Not About Love
Encyclopedia
"Not About Love" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple
and produced by Mike Elizondo
and Brian Kehew
for her third album Extraordinary Machine
(2005). It was released as the album's third single
in January 2006 (see 2006 in music
).
in February 2002. In 2003 the album, which was originally produced by Brion, was submitted to Sony Music
executives, who were reportedly unenthusiastic about the finished product and shelved
it. On February 26, 2005 radio DJ Andrew Harms
at 107.7 The End
in Seattle
began playing previously unheard tracks from a bootleg
copy of Extraordinary Machine, and before long, poor quality copies of "Not About Love", "Get Him Back
" and "Used to Love Him" were circulating on the internet. Soon after, CD-quality versions of all the tracks were released through the BitTorrent website TorrentBox.
Slant magazine described the leaked version of "Not About Love" as "defiant, a poetic, regret-filled account of the morning after secrets were spilled". The Akron Beacon Journal
speculated the song was "the big turnoff for the bean counters [at Sony] ... [it] has a rolling circular piano line and no beat aside from the sawing of the lush, swelling string arrangement", and a review in Okayplayer
called it "brilliant. It sounds like a portion of a ballet movement with a very dramatic ending".
An extensively reworked version of Extraordinary Machine, co-produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew, was released in October 2005. A critic for Seattle Weekly
expressed his preference for the new version of "Not About Love": "Brion's busy cello keeps hounding Apple, getting in your ear while you're trying to figure out what the poor girl's trying to say ... Elizondo, in contrast, merely pairs the piano with light-handed percussion, which creates drama — not melodrama, as per Brion". In comparison, Pitchfork Media
wrote "On "Not About Love" and "O' Sailor", Brion scored Apple's compositions no less extravagantly than his soundtracking work for the indie-film elite, applying dollops of lush orchestration ... [but] Elizondo hacks away Brion's embellishments upon "Not About Love" and "Window" in his efforts to keep the spotlight fixed solely on [Apple]".
The single's video
, directed and edited by Michael Blieden, premiered on Apple's official website in August 2005. It features Apple and comedian Zach Galifianakis
in bed together, and later walking the streets, while Galifianakis lip sync
s the song. Originally filmed for the DualDisc
edition of Extraordinary Machine, the video made its internet premiere outside of Apple's official site on January 13 at AOL
Music, and it debuted on the television channel VH1
on January 23.
It was shot in one day on digital video
at Galifianakis' house and the surrounding neighbourhood. Apple was friends with Galifianakis as they both performed regularly at Club Largo
, and she asked him to participate in the "Not About Love" video after watching a video of him lip synching an Anita Baker
song. She said she chose "Not About Love" as the song for which the video would be filmed as "[it] has a lot of tempo changes in it and it's this sort of like schizo song". She also told MTV News
that she had hoped the "Not About Love" video would become an official video, and described it as "a weird goal because the whole thing is pretty low-key". The video was popular on the internet and received substantial airplay on vh1
and mtvU
, an MTV
channel for college and university campuses.
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...
and produced by Mike Elizondo
Mike Elizondo
Michael "Mike" Elizondo is a well-known songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and hip hop music producer.-Musical career:Mike Elizondo is especially known for his collaborations with internationally successful producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. He has played the bass for many of Dr...
and Brian Kehew
Brian Kehew
Brian Kehew is a Los Angeles-based musician and music producer. He is a member the The Moog Cookbook and co-author of the Recording The Beatles book, an in-depth look at the Beatles' studio approach...
for her third album Extraordinary Machine
Extraordinary Machine
Extraordinary Machine is the third album by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple, released by Epic Records in the United States on October 4, 2005. Produced by Jon Brion, it was expected to be released in 2003 but was delayed several times by the record label without explanation, leading to...
(2005). It was released as the album's third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in January 2006 (see 2006 in music
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
).
History
"Not About Love" was the first song from Extraordinary Machine that Apple performed in public; she debuted it at a live concert with Jon BrionJon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
in February 2002. In 2003 the album, which was originally produced by Brion, was submitted to Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
executives, who were reportedly unenthusiastic about the finished product and shelved
Shelved
In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....
it. On February 26, 2005 radio DJ Andrew Harms
Andrew harms
Andrew Harms better known as harms, is a radio personality on 107.7 The End in Seattle.- Career :While getting a business degree at the University of Washington, Andrew Harms started working at 107.7 The End as a modulator...
at 107.7 The End
KNDD
KNDD , also known as "107.7 The End", is an alternative rock radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is operated by Entercom Communications Its studios are located in the Metropolitan Park West tower between Downtown and South Lake Union in Seattle...
in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
began playing previously unheard tracks from a bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
copy of Extraordinary Machine, and before long, poor quality copies of "Not About Love", "Get Him Back
Get Him Back
"Get Him Back" is a song written by American singer Fiona Apple and produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew for her third album Extraordinary Machine...
" and "Used to Love Him" were circulating on the internet. Soon after, CD-quality versions of all the tracks were released through the BitTorrent website TorrentBox.
Slant magazine described the leaked version of "Not About Love" as "defiant, a poetic, regret-filled account of the morning after secrets were spilled". The Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...
speculated the song was "the big turnoff for the bean counters [at Sony] ... [it] has a rolling circular piano line and no beat aside from the sawing of the lush, swelling string arrangement", and a review in Okayplayer
Okayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
called it "brilliant. It sounds like a portion of a ballet movement with a very dramatic ending".
An extensively reworked version of Extraordinary Machine, co-produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew, was released in October 2005. A critic for Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
expressed his preference for the new version of "Not About Love": "Brion's busy cello keeps hounding Apple, getting in your ear while you're trying to figure out what the poor girl's trying to say ... Elizondo, in contrast, merely pairs the piano with light-handed percussion, which creates drama — not melodrama, as per Brion". In comparison, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
wrote "On "Not About Love" and "O' Sailor", Brion scored Apple's compositions no less extravagantly than his soundtracking work for the indie-film elite, applying dollops of lush orchestration ... [but] Elizondo hacks away Brion's embellishments upon "Not About Love" and "Window" in his efforts to keep the spotlight fixed solely on [Apple]".
Video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed and edited by Michael Blieden, premiered on Apple's official website in August 2005. It features Apple and comedian Zach Galifianakis
Zach Galifianakis
Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
in bed together, and later walking the streets, while Galifianakis lip sync
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
s the song. Originally filmed for the DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
edition of Extraordinary Machine, the video made its internet premiere outside of Apple's official site on January 13 at AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
Music, and it debuted on the television channel VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
on January 23.
It was shot in one day on digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
at Galifianakis' house and the surrounding neighbourhood. Apple was friends with Galifianakis as they both performed regularly at Club Largo
Largo (nightclub)
Largo is a nightclub and cabaret in Los Angeles, CA, known informally as Café Largo or Club Largo, known for its retinue of musical and comedic performers and for the Friday night "residency" of singer-songwriter Jon Brion, which has made the club a must-visit for fans and professional...
, and she asked him to participate in the "Not About Love" video after watching a video of him lip synching an Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
song. She said she chose "Not About Love" as the song for which the video would be filmed as "[it] has a lot of tempo changes in it and it's this sort of like schizo song". She also told MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
that she had hoped the "Not About Love" video would become an official video, and described it as "a weird goal because the whole thing is pretty low-key". The video was popular on the internet and received substantial airplay on vh1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
and mtvU
MtvU
mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
, an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
channel for college and university campuses.
Musical credits
- Fiona Apple - PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Mike Elizondo - Moog bass
- Brian Kehew - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...