Tori Time

I had the unstoppable urge to listen to Tori Amos yesterday. And so I listened to some Tori Amos. This also gave me the urge to pull out my old Tori Amos “Little Earthquakes” tour tee, which I have stuffed in my sentimental T-shirts box in the back of my closet. But that, that was a bridge too far. For now. I think I’ve said it before, but Tori is way overdue for some kind of Kate Bush Renaissance. Some show wants 90s street cred needs to resurrect her hits for a new generation. Or not, and we Gen Xers get to keep her all to ourselves. Also, sorry, there’s nothing especially gay about this post. Sometimes a girl just feels sentimental. (Fine, I had a crush on Tori, all that wild red hair and wilder piano playing.)

Music Monday: Tori Edition

While it’s not officially winter yet, it’s November and that’s good enough for me here in California. Cat-in-hoodie season has commenced, and that’s what I care about. So please enjoy this lovely reminder of the passage of time and knowing oneself from the incomparable Tori Amos. When you gonna to make up your mind? Good question. When is there gonna be a Tori Renaissance, à la Kate Bush? Even better question. Happy Monday, kittens.

Music Monday: Tori Time

Peak TV has given us a Kate Bush Renaissance (thanks, Strangers Things). And a Linda Ronstadt moment (still crying about that, The Last of Us). How about a Tori Amos Revival? Specifically Tori Amos from her “Little Earthquakes” era. My fucking gods, that album. I was lucky enough to see her perform behind that and her “Under the Pink” albums a few times. She was and remains a kinetic shock of piano bench straddling swagger and gloriously reckless abandon with the ability to sear her voice directly onto your soul. Fuck, that’s a good album. So, the choice is yours, TV music procurers. Pick any song off this album, or any of her albums. Like, could you imagine “Precious Things” playing over a key scene? Yeah. Fuck, yeah. It’s Tori time. Happy Monday, kittens.

Music Monday: Tori Forever

I don’t listen to music like I used to. When I was younger, high school and college, music helped me navigate the world. And the music of Tori Amos helped me navigate my internal universe. To this day, I still haven’t seen a more raw performer live. So looking back at Tori, 28 years ago, singing right into the meatiest, messiest parts of our souls reminds me of the power of music all over again. May you find the music that keeps you feeling alive this week and every week. Happy Monday, kittens.

Music Monday

So, this is a true story. I was a big Tori fan in my formative years. Duh. Of course I was. I’ve been in love with her since “Little Earthquakes” because I am a human woman with emotions and feelings and ears. So, needless to say, Tori was on super heavy rotation back then.

Over the weekend, while reading about the 23rd anniversary special reissue of Tori’s “Little Earthquakes” (and “Under the Pink”), I pulled her up on my playlist for old time’s sake. Jesus Mary and that Joe guy was that album good. It’s still SO FUCKING GOOD. Every song on that album is perfect. Every song on that album plugs directly into, as the kids today say, my feels. Every song is a memory.

Which brings me back to my true story. So one of my friends got married while we were still in college. Bless her heart, she was the sweetest girl. But sometimes she didn’t always pay attention to the details. So she used “China” as her first dance song. Yes, I can feel the distance getting close-“China.”

I lost touch of Amy after college. And I hadn’t though about the girl who was an expert at passing out with a full can of beer in her hand and never spilling a drop in ages. But I wondered, after using “China” as her wedding song, if it all worked out.

So, naturally, I feel into a Google black hole to look her up. She had a somewhat unusual name, but I also knew her husband’s name and her college name. Anyway, 15 minutes later I found her. I was able to surmise that they were indeed no longer together. And that that girl who was a champion at holding a beer while unconscious is now a senior software developer at an aeronautics and security company.

Lesson 1: People who listen to Tori are smart. Second Lesson: Always listen to the lyrics.

Truely Tori

You know, I haven’t thought about Tori Amos in a while. She was such a large part of my high school and college self. But since, I’ve moved on. (Actually, I’ve moved on from a lot of music – I really only ever listen in the car and when cleaning the house these days.) But when I hear her voice again it takes me back immediately. Like a bullet through time I’m 18 all over again. Her voice was, is and will always be otherworldly. It hits notes that tap into our nerve center, becoming less music and more raw emotions. I remember distinctly having sixth row seats to see her in college and crying to “Me and a Gun” with my then girlfriend. You didn’t so much listen to Tori as experience her

This is a really long-winded way of saying I got caught in a Tori Amos YouTube Rabbit Hole the other day. And I can’t believe Tori has a 13-year-old daughter (named Natashya) and I can’t believe she can sing so well. The mother-daughter duo duet on her new single “Promise.” It’s all kinds of lovely. Shut up, you have something in your eye.

Also, here is Tori covering t.A.T.u.’s “Not Gonna Get Us” in Moscow earlier this summer.



p.s. And her is her cover of “Aint’ No Sunshine/She Keeps Me Warm.” I told you I got trapped in a rabbit hole.

Not so silent all these years

I had sixth-row seats to see Tori Amos back in college. Let me tell you, she was pretty fucking amazing. The way she made that baby grand melt beneath her fingers and thighs, let’s just say it made an impression. To this day, my love for the ethereal, scarlet-haired piano goddess remains strong. Sure, every now and then it seems like she breaks out the lyrics Mad Libs. I’m still waiting for someone to explain exactly what it means to catch a lite sneeze.

But Tori’s willingness to be provocative and talk about the things most people would rather not keeps her close to my heart. Rape, miscarriage, prostitution, masturbation. It’s a veritable who’s who of awkward dinnertime conversation. So, in typical Tori fashion, she appears to be back at the button pushing with her new album, “American Doll Posse,” due out May 1. A promo shot was released yesterday (click above to enlarge). With a bible in her right hand, “shame” scrawled on her left hand and blood running down her leg, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that she has a thing or two to say about the church. I can’t wait.