From: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org (precious-things-digest) To: precious-things-digest@smoe.org Subject: precious-things-digest V3 #160 Reply-To: precious-things@smoe.org Sender: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "precious-things-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. precious-things-digest Saturday, May 2 1998 Volume 03 : Number 160 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Tori on Radio 4/30 [Glitter Girl ] chicago show [Joni Doe24 ] Re: Tori radio [ToriPyro ] Tori in southern ca [Tarry_Carapezza@dpc.senate.gov (Tarry Carapezza)] Re: DEAPERATELY NEEDED BOOT [ToriPyro ] Re: Tori on Radio 4/30 ["Mark Oldfield" ] Tori on MTV's 1515 TONIGHT! [geministar@webtv.net] Tori in Seattle newspaper ["K. Fischer" ] sad tori broadcast news [blackdove1@juno.com (Jacqueline J Flory)] Re: precious-things-digest V3 #157 [shoes ] Re: limited tori cd [ToriPyro ] Re: ice cream oonnection [Mike Richman ] August 1, 1998 Boston [Gerry Desrosiers ] Tori on Top Of The Pops... ["Mike Gray" ] UK Choirgirl Box Set [sabrina ] From the Choirgirl OUT in the netherlands!!!!! [Dennis Snelders ] negative review of new album in CAPITAL CITY [Glen Philip Hansman ] Several UK press reviews. ["Mike Gray" ] New Tour Dates [Mac456789 ] Chicago Meet & Greet Photos [AKlink8489 ] Tori radio Broadcast [Venus65 ] Re: tori to play for free in cali - some US tour dates announced - mtv feature [allthegirlshateher@juno.com (Warren C.] B-Side questions/comments [Tripp Gwyn ] Fwd: Tori Interview on Wall of Sound ["Giovanni Mantilla" ] Re: Mp3 problems [A Faerie ] TORI on News 1515 [lilchibi@flash.net] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 07:36:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Glitter Girl Subject: Re: Tori on Radio 4/30 I was able to tape the entire broadcast, even though they did not play the entire concert. I am able to make good-quality copies if anyone needs one. Contact me privately if you'd like one - I just ask that you send a tape (It might fit on one when I take out the commercials, I'll have to check) and a couple bucks for stamps. The interview before was excellent. Thanks, Heather Goodson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 07:57:42 EDT From: Joni Doe24 Subject: chicago show did anyone record it? if so, email me. i dont want the one off the radio, i want the normal bootleg... it was so great. thanks ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 16:24:49 EDT From: ToriPyro Subject: Re: Tori radio if ANYONE tapes the Chicago show on from their radio station I will send you a blank tape and the money to handle shipping charges....please email me privately =) mucho mucho appreciado (word?), Vicki ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 09:14:26 -0400 From: Tarry_Carapezza@dpc.senate.gov (Tarry Carapezza) Subject: Tori in southern ca >Sept. 18 at the Ponds (sp??) I would guess this is the Duck Pond where the Mighy Ducks play. Surely there must be more hockey fans on the list than myself. - -Bricks (tori, Hockey, and Hardcore, thats my life) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 16:16:02 EDT From: ToriPyro Subject: Re: DEAPERATELY NEEDED BOOT as for myself...if ANYONE has a recording of the show from Madison Square Garden from MAY 15, 1996 from the Dew Drop Inn tour, I would pay anywhere up to $35 for a decent recording....even if it's on cassette tape (since they didnt' MAKE a cd version:) Ok, that is all...anyone, anyone? loveintori, Vicki ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 09:46:42 -0500 From: "Mark Oldfield" Subject: Re: Tori on Radio 4/30 >Did anyone else experience these problems? Did anyone tape it? Zone 105 in Mpls/St. Paul were clueless as well. - - Mark O. "Give me a bud and a slice And leave me alone If I want your advice, I'll ask ya" - Joe Jackson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 15:35:04 -0400 From: geministar@webtv.net Subject: Tori on MTV's 1515 TONIGHT! Tori will be on 1515 tonight at 7:30 PM EST. I don't know if this will be repeated over the week-end, but my guess is that it most likely will. It looks like an interesting interview. Don't miss it! ~~geministar* ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 08:19:33 -0700 (PDT) From: "K. Fischer" Subject: Tori in Seattle newspaper For those Tori fans in Seattle, there is a nice picture and article in the Seattle P.I.'s What's Happening today. The article does not really say anything new, but it is very positive about the new album and tour. There is a little picture of her on the cover of the What's Happening too. Karin fischera@u.washington.