the internet so that I can send them to friends and do other such activities. Thanks!

— Apr 09 2005 @ 10:27 PM

jennifer said:

freakin sweet

— Apr 10 2005 @ 10:28 PM

applecake said:

oh my gosh i cannot believe i will have this album in a few hours(due to my 56k connection, i don’t have cable/adsl anymore(or yet) where i am now…
I’m one of the crazy swiss guy(wait…are there any other??) who went to the states just to see fiona (on the tidal tour in NY), and then for the WTP tour in chicago detroit and milwaukee(hello to the fans i have met there if they read this and remember me:)) it was a blast(btw i’m the origin of the bad recorded milwaukee concert, i had to hide the mic in my underwear lol since i got caught in detroit and chicago:))
the chicago show was awesome, i can’t wait to see her live again(and Tori too, but since she comes to switz in a few months it will be a lot easier…)

so thanks a lot to u again, and again too : FUCK SONY!!
*hesitates to throw his ps2 by the window…wait there’s GT4 to play…;)*

and more importantly, it makes me see fiona has been working a little over the years, because i really was wondering if she was doing too much cocaine or else…i dunno about that actually, but at least she won’t be forgotten early with this upcoming album…i’m relieved!!

i just wish i were a good hacker and i would put a BIG MESS on sony’s and epic website…bastards…all of this for stuff like 50 cent or jessica simpson, where the f*ck is this world going to??

— Apr 11 2005 @ 9:27 AM

Meg said:

I wanted to say that I really appreciated being able to get the album, and that it is incredible. I guess all I really want to say is thanks for spreading her music.

— Apr 11 2005 @ 1:03 PM

Ben said:

I wish Sony execs a slow, violent, painful death for 1) not releasing her album and 2) making you take the links down. I second what everyone else said: thank you for helping spread the album around.
I’m just glad Sony execs can’t REALLY stop this album from leaking now. It’s out there and a little Google search isn’t that hard.
This album is pure genius and Sony execs are fucking deluded.

— Apr 12 2005 @ 1:45 AM

Geof said:

I have been listening to this amazing album over and over. I’ve passed it on to three friends both in and outside the US, and all three think it is amazing. Not quite as amazing as Sony’s shelving it for two years, apparently hoping she’d hook up with Diane Warren or Linda Perry, but mighty close. The thing is, EVERYone who has downloaded these tracks, in which no money changed hands and which are unavailable for purchase in a store and therefore not robbing Sony or Fiona of any sales, did so because we love and are starved for some new music from Ms. Apple. Without hesitation, I can safely say pretty much everyone will also go right out and buy the official CD when it is released, to get the real CD quality, the artwork, lyrics, credits and most of all, to support FA.
This whole situation has done nothing but HELP draw attention, both to Fiona and to Sony. Case in point: Two days ago, the L.A. Times had a very high-profile front-page story and color photo about this in their Saturday Calendar section with the headline, “An emotional artist finds release—yet doesn’t” where the writer described the music as “unambiguously potent,” praised specific songs and went on to call the album, “…a striking artistic advance for an already formidable artist.” He also said that neither Sony nor Fiona’s camp would comment on the current situation for the piece.
As the saying goes, the only thing worse than bad publicity is no publicity, and in this case, Fiona looks good and Sony looks bad, and publicity in which creativity appears to be the victim of the big, bad corporation will only help her in the long run.

— Apr 12 2005 @ 3:13 AM

eden said:

wheres’your old comment? I wanna find that serveral EM cover
eden’

— Apr 12 2005 @ 8:41 PM

ultramadonna said:

FIONA RULES
SHAME on her record company for holding her music hostage. FIONA is a TRUE artist
and her music ROX.

— Apr 13 2005 @ 8:22 AM

someone said:

the music industry is so dumb for putting this album to trash. i’d like to send some money to fiona to thank her for the new album and her great music in general. can’t someone related set up something like a donation account? :)

— Apr 13 2005 @ 11:46 AM

Slow Blues said:

Thanks for letting us hear this album. Here’s a link for an old Bleeder article where Fiona talks about her upcoming CD, Extraordinary Machine.
http://luna.typepad.com/photos/fiona/index.html

— Apr 13 2005 @ 4:29 PM

Open Left Box » Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine said:

[…] site, although he does offer some other places where you can still get the songs. Read his excellent posting for more info.

posted b […]

— Apr 15 2005 @ 8:26 AM

Alisa said:

If anyone can “donate” the rest of Fiona’s CD, please email me and let me know. She’s the BOMB and always will be.

