We miss you Fiona. As tales pill abuse and erratic behavior fill the rumor bin, we’re brought back to Fiona Apple‘s musical brilliance with the new video for the album closer of her fourth album, The Idler Wheel… – and “Hot Knife” is such an upbeat departure from the songstress that we can’t help but hope she’s got more sunshine left to give.
Top Ten Fiona Apples Songs of All Time
Tales of trauma, resentment, abandonment and sorrow permeate most of Apple’s work, but “Hot Knife” is another beast altogether, a happily plunking piano number about being enamored with a boy. Directed by Apple’s ex, Paul Thomas Anderson – the guy behind Magnolia, There Will Be Blood and The Master – the “Hot Knife” video is as playful as the song, provided you ignore the obvious strain and fanged smiles evident on the chanteuse’s face throughout most of the clip. When the screen splits, we see Apple on the right as her sister Maude Maggart occupies the left, singing towards the middle as another Apple looks around until she breaks in.
Check out our review of Apple’s latest album, wherein we call the song “a smitten exit” and “perhaps the biggest surprise of all on an album from a notorious recluse and emotional tornado, but that’s certainly not a complaint.”
Photo: Johnny Firecloud