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 17:04:09 -0400 From: blackdove1@juno.com (Jacqueline J Flory) Subject: sad tori broadcast news i think tori.com got the date wrong or something, because i listened for over two hours to the station that was supposed to play the tori broadcast (WKFR in kalamazoo, i had to sit in my car to get the station to come in!) and they never did! what's up with that? anyone know? _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 17:47:17 -0400 (EDT) From: shoes Subject: Re: precious-things-digest V3 #157 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!! i NEED the raspberry swirl necklace!!!! dates are running out!!! could someone PLEASE buy one for me??! i'll send you anythjing!!! (well, not Anything.. but..:) chris ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 16:22:11 EDT From: ToriPyro Subject: Re: limited tori cd doesn't anyone feel that this new album is just reeking of commercialism?? first, it was merman, with this whole "exclusive tower deal" and then it was this whole "certain select stations will be airing the Chicago show"...I mean, I live on Long Island for christ's sakes and I couldn't even find ANY station with it on there....this new lithograph thing is beginning to REALLY piss me off! I was going to go on a quest to find either Lakeshore Record Exchange or Record Archive but I figure screw it...I am 15...I don't really need all of this stuff...my collection is pretty spiffy as it is...errrrrg...ah well, I"m getting the new album tomorrow (sigh). just venting, Vicki ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 06:39:07 -0500 (CDT) From: Mike Richman Subject: Re: ice cream oonnection > in spark, t says "trusting my soul to the ice cream assasin" > and way back on LE, she says "i don't believe yer leavin cause me and > charles manson like the same ice cream" in TIYH.... ?! > charles manson certainly can be considered an assasin... > but i don't think that's who she means ... > any thoughts?! > > ;) love in tori, > chris If you want to be very morbid, think about why Manson is most infamous -- for hacking up Sharon Tate and her baby. It would not be inconsistent with many other references in Spark. Mike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 19:58:42 -0400 From: Gerry Desrosiers Subject: August 1, 1998 Boston I guess tickets for the Tori concert at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA on August 1 go on sale May 16, in 15 days. Thats the same day as my prom. Anyway I was wondering the best most efficiant way to get the best tickets from Ticketmaster. I really don't want to be too far back and I definately don't want to be in the balcony. If anyone is planning on going to this show also. Please tell me the best way to buy tix. Should I charge by phone, should I wait in line at an outlet? Any information would be appreciated, thanks. Corey ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 23:33:03 +0100 From: "Mike Gray" Subject: Tori on Top Of The Pops... Well, somewhat to my surprise, (seeing as she's in the US at the moment), Tori somehow transported herself to London to perform "Spark" live on "Top Of The Pops" (proving the Tori double theory, I guess, all you conspiracy theorists out there..) - it's an excellent performance, and I'll endeavour to make it a Real Audio file in the near future. The band were kept very much in the background, so I *still* don't know quite what they look like! :( Tori seemed very happy and confident performing the song tonight, and the band sounded perfectly competent. She swapped between the Bosey (*big Bosey*!) ) and a keyboard, sometime straddling the two. I'll send vid-caps to "The Dent". Cheers Mike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 22:14:40 +0200 From: sabrina Subject: UK Choirgirl Box Set For all ye people in the UK or near the UK: In addition to the "Choirgirl" release, this (apparantly) is/will be available as well: TORI AMOS From The Choirgirl Hotel (Limited edition UK box set inc embroidered t-shirt, piano shaped badge, car sticker and numbered certificate - ltd to 2,000 copies only, silkscreened box [CD not incl]) UK 28.99 / $ 47.00 I got this info from the Esprit