Thanks!
-Alisa

— Apr 15 2005 @ 11:48 AM

Alisa said:

(by the way, my email is alisamstewart@yahoo.com)

Thanks.

— Apr 15 2005 @ 11:49 AM

John said:

In a World full of confusion, apathy, and ambiguity, GEEK DREAMS made a minor, but significant, contribution for a life normality. The brain trust at Sony should know that it’s not the populi (aka; short attention span theatre) they should put their confidence into, it’s the sub-culture of anti-commercialism. Anyways, it’s not really about what the choruses and breakdowns of her music, it’s simply Fiona’s voice that we connect with.

fuck it!

— Apr 17 2005 @ 12:40 PM

DedKnight said:

“Suck Fony”

-DedKnight

— Apr 18 2005 @ 5:26 AM

Del said:

Has Fiona Apple spoken out on this whole.. palava?

— Apr 19 2005 @ 3:40 PM

lost in the ether » RIAA: Reamed In the Ass Again said:

[…] companies are shooting themselves in the head.” tell it, sister! alas, poor andres just totally got served! …so his copies of the mp3s are gone. do […]

— Apr 20 2005 @ 1:14 AM

Bridgett said:

After the fall of the soviet empire, a lot of brilliant music which had been kept shelved for years was suddenly released to the public. This was music that was really brilliant, but did not conform to the artistic blueprint perscribed by Lenin. I wonder what sort of music may be discovered when the Sony empire falls?

— Apr 20 2005 @ 7:44 AM

Barnnibis said:

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this CD off of ebay before they shut the auction down. The quality of the CD is awesome–can’t tell that it was homemade. Like Tidal and Pawn this album absolutely stole my attention so that its the only thing I want to listen to. The musical arrangements are very ambitious but its her incredible voice that always leaves me with goosebumps. When will Sony pull their heads out of their asses?

— Apr 20 2005 @ 4:13 PM

Britt said:

First of all - I downloaded the album yesterday and it totally amazed me. Great music and excellent lyrics. :-)

Of course it is not your typical mainstream album that will be bought by billions of brainless teenagers looking out for yet another Britney Lopez. Maybe it will only appeal to a couple of millions ;-) of people who appreciate music that is made by artists who own a brain and heart and are not afraid to make use of both. We are waiting for this album!!!

Sony - there is really no good reason to deprive the public of the work of a multi-platinum selling, award-winning musician. If you do not want the music - give it back to the author and leave the decision whether and how to release it to her (and a more far-seeing label). Not releasing the stuff yourselves and at the same time keeping the fans from spreading it is ridiculous. By the way - I am not planning to steal the music from you and I am ready to actually buy a copy as soon as the album hits the stores!

THX a lot to all those who are helping to promote this outstanding piece of music and offering their web resources. Keep up the good work and do not allow yourself to be intimidated by the self-proclaimed dictators of the music business! ;-)

Let us not be discouraged! One of my favourite CDs ever is Aimee Mann’s Bachelor#2 - an album that would never have been release if it had been up to the record companies. Lucky for all of us Aimee got fed up with the release being postponed over and over again, bought her own music back and released it on her own newly-founded label. I am not sure that Fiona can afford to take a similar step, but if she can, I would highly recommend her doing so…

P.S. I think I remember seeing campaigns on Amazon where fans were begging for some DVDs to be released. Amazon once had set up an actual product page where you could register if you were interested in buying a copy of the sitcom “Ellen” if it should ever be released on DVD. I do not have the slightest idea how we could make Amazon do the same for Fiona, but we could at least try, couldn’t we?

— Apr 21 2005 @ 4:03 AM

Hen said:

hey there, yeah well done, I mean we’re all gonna go and buy the album when it’s out anyway so thanks for the “warm-up-mixes”! EM is one of the best albums of recent times, let’s have another one Jon & Fiona, please… Spring in Highgate/London wouldn’t be same without this album this year, awesome!!! Urz Hen.

