Sorry 4 some errors u'll find!

Tori Amos is special for me. I found her music during a very tumultuous period of life (well, my life is a constant hell, but that's another story...).

There's something about Tori. Her voice, the way she thrust her piano like it was a magical sexual intercourse with an ancient paen god of Catharsis!

Her lyrics...sometimes profound riddles emersed in the finest nectar..

I still can remember when I first heard Boys for Pele...the entire soundspace...I found myself endless times singing Hey Jupiter...most of the times crying...other times whispering the melody and words of muhammed my friend in the morning! Sometimes the greastest music of the world doesn't get awards, titanic record sales or critical apraisel.

Tori is that angel that is by your side when the nexus of one's reality is cracking...She's that friend that gives that hug when you need it

Shame I only have left Strange Little Girls and Tales of Librarian after the my laptop crashed.

Sorry for posting this. This was random thought I had while passing a very "cold war"-ish period here at home!

So tell me about the way you see Tori Amos?

Never listened to her. Probably not my type of music anyway

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Give it try...

MikeMatronik said:

If it ain't funk, it's junk

FuNkeNsteiN said:

If it ain't Prince circa 1987, it's junk!

FuNkeNsteiN said:

That "said", I never could get into her personally.

Winter is the greatest thing that has happened to our galaxy

This seems like a good time to review her work, what with the box set coming out and all.

LightOfArt said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Even with all her ties to Led Zep?

I always try to get into her full albums and never can. Her compilations are never full, either and ususally omit great singles. The one album of hers that I wouldn't part with, though, is "From the Choirgirl Hotel". She's really rocking on that album. Probably my favorite song of hers is "Rasphberry Swirl" (which never appears on collections, that I've seen). She seems to have a dance audience out there because of various remixes, but for some reason, she's never capaitalized on it like Sarah McCagulin did with remix albums. Not sure if that's goof for her or stubborn of her.

GangstaFam said:

Yeah, I tried. Sometimes, though it will takes me many tries before I get into someone. Sometimes, I'm just not "ready" for certain artists.

Oh dont get me started. (Almost all weekend, Ive been at home listening to my library of music, writing poetry, meditating on which turn I'll take next in this beautiful blessing of a life of mine.)

Tori Amos has meant so much to me. It was 1994 when I first saw her "God" video and I was hooked. I couldnt look away from the tv. I totally identify with MikeMatronic's statements. That was totally me. No one that I knew really listened to Tori when I was a teenager. Her music was like a secret that only I knew about. It was like my own private therapy. I had suffered alot of tragedy in '94 (growing pains, death, illness in the family) and I had a rough time trying to pull myself back together the couple years that followed. Tori's music was one thing that was a rock for me. I would just listen and weep as if I was a baby being rocked by his mother. The pain slowly drained away to the point that a smile was not just a front but it truely meant that I was happy. Her music was a big part of my healing. It really was.

I love Tori - maybe my favorite artist next to Prince. Back in 1992, I saw the video for "Crucify" and I was hooked. She's a genius, pure and simple.

Let's discuss her work? In what way?

I totally adore her work from 92 to 98, but after that mere songs caught my attention; from 99 on her album work seems to be devoid of the fire that had me transfixed in the first place.

Where as her first four solo albums (well, the ones that matter anyways) seemed to seep from her naturally, her later efforst still feel contrived to me.

I have no problem with concept albums, but her's (again, after 98; Venus, Girls, Scarlet and Beekeeper), flounder, and I have the feeling that where she was singing about her own life, expelling ghosts on those first four albums, she went out of herself for everything after Choirgirl.

Now that looked REALLY negative, so here my lovesong to Tori.

I love her voice. I love her being all faerie. I love her being vague, as it gets the most beautiful prose. And interviews. And weirdest song introductions/interuptions/outro's. Weird is good.

I love her brutal openness in the eye of ever present evil; singing away the demons and in that way binding most women of one generation to her. And most people ever abused. I love her volunteer work.

I love that her work is able to make me cry. I love that she and her music affect some people I know in such a profound way (you know who you are!). I love her being compared to Kate Bush, cuz it makes EVERY Kate or Tori thread here go bezerk.