mailorder company (www.eil.com... great Tori stuff, but a tendency to overcharge on them), so the price may vary, wherever you buy it. Speaking of Esprit, they also have the original YKTR vinyl available for $201, and "The Big Picture" single going for $403.. *ouch* ANOTHER THING: The Spark single being released in Germany May 4th, *won't* be an import of the UK one. I asked a record store here if it was being shipped from the UK, and the guy told me the single will originate from Germany. It's just one maxi single, and I have no idea if the b-sides are the same or not. I guess I'll find out Monday! sabrina ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 14:50:16 +0200 From: Dennis Snelders Subject: From the Choirgirl OUT in the netherlands!!!!! Hi! Tori Amos^Ò new album, From the Choirgirl Hotel, is OUT in the netherlands! Today I picked up my copy and I got a delicious free poster! The poster is numbered (mine says 1970 or something like that - I don^Òt feel like running upstairs right now to check the number) so i guess it is limited. My first impression of the album: weird, different, but very cool! On my site, Little Amsterdam, I will soon post my personal review of the album. Yippy!!! PS. There's indeed a map included in the artwork, but it is not a map of a hotel, but it's a map of a landcape with some strange items on it, all named, some of them have really strange names, like: "Oh Jeez Tower" "Mr Van Tuins Machine Hospita" "No Hello Zone" "Beene's Field" "Wannabe Rockies" and a LOT more. The artwork mainly consists of the lyrics printed in white on a black background and lots of pictures of which we have already seen some on www.tori.com. Strange: the lyrics are not printed in the same order as on the cd, but differently, I have no clue why. I will soon post a personal review of the album to my tori page, Little Amsterdam. Have yourself a merry little 4 days of waiting, :) - -- Dennis Snelders e-mail: dsnelders@geocities.com Dutch Tori Amos page 'Little Amsterdam': http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/lot/1017/littleamsterdam.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 19:00:52 -0500 From: ally Subject: Re: Tori dates! my friend jill and i want to drive from minneapolis to chicago, and before that to milwaukee... i called ticketmaster and they said they knew nothing about the milwaukee and minneapolis shows (when theyd go on sale) if anyone can tell me dates and stuff, that'd be great (: i'm so excited for a tour that we all can see !! ally At 07:43 PM 5/1/98 -0400, you wrote: >In a message dated 98-05-01 18:38:11 EDT, NiCoLe@torithoughts.org writes: > ><< 19 Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre -- On Sale 5/9 >> >OH MY GOD!!!!! > >Ummm, can all you park westers start another list, so we can get all the info >together about this show. I missed the one last night and CAN NOT miss this >one!!!!!!! > >IM SO EXCITED!!!!!!! >Please emial me with any and all info on buying tickets, etc. > http://crono.net/~ally The Pool of Tori Amos: http://crono.net/~ally/torimain.html "even the rain is sharp like today as you sh-sh-shock me sane" - tori amos "the only friends i've got left are my idiosyncrasies" - L7 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 10:33:30 -0400 From: Glen Philip Hansman Subject: negative review of new album in CAPITAL CITY A negative review of the new album was published yesterday in Ottawa's "Capital City" newsweekly. Frankly, this belongs in the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all" category, but since this is a NEWS only mailing list, I'll just leave it here for you to read. Any responses you might have to this can be sent to the letters department at "Capital City" at letters@capitalcity.net. Please respond and let them know how you feel about the following. Here it is: TORI AMOS "From the Choirgirl Hotel" -- review by Tim Perlich Rating: ** Beneath the marketable layers of Tori Amos' phony quirkiness, there lies a misguided Kate Bush piano-bar tribute with neither the genuine artistic compulsion nor the compositional chops to rise above a comical Gowan level of faux-classical pretentiousness. She's never been shy about parlaying personal tragedy into a sales hook and with "From the Choirgirl Hotel" (out Tuesday), Amos capitalizes on her recent miscarriage to develop a song cycle about the mirable of life and loss. The big news is that Amos has moved away from the dull piano/voice concept -- which she never had the charisma to pull off for more than teh lnegth of a single -- and benefits immensely from the broader sonice palette offered by a hired combo. Now if she could only lose some of that hey0nonny-nonny rhythmic frivolity, calculated lyrical obliqueness and excessive vocal decoration, she might come up with something worth hearing. