Tori Amos

[Amy B.]

Somehow I don't think I'll get much of a response to this, but does anyone have an opinion on Tori Amos? She's often dismissed as odd or "kooky," which is a real shame, because she writes incredible melodies and thought provoking lyrics. Not to mention that she's a hell of a piano player. She really ought to be taken more seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vo3AeuBE0o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeWNGg8RdIs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWkXTRjuecg

[Amy B.]

Well, I guess that answers that question. Too bad men don't tend to listen to female artists the same way women listen to male artists.

[the captain]

I'm not a Tori Amos fan: never liked her work, maybe because too many of my college girlfriends in the 90s loved her and I have bad associations. She is a great pianist, though. As for men not listening to women, I'd agree that it's largely true ... but certainly not entirely true. In the past decade, I've found an increasing number of albums I love are by females or bands led or co-led by females. I don't know if that is a difference in myself, or a difference in what is available, but it is definitely the case. Thus I went fro virtually no such albums up through the 90s to a plethora of the likes of Lhasa, Heartless Bastards (Erika Wennerstrom), Belle & Sebastian, Delgados (Emma Pollock), Emma Pollock (solo), Fiery Furnaces (Eleanor Friedberger), Amy Winehouse, Joanna Newsom, Inara George, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), etc. There are still the standbys of every era--which is I guess what time is making Tori Amos--but the emerging women in music are pretty powerful.

[Aegir]

I don't think this is a gender thing.

Boys for Pele has somewhat Brian-like arrangements to it.

[Amy B.]

I don't think this is a gender thing.
Boys for Pele has somewhat Brian-like arrangements to it.

I believe most of Tori's fans are women, and I believe a lot of guys are turned off by her music for reasons that Luther makes clear. They have bad associations with it because of relationships they were in. Or it just reminds them of women they knew/know. Or they're put off by her supposed pretentiousness (not just guys are)-- her more recent albums have elaborate themes and she calls them "sonic novels..

But one point I'm trying to make is that not all of her songs are about rape or religion or dysfunctional relationships. And while she can be a challenge. not everything she does needs to be deconstructed. And as you suggested, Aegir, her music is so creative. I went back and listened to Boys for Pele after reading your post. Wow, it really wasn't one of my favorites when I first heard it, but it's an incredible album. It got so-so reviews because everyone was trying to interpret her lyrics, but when you listen to these songs, like "Caught a Lite Sneeze" with her sounding like boys' choir sopranos in the background, or Marianne with that great piano work, it's really beautiful and rewarding. She can write really crazy, out-there music, or she can write a terrific, Tin-Pan-Alley-like tune.

[Shady]

My girlfriend took me to a Tori Amos show, found it pretty bad to be honest.

Great piano player though.

[B-Rex]

Some men dig Tori.  I'm not way into all of her albums but do own most.  Personally, I feel Little Earthquakes is the finest piano based album ever and one of the top 3 albums by a female solo artist.  It's among my favorites of all time and is about gorgeous and melancholy as an album can get without being cheesy or bleak.  Highest recommendation.

[ukulelejesus]

I've been to sadly few concerts, and Tori Amos was one of them. I love most of her stuff up to Scarlet's Walk. I cna't get into her new stuff, she's lost the dleicate balance she used to have between flippancy and self-consciousness. Boys for Pele is still one of my favorite albums. She doesn't just dabble in self indulgence. The entire album is beautifully solipsistic. It's lovely. She was a formative celebrity crush for me too. I adored her for being such a gorgeous weirdo. I still have a serious thing for redheads because of her.