I love her eyes. Her hair. Her lips. Her voice when she talks. Her stomping foot when she plays piano.

I just love her. I forgive her all the stuff from my previous post. She is the voice of a generation.

HamsterHuey said:

Amen to that!

GangstaFam said:

Reverend Herman, preaching to the congregation.

MikeMatronik said:

Despite a lot of exposure to her music, I just can't get into it. I do think she's talented and she seems like a nice person.

Oh yeah, when her voice gets all ragged I find it hysterical!

Tori is my favorite artist, and it's hard for me to explain how much her music means to me. I think that's pretty common among really die-hard Tori fans, they have this impression that others just don't "get" it, heh. It's comfortable for me listening to Tori; I can't really mix her music with any other artist, it's a genre to itself. I can completely lose myself in her music. There are songs that just strike me to the bone. She puts more of herself into ther music than any other artist I know, and she is also fiercely loyal to her fans. You genuinely feel a part of something when you go to a Tori Amos show, like she's really including you and bringing you into her sphere. She's a gifted musician and songwriter, and capable of gorgeous and powerful imagery. I love her recent stuff - she seems to be spreading her wings and trying different areas as she's gotten older, and hasn't been trying to re-record "Boys for Pele" for 10 years. She brings her fans along with her as she changes. But I still love the old classics, 'Choirgirl' and 'Pele' in particular. Listen to the anguish in songs like Spark and Playboy Mommy, or the sheer loss in Hey Jupiter - you can feel the pain in the words, the delivery. Merman is another favorite.. it's achingly gorgeous. I dunno, I could go on about Tori all night Those are just a few thoughts on why I love her music so much.

NorthernLad said:

Please do.

Moonbeam said:

That's still maybe the most surprising thing about your musical taste to me.

The melodies, the subject matter, the classical leanings, the piano virtuosity, the emotional intensity - all of that seems right up your alley.

But somehow it doesn't connect.

GangstaFam said:

It is really weird! I think witnessing the elitism and snobbery of her fans in college turned me off a bit, not that it's Tori's fault.

At least I don't hate her anymore. And that's thanks to you!

MikeMatronik said:

"Hey Jupiter" is a favorite of mine too.

I guess i like her because her music is so personal, i think her fans can relate to the lyrics in a way that others don`t understand. I like how she`s not afraid to talk about death and religion in her songs.

Also, she can work magic with songs already made famous by other artists,
i`m listening to her cover of Bonnie Tyler`s "Total eclipse of the heart" now


Sorry, just have to post this
http://www.youtube.com/wa...7oW66ukItE

i really hate how she humps her piano...

sosgemini said:

It's not humping, but caressing her bosendorf!

NorthernLad said:

I totally agree with you there.

I remember the first time I played 'Little Earthquakes' back in 1992, I just stared at my stereo in amazement. It communicated to me very strong feelings of purity and innocence that I tried to likewise find within myself for a long time afterward. I don't think any album has affected me so deeply ever. The last few studio albums I think are a little subpar for her, but I love the live box set. Live might be her greatest strength.

very few artists, musical or otherwise, give me cause to think introspectively. for better or for worse that is just how it is. tori is one of the first (and, unfortunately, one of the few remaining) who push me, through their body of work, to question my beliefs, my views, my opinions...even the way i think. do i feel what i feel as a result of some dead dogma i hold or can i take the pressure of my own convictions, can i handle the good and the bad of what these indentities bring...these are only a few of the things her work asks of me.

as i've evolved, matured, regressed (lol)...whatever you prefer to call it...as its happened, i have no doubt often felt at odds with tori's view. nonetheless, the music and the words are compelling and heartfelt and honest and insightful. i have to give props where props are due, even if i think she's wrong. having opposing beliefs yet loving the work may seem like a paradox but its no different than discussing religion or politics with friends who have different views. sometimes you learn something new...about yourself or about the person you're speaking with...but there is a benefit to that communication.

and the emotion...her work is raw, to the bone. she's just amazing. how one person can convey all that emotion through melody, music, and lyrics...wonderous. bitch pumps my pussy. and in the end, i suppose that's what its all about.
[Edited 9/18/06 18:46pm]

sallysassalot said:

Which of her beliefs are at odds with your own? The feminism? The Magdalene theories?