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 18:05:21 -0400 From: johanna Subject: tori to play for free in cali - some US tour dates announced - mtv feature *yay* some of the US summer dates have been announced so it's true she's playing the GARDEN (to the sweet people that were at the RAINN concert.. no, not the theater :) "Amos has also planned a free concert for Los Angeles' KROQ radio in the parking lot of the Palace Theater on May 7." -mtv.com anyone have more info on this? tori is the mtv's feature of the week.. it's the questions that some fans got to ask tori last week .. included are video clips of the nyc show http://www.mtv.com/news/feature/index.html 7/15 - Milwaukee, WI @ Mecca 7/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ Northrup Aud. 7/19 - Chicago, IL @ Rosemont Theater 7/22 - Cleveland, OH @ CSU Convocation Ctr. 7/23 - Detroit, MI @ Palace 7/25 - Toronto, ONT Molson Amph. 7/26 - Montreal, QUE @ Molson Centre 7/28 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden 8/1 - Boston, MA @ Fleet Center 8/2 or 8/8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum 8/4 - Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre 8/11 - Washington, DC @ MCI Center 8/17 - Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park Amph. 9/1 - Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amph. 9/18 - Anaheim, CA @ The Pond 9/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre johanna ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 09:21:14 -0700 From: Beth Winegarner Subject: My review is up at ATN I'm so excited I can finally share this with all of you! You can find this article at: http://www.addict.com/html/lofi/Reviews/44.1kHz/Amos,_Tori/from_the_choirgirl_hotel.html or http://www.addict.com/html/hifi/Reviews/44.1kHz/Amos,_Tori/from_the_choirgirl_hotel.html Rating: Very Good from the choirgirl hotel Tori Amos Atlantic Salvaging Beauty From Loss By Beth Winegarner Tori Amos is a songstress of many hats, some of which are more flattering than others. She started out sporting a rock-chick hat, along with a bustier and the requisite spandex pants, back in the pop-metal Y Kant Tori Read days. Then it was the chapeau of survival with Little Earthquakes, the centerpiece of which is the a capella "Me And a Gun," Amos' account of being sexually assaulted. (Amos would later refer to this experience in more flippant terms: "I got my rape hat on/But I always could accessorize," she quips in "Talula.") By the time Amos' last album, Boys for Pele, hit record shops in 1996, she was wearing too many caps to count: producer, piano prodigy, first-class fruitcake. Amos, Tori, "Jackie's Strength" (45 second excerpt) 1.08MB 539k 359k 3.0 28.8k On Amos' highly-anticipated fifth album, from the choirgirl hotel, the girl with the piano reveals just how well she can accessorize. Amos warned everyone she'd allow that piano to take a back seat this time around, and many longtime fans were afraid that the Tori they loved would be left in the dust. Instead, she's more alive than ever, with a full band -- including the Meters' George Porter, Jr., drummer Matt Chamberlin (who's played with Edie Brickell, Pearl Jam, Critters Buggin) and Amos' longtime guitarist Steve Caton -- to back her up. The result is a new Amos sound, one that is richer, more complex, more polished -- and in many ways more accessible -- than some of her previous efforts, especially the discordant Pele. And while Amos' prior works served up huge helpings of cayenne pepper, chocolate, or sometimes castor oil, choirgirl is like a satisfying, balanced meal. Most of Amos' recordings have been informed by tragedy and loss, and choirgirl is no different. Around Christmas of 1996, Amos suffered a miscarriage, and the new album speaks directly to the loss of that child. Amos, Tori, "She's Your Cocaine" (45 second excerpt) 1.14MB 570k 379k 3.0 28.8k In the first single,"Spark," Amos' voice is coolly distorted as she sings, "She's convinced she could hold back a glacier/But she couldn't keep a