Ani Difranco

I've been a fan of Ani since Eric introduced me to her back in '98, listening first to Little Plastic Castle and then Dilate and Not a Pretty Girl. I was shuffling through my rock view today (love Winamp's dynamic views) when "32 Flavors" began to play, and I couldn't resist spinning all Ani for the rest of the day. During a compile I jumped to her Wiki entry and found a few interesting tidbits, including a streaming Ani station. She finally won a Grammy, though not for her music, but for best recording packaging. In chatting with Eric today, he also turned me on to her work with Utah Phillips, which I'd been meaning to check out for years. I heard "Korea" which is excellent.

And Ani recently had a baby girl. "Tiptoe" isn't quite so sad anymore.