Tori Time

I have had a difficult week.  When my world is upside down and I need fortification, I don't turn to food, I don't turn to exercise... I turn to music.  There is one artist above all others who has the ability to help me transcend above all of the chaos and find some kind of peace.  That artist is Tori Amos.  Now, I know that you all think that she has had her time in the sun and is totally irrelevant to your life today, but I would say that if you have the ability to dissect the music that you listen to while delving into it at the same time, Tori Amos will cure your ails.

What I love about her is the absolute perfectionism and the fact that her craft is her religion.  I also love that she doesn't censor herself to sell more albums but rather has such a soul deep connection to her fans that she can stay true to her message and we don't expect or ask her to compromise.  I had a very similar upbringing as she did and so I understand the deep religious exorcism that goes into her songs even today after her christianity has been shed for probably a good 40 years.

The last thing that so impresses me about Tori Amos and always keeps me coming back for more is the way that you can't have her music without their words and you can't have her lyric's without their melodies.  They are vital to each other and are all superb.  Her melodies are detailed to a science and her lyrics are abstract like Miro.  She is a brilliant piano player.  Her skill with the keyboard is almost overwhelming to me sometimes and I play the piano as well.  It's her ear and personal style that make her skill stand out so much.

Ok, I will start giving you some examples of what rescues me:

"Icicle, Icicle where are you going?  I have a hiding place when spring comes around..."

"Don't judge me so hard little girl, you've got a playboy mommy..."

"Muhammad my friend, it's time to tell the world, we both know it was a girl, back in Bethlehem..."

Intrigued yet???

Today I started with Under The Pink.  Ten years ago, when I purchased this album and all the others that she had out at the time, it was my least favorite.  I had no use for it.  I couldn't comprehend the ideas that lay beneath the majority of the tracks.  Now, Under the Pink is my second favorite album of hers.  I listen to it often, but I totally had to grow into it.  I am still discovering things about this album, every time that I listen to it... little revelations about meaning and importance, pop into my mind as I sing along to every song.  My all time favorite Tori Amos song Cornflake Girl, is also on this record.  No matter how many times I listen to it, I can always play it back one more time.  This album is about a woman coming into her own, shedding the religion that has hugely disappointed (and betrayed) her and the sexual awakening that comes with leaving archaic rules and prejudices behind you forever.

Tori Amos will definitely appeal to the more feminine personality types, but that is because she delves into female archetypes often as a reoccurring theme throughout all of her music.  I know many mature men that greatly appreciate both her wisdom and her humor as they are comfortable with their own identities though so don't think that it is just one big chick fest waiting to happen.

Try Tori.  Don't just give it a quick listen and give up.  Try Tori over and over.  You will find yourself hypnotized and moved under the guidance of her skilled piano hands.

I will most likely devote more blog space to this artist, so beware...

Here is her cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, which she sang live in honor of Kurt Cobain a year after he passed away.  It is a brilliant cover and the only way that a female voice can effectively sing this song. This is on the Crucify Ep... it is really old but still powerful.