baby alive." Throughout the song she curses the "divine master plan" and the Fates, but her anger is restrained behind layers of keyboard, drums and piano. Only during the bridge does the roiling piano reveal shades of rage. There is "Jackie's Strength," a string-laden piano piece that seems to be both a personal search for inner fortitude and a tribute to a nation of woman who looked to Jackie Kennedy as role model. The song presents a flip side to Amos' "Professional Widow" from Pele, a song which attacked women who construct their careers from the ashes of their dead husbands. Instead of sending her songs to the remix artists this time around, Amos did her own dance tracks in-house. choirgirl is well- informed by the club scene in England (where Amos recorded the album), especially in sultry tracks like "Cruel" and "Liquid Diamonds," and the jaunty, dizzying "Raspberry Swirl." In "Iieee," Amos unites a club sensibility with her penchant for gut-punching lyrics. "We scream at cathedrals/Why can't it be beautiful/Why does there gotta be a sacrifice?" Her voice is like a force of nature, pulling listeners in. Amos lets her bluesy side come through in the mind-bending "She's Your Cocaine," a study on love's power structures. "She says you control it/Then she says you don't control it/Then she says you're controlling/The way she makes you crawl," Amos howls in her best PJ Harvey sendup. The band is in full force here; "Cocaine" will make a great number to jam on when Amos takes it on the road. All the elements on choirgirl are distilled in "Hotel," which moves effortlessly from techno to baroque to piano thrash, never losing its harrowing feel. The song is like a spy novel, with Amos constantly seeking someone just out of reach. "You were wild/where are you now?" she yearns as the music shifts into a Nine Inch Nails-inspired interlude. Later, we hear snatches of the harpsichord from Pele as she trills, "I have to learn to let you crash down." And in yet another segment Amos and her piano break free in an exhilarating -- and musically tricky -- romp that's one of the best moments on the album. The only things keeping choirgirl from being a perfect album are a few cloying moments in songs like "Northern Lad" -- which sounds too much like something Amos would have sung in bars 15 years ago -- as well as Amos' occasionally cryptic lyrics, some of which may never be translated into common English. But her ability to communicate through the tones of her voice, as well as through the impeccable structures of her music, are what make Amos so well-loved. "Don't judge me so harsh little girl/so you got a playboy mommy," Amos pleads in "Playboy Mommy," one of the most moving pieces on choirgirl. The tension between her desire to devote all her energy to her career and her desire to be a mother has taken its toll on Amos, and that message rings loud and clear here. "I'll say it loud here by your grave/Those angels can't ever take my place." Amos, Tori, "Hotel" (45 second excerpt) 1.09MB 545k 362k 3.0 28.8k "Merman," a track only available through the Internet to those who order choirgirl from Tower Records, is a heart-wrenching lullaby sung to the spirit of her departed child: "Sleep now/You're my little girl/Go to bed/The priests are dead." It's just Amos and her piano, their bare tones revealing pure sorrow. Amos may be mourning the loss of something precious, but she's never sounded so alive. - -- "With her litany of complaints and demands, [Meredith] Brooks has been much more of a bitch than a mother or a child or a lover." (Jancee Dunn) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 17:09:39 +0100 From: "Mike Gray" Subject: Several UK press reviews. Hi guys... Much as I'd love to comment on these (and I have a lot to say about them), I think I'll leave it to everyone else, and get on with the typing... ;) - --- The Independent (Eye On Friday section, 1st May, P.17) >From The Choirgirl Hotel This is the latest installment from Tori Amos's diary of pain and was prompted by her miscarriage. Or so the press release claims, since the lyrics contain fewer references to babies than a Pulp song about a wardrobe; for the most part, the songs seem to be random compilations of phrases too loosely edited together to sustain interest in their deciphering. The most direct lyrics is probably "Jackie's Strength", where the image of Jackie Kennedy is used as a beacon of female