She’s an Extraordinary Machine

10 Tunes of empowerment

Which musician, still living, would you love to see in concert but haven’t yet? (Answer in the comments below.) My runners-up are Elton John and Paul Simon, both legends of song who have played London multiple times in the past twelve years, yet I’ve never seen them. My final answer: Fiona Apple.

I discovered her via the controversial, seductive-yet-kinda-creepy video for “Criminal,” directed by Mark Romanek, from her 1996 debut album, Tidal.