Revisiting
Tori  Posted
Mar-19-2005
It's 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning. I'm gazing
out my office window noticing the faint fog haze drifting
through my neighborhood
from last night's rain. Oh, and I have Tori Amos's To Venus
and Back "Still Orbiting" CD playing in the
background. I totally love the opening song, "Precious Things,"
but now "Cruel" is
playing and it's distracting me from my thoughts.
::Turns it down::
There, that's better.
I've been hearing quite a buzz lately about Tori Amos's new
CD The Beekeeper. I
have two of Tori's CDs, Under
the Pink and To Venus and Back.
Oh, I guess that would be three...
The first song of Tori's I remember hearing on the radio was "God" around
1994/5.
God sometimes you just don't come through...
At the time I didn't know how to feel about the song because
of my-then religious perception. I interpreted the song
as sacrilegious and sort of put Tori on ignore. About five
years later I acquired
To Venus and Back and not too long after, Under
the Pink. And
I listened to "God" with new ears. Perception does
change over time.
I became a big Kate Bush fan in the mid-90s, and people kept
suggesting that Tori struck the same kind of chord with them.
That's how I happened on purchasing some of Tori's music. I
was crazy about Kate Bush and wanted to find that same excitement
in Tori's music. But it was still a little too edgy for me.
It wasn't soothing or comforting enough — something I
really needed at the time.
Cooling
Something's been going on in my life recently that has made
Tori's work resurface. About a month ago I read an interview
about
Tori and the subject of
creativity. It was the first "personal" aspect
of Tori that I've read, and it really intrigued me. The creative
process. Archetypes.
And within the last few days, I've seen several of Tori's
music videos on the VHI Classic Channel and an old Saturday
Night Live episode ('96) where she performed one of her songs.
Until now, I've never seen Tori perform. I was really moved.
So moved that I've been playing my three Tori CD's non-stop.
Her piano playing and haunting lyrics are reaching a part of
me that can hear now.
There is definitely something here I am learning. Some of
these songs are amazing. They are like musical collages; pieces
of music and lyrics constructed in layers, in metaphors, in
beautiful ranges of expressive sound. I see her work in my
mind through an artistic filter. A creative filter. A filter
that
is allowing me to understand the language. I'm feeling
her creative energy. Last night I played Under the Pink in
the dark and just cried. I'm beginning to "get" what
Tori's been doing all along. I am so inspired.
Awakenings like this are awesome. It's so cool to realize
the point you become ready for something. My next Tori CD will
be Little Earthquakes. I have a lot of catching up
to do. My Tori Amos neurons seemed to open their little doors
and are inviting the party in.
And it's no amazing thing that Tori continues to grow and
change in her music. I found this
discussion on the Straight
Dope Message Board about her new Beekeeper album intriguing.
It's interesting to watch an artist grow and change over
time.
Some people
expect a musician to remain consistent through the years. Her
seemingly toned-down new release is criticized by a few who
want to keep experiencing the old Tori. They don't seem to
get that her music is a vehicle for artistic expression. An
artist doesn't continue to paint in the same colors
and hues forever. They need to break new ground
in creating their work to keep it fresh and exciting for them.
And as we all grow older, our vision changes
and
our landscapes of experience expand. Tori is allowed to reflect
that in her work, and it's a gift to be able to experience
it.
I don't know how soon I'll get to The Beekeeper,
but when I do, I'll appreciate the work as it were hanging
on a wall
in
an art
museum. Meanwhile,
I'm going to enjoy the process of rediscovering Tori and catching
up on lost time.
Can't stop loving can't stop what is on its way and I
see it coming and it's on its way... (© 2005 Chris
Dunmire) •
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