Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

14 Years Ago, This Y2K Art Pop Icon Released an Album She Recorded in Secret, Featuring Strange Instruments Like ‘Voice of Pain’ and ‘Truck Stomping’

After the calamity of her 2005 album, Fiona Apple recorded The Idler Wheel… without telling anyone, not even her record label.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

On June 19, 2012, Fiona Apple released her latest album, The Idler Wheel…, her first new music since Extraordinary Machine in 2005. But like Apple’s 1999 album, the title was typically shortened from a longer poem. However, where When the Pawn… was a massive 90-word response to a derisive magazine article, The Idler Wheel… was a demure 23 words.

Known for taking her time on albums, often isolating herself to work whenever the whims strike her, Apple’s dedication to her craft always pays off in interesting ways. Apple was much more experimental with obscure and unlikely instruments on The Idler Wheel… than on her previous works. While Extraordinary Machine saw her getting into more art pop territory, its release was also plagued by controversy and delays. The experience seemed to cause a shift for Apple, who........

© Vice