Criminal Introduction
In a Nutshell
Ever since her acclaimed and controversial debut at the age of nineteen, Fiona Apple has remained something of a mystery.She's outspoken yet reclusive, and virtually disappeared for six years between her second and third albums. She's self-assured, yet vulnerable. Her defining characteristic seems to be her elusive, enigmatic nature.
Heck, she even dated a magician.
"Criminal," Fiona Apple's first single and her most commercially successful song to date, embodies the very essence of Apple's persona. The song, which casts the crooner as a reckless but sorry-about-it lover, isn't a clear-cut proclamation of female liberation. But it's definitely not a straightforward plea for forgiveness either.
Apple goes back and forth between self-righteousness and repentance. And maybe in the process, she perfectly captures the complexities of what it means to be a young woman in our time.
About the Song
| Artist | Fiona Apple | Musician(s) | Fiona Apple |
| Album | Tidal | ||
| Year | 1996 | ||
| Label | Sony | ||
| Writer(s) | Fiona Apple | ||
| Producer(s) | Andrew Slater | ||
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Learn to play: Tablature Buy this song: Amazon iTunes |
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Music Video
Shmoop Connections
With its creeping piano riff and girl-power lyrics, "Criminal" would've made a nice theme song for the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention.Anyway, picture Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott singing "I've been a bad, bad girl."
Maybe better artfully snuck into a Tarantino film like Kill Bill?
Like Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, the song's narrator is a woman who defies convention, choosing to place her own desires and wishes above those of a man.
But Apple's lyrics don't depict a woman without remorse. Following in the footsteps of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Fiona Apple creates a nuanced, angst-ridden protagonist, one plagued by a lingering sense of doubt and compunction.
On the Charts
"Criminal" reached #4 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart and #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997.The song earned Fiona Apple a Grammy in 1998 for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.