"Fast as You Can" is a song written by Fiona Apple, and produced by Jon Brion for her second album, When the Pawn.... It was released as the album's lead single in the United States on October 5, 1999, and in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2000. It became one of Apple's most successful singles in both countries, and its music video, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, was well received.

Background and style Fiona Apple said that with the song, she wanted to explore different moods and the "ups and downs" of a relationship. "When you get to the middle [of the song], that spell of confusion takes you out of the element for a minute, which is, of course, what happens emotionally. But the beat never changes."Moon, Tom. "Fiona Apple has a new album to promote - and an image she'd like to change". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 8, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. Apple said the song is "really just thoughts that were running through my head that were in that rhythm"."Fiona Apple Has A Lot Of Explaining To Do". VH1 Online. October 30, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006.

Jon Brion said he knew "exactly" what he wanted the song to sound like. "I knew I wanted it to be Matt Chamberlain on drums", he said. "He can play all this beautiful machine-influenced stuff, but with human feel." Brion played a "very busy bass line idea" for Apple on a keyboard in his kitchen, combining the line with a "groove" in the style of Chamberlain's work. Apple became excited and said, "That's great! That feels exactly like it!" Brion and Apple stressed in interviews that it was Apple, and not Brion, who created the time-changes and structure in the song were already present when he worked on it.Graff, Gary. "Sound Off - Fiona Apple". Wall of Sound. November 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. "All I did was to heighten pre-existing things", Brion said. "In terms of the color changes, I am coordinating all of those, but the rhythms are absolutely Fiona's."Zollo, Paul. "Producer's Corner - Jon Brion". Performing Songwriter. July/August 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2006.

The Philadelphia Inquirer described the song as "slightly off-kilter, perpetually destabilized ... an intricate suite of shifting moods that starts as a '60s soul-jazz stomp, then is connected by a rueful ballad interlude to a sauntering triple-meter chorus." The New York Times wrote that it "signals its mood swings — love me, fight me, don't go, get out while you can — with tempo changes and unlikely interludes, from a blunt hip-hop drumbeat to [flute-like] 'Strawberry Fields' keyboards."Pareles, Jon. "Fiona Apple's Angst, Bravado and 90-Word Title". The New York Times. November 7, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. Newsweek characterized the song as "galloping" and "syncopated",Giles, Jeff. "Happily Ever Apple". Newsweek. November 8, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. and Spin magazine called it "skittery".Light, Alan. "Girl On A Wire". Spin. February 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2006.

The cover of the promo CD for the single in the US was drawn by Apple.Unknown (1999). In "Fast as You Can" [promo CD liner notes]. United States: Clean Slate Records/Epic Records. ESK46302.

Chart performance The single debuted on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in late October, receiving minimal radio airplay until When the Pawn... made a strong debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It subsequently rose to number 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in mid-December, remaining on the chart for 12 weeks. On the Adult Top 40 chart, on which it debuted in early December, "Fast as You Can" peaked at number 29 and stayed on the chart until early February 2000. The song became a top-10 hit on the Triple-A chart, peaking at number eight in January 2000. It failed to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 but became Apple's first—and, currently, only—single to reach the top 40 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart, where it was released on February 14 and peaked at number 33. In Ireland, the song reached number 49. "Fast as You Can" also reached number 62 in Australia's annual Triple J Hottest 100 poll."Hottest 100 2000." . Triple J. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

Music video

The single's music video was directed by Apple's then-boyfriend, film director Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed the video for Apple's previous single, "Across the Universe" (1998). Anderson shot the video in Pasadena, CaliforniaCorrigan, Susan. "Golden Delicious". i-D. March 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2006. with the crew he uses during the production of his films. "[I]t's all really fun", Apple said of the video. "I don't have to wear any makeup or anybody else's clothes — no negligees!"Harrington, Richard. "Fiona Apple: The Time Is Ripe". The Washington Post. November 28, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. The video was photographed by Robert Elswit and edited by Dylan Tichenor, and it premiered on MTV and VH1 the week ending on September 19, 1999."Fiona Apple - Fast as you can" . mvdbase.com. Retrieved December 15, 2006. In the video, Apple is seen singing the song in and around a house, inside a garage, at a subway station and on a subway train. The video was filmed with a vintage hand-cranked camera, which is why Apple's mouth does not match the lyrics she sings. Throughout the video there are changes from black-and-white to colour and from fullscreen aspect ratio to widescreen. It was nominated for a 2000 Billboard Music Award for "Best Pop Clip of the Year",Vineyard, Jennifer. "D'Angelo, Billy Gilman Top Billboard Music Video Awards Nominees". Rolling Stone. November 1, 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2006. with media sources describing it as "quirky",Gardner, Elysa. "Fiona's fresh spin on life, love and 'the business'". USA Today. November 30, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2006. "simple, improvised", "playful and inventive".

Track listings

UK CD1 "Fast as You Can" (radio edit) – 3:46 "Never Is a Promise" (live) – 6:25 "Across the Universe" – 5:06

UK CD2 "Fast as You Can" – 4:38 "Sleep to Dream" – 4:08 "I Know" – 4:57

UK cassette single "Fast as You Can" – 4:38 "Never Is a Promise" (live) – 6:25

European CD single "Fast as You Can" (radio edit) – 3:46 "Across the Universe" (remix) – 3:43

European maxi-CD single "Fast as You Can" (radio edit) – 3:46 "Across the Universe" (remix) – 3:43 "Never Is a Promise" (live) – 6:25

Japanese CD single "Fast as You Can" (radio edit) – 3:47 "Limp" – 3:30 "Fast as You Can" (album version) – 4:39

Personnel

Produced by Jon Brion Recorded by Rich Costey Mixed by Rich Costey and Jon Brion Programming by Rich Costey Vocals and piano by Fiona Apple All other instruments by Jon Brion Drums and percussion by Matt Chamberlain Woodwinds by Michael Breaux Chamberlin and Wurlitzer by Patrick Warren

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000)Peakposition

Year-end charts Chart (2000)PositionUS Triple-A (Billboard)45

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesOctober 5, 1999Alternative radioOctober 26, 1999Contemporary hit radioJapanNovember 20, 1999CDUnited KingdomFebruary 14, 2000Columbia

References

Billboard. Issues dated from November 6, 1999 to February 12, 2000. Unknown (1999). In When the Pawn [CD liner notes]. United States: Clean Slate Records/Epic Records. AllMusic (2/5) [ link]