FIONA APPLE IS BETTER THAN OPRAH AND BUDDHISM ON BEST NEW INDIE CUT “SHAMEIKA”

by Jess Grant
4/20/20

Repeat it with me:

SHAMEIKA SAID I HAD POTENTIAL!

SHAMEIKA SAID I HAD POTENTIAL!

SHAMEIKA SAID I HAD POTENTIAL!

Aaah. Feels good, dunnit???

No, really, who needs self-help or Oprah or Buddhism when you can have “Shameika” by Fiona Apple?

 

FIONA APPLE - SHAMEIKA

Lifted from the 42-year-old's best new indie album – the opus, the masterpiece, the greatest great record of all time ever of all time, Fetch the Bolt Cutters – “Shameika” is officially the pep talk, mantra, and self-esteem booster of the century.

AND BOY DO WE NEED THAT RIGHT NOW!!!

Inspired by Fiona's battle against the high-school bullies with help from a girl called – you got it – Shameika, it's a thrilling symphony of feminine rage that opens to a chaotic boogie-woogie piano line and Apple telling us about the rhythms that have existed within her since she was a child:

I used to walk down the streets
On my way to school
Grinding my teeth to a rhythm invisible
I used my feet to crush dead leaves like they had fallen from trees
Just for me, just to be crash cymbals

Eventually, however, the nervous energy subsides, giving way to a slower but still emphatic chorus, where Fiona utters those five words that'll live on through Instagram captions and subtweets for years to come:

Shameika said I had potential.

Shameika said I had potential.

Shameika said I had potential.

But who is Shameika, exactly? Apple explains:

“I don't remember what grade she was in. I was probably 11 or so. I don't remember why she was talking to me. I just remember being in the cafeteria, a bunch of girls at one end of the table. I came over to sit with them, and they started laughing at me. So I sat one seat away but still tried to be close to them. Shameika came up, and she was like, 'Why are you trying to sit with those girls? You have potential.'”

Life is harder than ever right now, and let's face it, we could all do with our own Shameika during this time. On that note, blast this blusteringly brilliant anthem out loud, and allow your inner cheerleader's voice to unapologetically shine.

After all, what did Shameika tell you???

 

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Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.