— Apr 25 2005 @ 4:46 PM

MIRKO said:

non posso fare altro che ringraziarti per averci fornito l’ultimo splendido album di FIONA. Francamente non capisco la politica della sony che tende a porre dei limiti alla creatività dei loro artisti… cosi facendo castrano quella che è definita libertà di creare….fortunatamente una soluzione per arrivare alla meta la si trova sempre!!!!

— Apr 26 2005 @ 10:32 AM

Double Reading » Blog Archive » Addicted to Buying CDs said:

[…] That was until last week when one of my coworkers got me a copy of the somewhat-infamous unreleased Fiona Apple album Extraordinary Machine (Sony refuses to rele […]

— Apr 28 2005 @ 1:49 PM

Extraordinary Machine radio said:

NOW AVAILABLE - radioblog online only dedicated to this album: Extraordinary Machine radio. + On this webpage you find: lyrics and artwork (cover).

— Apr 29 2005 @ 7:47 AM

MArtin said:

Gracias por permitirme tener el cd de Fionna

— May 02 2005 @ 5:10 PM

Arturo said:

hi, I was just wondering. Actually I would like to know, what is Fiona’s opinion about all this! Maybe you all know and I’m too slow to find it out by myself searching the web. What is Fiona’s opinion about this whole thing. I, also, got the album (thanks to this site) and I love it.

— May 04 2005 @ 12:37 PM

Haasim Mahanaim said:

Thanks for hosting the files. Let us know if you need to raise cash for legal expenses.

— May 10 2005 @ 2:56 PM

CMM said:

If I sent you a little money, would you be able to send me the files? I am having great difficulty finding them - thanks.

— May 11 2005 @ 4:49 PM

franco franus said:

“Oh Well” is one of the best songs ever written and one of the best uses of recording equipment ever.

— May 14 2005 @ 10:42 PM

betina said:

political correctness is seriously becoming HILARIOUS

what’s the point of protecting copyrighted if it wasn’t going to be released in the first place? are they just going to forbid everyone in the world from listening to it?

geez.

— May 15 2005 @ 8:54 PM

Rodrigo said:

Thank you

— May 17 2005 @ 3:19 PM

lava said:

would anyone like to extend those sound files to a latecomer? i can’t find the fiona’s songs anywhere!

— May 19 2005 @ 12:13 PM

GHB said:

Another latecomer begging to also hear the sound files. I’ve heard the title track which rocks and would like to experience the rest.

— May 29 2005 @ 9:32 AM

stephanie said:

I am beyond begging. I had been checking out another site, which I cannot recall and her album was pulled from there before I could sneak a peak. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I beg of anyone to be kind enough to share. please.

— Jun 01 2005 @ 8:51 PM

Mikey said:

Thanks for the links! It sure helped get the word out about this CD.

— Jun 02 2005 @ 11:31 AM

Brent said:

Does anyone know where I can download Extraordinary Machine now????

— Jun 06 2005 @ 9:00 PM

bobo said:

Thanks for posting this album. I’ve really enjoyed living with it the last few months. It’s the kind of album that ages beautifully. Overall, I think it starts off really strong, sags just a bit in the middle, but finishes brilliantly.

I’m glad someone mentioned Aimee Mann. Apple’s jabs at her record company are smart and funny on EM, but nowhere near the level of Aimee Mann’s brilliant “I’m With Stupid”, in which every song was intentionally written about a stupid, controlling record company, but can also be listened to as a series of conventional relationship songs.

While I think Sony are idiots and should release this amazing record, I’m not so sure it’s right to blindly villainize them without knowing the whole story. We have no way of knowing what sort of blackmail Sony is working on Apple, but I’d bet there’s a fair amount of petulant bickering coming from both sides. Who knows how Apple reacted to their demands for a hit, especially in light of Apple’s, um, emotional eccentricities. Sure, they’d sell a healthy number of disks if they did release it, but sadly, it’s a simple numbers game and anyone who thinks Sony is in it for the art is fooling themselves. Distribution and advertising for these dinosaur companies is very costly and there’s no guarantee they’d break even. I don’t think Sony underestimates the market one bit. People buy garbage. Sony wants to make a worthwhile return on its investment. That’s business.

