<> = italics Ani DiFranco's Career is Going By David Schultz For The Transcript If the name Ani DiFranco doesn't provoke a visceral reaction within you, you likely haven't heard of her. For some that have heard her attack her acoustic guitar with that unique style of fist-clenching, percussion, her brazen and outspoken stance on issues as human rights, corporate evils, alienation, and the role of women in society repel. For others, the urge is to shout the praises of the woman who likes to refer to herself as the "lil' folksinger." There will be ample opportunity in the next few months to figure out exactly what form your reaction will take. Last week, DiFranco released her twelfth solo album ; she narrated the series "The Mississippi: River of Song" airing this month on PBS; she is slated for an appearance on in early April; and on April 29th, she will play the University of Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center. DiFranco is a one-woman phenom who is redefining the music business, and, in the process, is making the major record labels awfully uncomfortable. Fortunately for them, few young artists have the patience or the talent that DiFranco does. Growing her fan base from her hometown of Buffalo, New York to the internet and mailing lists, DiFranco has been in control the whole way. From eschewing major-label record contracts (as told in her 1995 song "The Million You Never Made") to turning down the over-hyped and commercialized Lollapalooza and Lilith Fair tours this past summer, DiFranco continues to be the master of her domain with Righteous Babe Records (1-800-ON-HER-OWN). Locating Righteous Babe in Buffalo was a deliberate one---she works with local printers and manufacturers as much as possible, as part of a conscious effort to support the Western New York economy. For DiFranco, "keeping it at home" is an example of "thinking globally and acting locally. Every business, every person who stays in Buffalo really counts. Besides, that's where my friends are; I want to work with people I love and trust." Whereas 1998's was arguably DiFranco's most upbeat and diverse album musically, returns to the more solemn performances and songwriting of 1996's . continues DiFranco's evolution from angry-woman-with-acoustic-guitar to full-fledged-rock-artist. Before , DiFranco used to take the fully-written songs directly to the band and describe her vision for them. On , she allowed the four-piece band (DiFranco on guitars, Julie Wolf on keyboards, Jason Mercer on bass, and long-time DiFranco-drummer Andy Stochansky) more leverage in controlling the album's sound. The result is more musical development of the songs, or as DiFranco refers to them, "jams," but not in the sense of Phish or Dave Matthews. Unfortunately, sometimes these jams wander a little too far. In fact, judging the album as a whole, only three out of 11 tracks really could be categorized as rockers. At her best, DiFranco makes the sound of banjos and accordians cool, as in "Angry Anymore." At her worst, DiFranco tests our patience with her 13-minute hip-hop jam and album-closer "Hat Shaped Hat." In her own words in the title track, "Half of learning how to play, is learning what not to play." Nevertheless, DiFranco fans have a lot to cheer about on . Featuring songwriting as good as any in her career, DiFranco rewards the listener with socially-conscious gems in the spirit of one of her influences, Oklahoma-native Woody Guthrie. The songs sting with venom more powerful than any that Springsteen has penned. "You cease to smell the steel plant, after you've lived here for a while," opens and closes "Trickle Down", DiFranco's story of Buffalo's evolution from a leading industrial city to hollowed-out remnants, after the plants closed in the 1980s. The opening track, "'Tis of Thee", anthropomorphizes the criminalization of the poor ("They put everyone in jail, except the Cleavers and the Bradys"). On a more personal note, DiFranco sheds the childhood burden of her parent's divorce with "Angry Anymore." Growing up with her mother, all she knew was the female point-of-view: the "cold war" that mom waged on her estranged father. Apparently, now reconciled with her father, the recently married DiFranco pronounces, "I just want to walk through my life unarmed: to accept and just get by like my father learned to do, but without all the acceptance and getting by that got my father through." The faults of are outweighed by its strengths, so the album is worth the investment. Plus, you will want to familiarize yourself with the songs, as you're sure to hear many of them at her April 29th show at Lloyd Noble. Tickets for DiFranco's show will go on sale in the next few weeks at all OK Ticket outlets and CD World on Main Street in downtown Norman. More information can be found at http://www.telepath.com/emoran/mp or by calling 405-528-4527.