But as someone said, I hope she can work out buying her tapes and releasing it herself. I’d much rather buy it online from her directly, but if I have to hold my nose and buy it from Sony, I will.

— Jun 07 2005 @ 6:46 PM

GeekDreams » I just totally got served! said:

GeekDreams » I just totally got served!

GeekDreams » I j…

— Jun 08 2005 @ 4:36 PM

eden said:

i went to the torrent site but i never used it before so, how do i download it and open it and stuff?

— Jun 30 2005 @ 11:39 PM

nasty said:

no commnt

— Jul 02 2005 @ 6:06 PM

Claire said:

Got the torrent. THANK YOU BEYOND ARTICULATION.

Now how the f*ck do I open it?

— Jul 04 2005 @ 5:24 AM

nadia said:

please,explain how can i listen to the songs of e.m. Do i need mp3 or is there any other way ? I·m writing from a ciberplace because i dont have my own computer so please,explain.

— Jul 20 2005 @ 6:46 PM

Fernanda said:

olá, gostaria de receber o cd da fiona!

— Jul 27 2005 @ 6:21 PM

baileyanne said:

hello!

— Jul 31 2005 @ 6:04 PM

Danny Rabbani said:

I had gotten the tracks on CD way before I even ran into this site. So just incase Sony decides to read this..LOL you are doing nothing. We all already have a copy somewhere. Stupid Sony!

— Aug 03 2005 @ 2:39 PM

ali said:

video of fucky guys

— Aug 07 2005 @ 4:03 PM

Trippy said:

body {background-color: yellow;}
div#menu {display: none;}
div#content {display: none;}

— Aug 08 2005 @ 12:58 PM

Erin said:

i found the entire downloadable album after much searching at http://blatt.is.the.newblack.org/audio/Extraordinary%20Machine/

— Aug 09 2005 @ 6:19 PM

Guilty as charged said:

Is holding the copyright for a piece of art yet not releasing it any better than URL-squatting? Is it any better than pharmaceutical companies who buy intellectual property to prevent a cure being developed for a disease they make money from? No. Is it legal? Yes.

Legality is not equivalent to morality. Screw Sony. At first I thought they were just being d***s and creating this bad publicity so that the album would chart. That would at least have been clever from a business perspective. It turns out that they’re just stupid. I would *gladly* buy this album! It’s fantastic.

— Aug 11 2005 @ 9:54 PM

Guilty as charged said:

Forgot to say something to the professor… thanks for making this available!

If any legal vultures are taking note - what you call piracy I call good consumer research. Caveat emptor! I will buy the album when it is released.

— Aug 11 2005 @ 9:57 PM

Jason said:

With the results that I have found it seems to me that the world is tired of the way the music industry is headed. The big music labels have ruined any chance of making a clear comeback. With the results posted on the web and in newspapers across the world big music business has worn outs it welcome. The public is tired of the way they are doing business. People are now relying on the internet to hear and download music they would not otherwise be able to hear. Which is sad, because aren’t we the ones that but it? I guess its high time the music executives wake up and smell the coffee brewing in their espresso machines and realize that the public is tired of hearing the same music on the radio over and over again. We are at a crossroads to which we as independent music labels can take control of the situation or let the big music labels ruin music forever. Join Dark Shadow Entertainment in the pursuit of bringing music back to where it belongs. Back to the people. Boycott Your Radio.

— Aug 12 2005 @ 10:48 AM

Raquel said:

Fiona, I have to hand it to you. You are a true musical genius. I just heard your third musical achievement. REAL music must be brought to the forefront of our society. Your musical progression from tidal is awe-inspiring. Keep making great music Fiona, we love you for it!

— Aug 12 2005 @ 10:33 PM

Bcam said:

Is it just me or does anyones else think the new album is less than good!
I loved Fiona Apples first two albums, but this one seems to have gone way off track. The songs aren’t nearly as well structured or produced or written when it comes down to it.
first track is bad and carries on from there.
No impressed. Sorry.

— Sep 08 2006 @ 9:58 AM

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