integrity, bolstering a teenage girl's first fumbling, anorexic attempts at sexual attraction. "If you love enough, you'll lie a lot / Guess they did in Camelot," reckons Tori in the album's sharpest lines. Unfortunately, they prove to be the exception rather than the rule in terms of clarity, most of the albm being awash with impervious images such as "Black dove, you're not a helicopter / You're not a cop out either," which cops out comprehensively when it comes to meaning. - --- I'm sure you guys will have a little to say about *that*... - --- The Daily Mail, 1st May '98. Tori's Torrid Tales Verdict : Amos's most grown-up album to date. *** out of ***** Her recording career may be almost ten years old, but Tori Amos remains one of rock's most enigmatic talents. An eccentric, unorthodox performer who has inspired a host of imitators, the American singer-songwriter has penned many songs of piercing insight and honesty. Just as often, however, she has undermined her good work with a juvenile desire simply to shock. >From The Choirgirl Hotel is Amos's fourth solo album and it is the most powerful indication yet that the singer is finally growing up. A more expansive, mature collection than 1996's Boys For Pele, it is also strongly influenced by events in the singer's personal life over the past two years. Since she completed a world tour at the end of 1996, Amos has married British-born sound engineer Mark Hawley. At the start of last year she also, sadly, suffered a miscarriage while three months pregnant. The effects of the tragedy cast a profound shadow over From The Choirgirl Hotel, and the album is imbued with a deep sense of loss. But, in keeping with her wilfully enigmatic streak, it is also a very disjointed affair. In striving to present a collection of songs which stand on their own merits, she has made an album with little overall coherence. Jackie's Strength, Playboy Mommy and Spark rank as three of the finest songs Amos has written, but there are moments of indulgence when she is undone by her conceit and ambition. On a musical level, the record is a significant progressio for an artist who once relied predominantly on her own virtuoso piano accompaniment. Perhaps inspired by dance pioneer Armand Van Helden's brilliant club mix of Professional Widow - a track from Boys For Pele - Amos, backed by a four-piece band, adopts a more rhythm-based approach here. Cruel recalls the world rhythms of Peter Gabriel, Raspberry Swirl hints of the phased guitars of the Stone Roses, and Liquid Diamionds is a complex jazz number. For all their experimentation, the rhythmic songs are the most disappointing, due largely to Amos's inability to combine an insistent beat with a decent tune. Her greatest strength, as the album's better tracks show, remains her knack of conjuring a beautifully ornate melody from a combination of intricate piano and a swooping theatrical voice reminiscent of Kate Bush. The gorgeous Jackie's Strength and Northern Lad, a simple love ballad, are two songs which stand out simply because of their melodies. The album, though, is dominated by the loss suffered by Amos through her miscarriage. On the opening track, Spark, she sings of a woman who was convinced that she could 'hold back a glacier' but was unable to preserve the life of her unborn child. On Playboy Mommy, lent a Cajun ambience by pedal steel and fiddle, she appears to blame herself for the tragedy before pleading not to be so harshly judged. Trakcs such as these are undoubtedly cathartic for the singer, but they make for uncomfortable listening. Those who have likened some of her older songs to a personal diary or a therapy session will find the topics addressed here as harrowing as anything tackled on her previous albums. But, like Joni Mitchell before her and Alanis Morissette more recently, Tori Amos has always written intimate, often bitter, songs based on her real-life experiences. She may have made her commercial breakthough in Britain, and is still partially based in this country, but the enigmatic female tradition she is holding up remains very much an American one. - --- I thought that was the best review of the three in terms of perceptiveness. The next one, although it gave her 5 out of 5, I find unforgivable simply because of some of the comments made... Where I have put (sic.) in brackets, this is where I have deliberately copied an error from the text. - --- >From "Vox" magazine, Issue #92, June '98. "Tough Kooky" >From The Choirgirl Hotel (eastwest) Back with a band and her best-ever album. Tori Amos has paid a high price for whatever artistic credibility she's managed to accrue. First rape and then, more recently, a miscarriage, which she describes as the "egg" that gave birth to her latest and best album to date. It's bad enough having to go through that sort of misery just to avoid being dubbed a pop charlatan, but even after all this, Tori Amos is reviled by some. Perhaps that's because she's a paradoxical bundle - or, as the last song on this album has it, a Pandora's Aquarium. She's intense, too much so for the easily embarassed English at times, yet deflects it with a kooky, mordant wit. She's sensual, yet capable of angry revulsion. She's a paradigm of strong, self-determined womanhood, yet at times has seemed happy to be sold as a commodity to get her music across. Take a single song on this LP - say, "A Northern Lad" (sic) - and watch the contradictory qualities of tenderness, dry irony, passionate longing and rage all come out at once, the vocals twisting sharp and broad like an angled blade. What ought to be beyond doubt is that Tori is an accomplished musician, supremely able to give vent to the complexity of her emotions through the intricacy and intimacy of her sound. Here, however, she's brought in a band, including Beck's bassist, Justin Medal-Johnsen. It's like she's gone public. But what could be merely a compromise, a fuller sound for no other sake than to soften the raw intensity of herself alone, is a triumph - eloquently, darkly hip. "Spark", the opener with it's latticed, exotic rhythms, goes down like a spiked drink in a strange country. "Cruel" is where the recent autobiography kicks in, as Tori spits sardonically about "celebrating your top 10 in the charts" - her recent Number One put in perspective by personal events, perhaps? - --- - --- "Black Dove (January)" and "Raspberry Swirl" are similarly traumatised, but this time there's no simple and direct route to the heart of these songs, with the band setting up thickets of rhythms to negotiate, a luscious, nightmatish forest that you have to hack your way through. The is consolatory respite in the form of "Jackie's Strength", a song that collapses softly back into an orchestral net of solace. But then there's "iieee", in which the sense of having been 'made' to sacrifice her unborn child is eerily played out over what sound like the pagan rhythms of some ancient ritual to appease wrathful gosds. Pertubing. "She's Your Cocaine" works itself up into a similarly delirious state, the band rocking as if in some oxygen-free, low-ceiling basement. The relationship between these songs and Tori's tragedy isn't always a clear-cut one - take "Playboy Mummy" (sic.) for example, whose seedy honky-tonk showcases the story of a Mom who had her kid too soon, agrees she may have been 'never there when it counted', but finally resents the stigma attached to her. This is a faraway point from the anguished meditations that ignited the album in the first place, but not completely disconnected. Strangely, Tori has never sounded quite so reconciled with herself as on this album, as if gladly embracing the light and dark, soft and hard, happy and sad of things with a newfound stoicism. She's learned to handle it. You can certainly handle this. ****** out of ****** (Dave Stubbs) - -- This also carried a little box-out: "Tori Tells It Like It Is" How did you start to work through your feelings at having suffered a miscarriage in the writing of this album? "The thing I found was that the love didn't go away from this being. And even though this being didn't come, it's not like it didn't have an effect on my life. Because it's not in the 'physical' it's hard to say it was 'real' , but this being taught me so many feelings I didn't even know I had. There was an appreciation of life, for one. The miracle of life, something I really felt when I first found I was pregnant. So all those feelings came to me as well as a lot of questions. For instance, being in American malls, seeing the way parents hit their kids all the time. I mean, *really* hitting their kids. You start aksing, why are some people allowed to become parents and some not... I began questioning God, thinking, if you call yourself a God, you ought to be able to answer some of those questions. But I did't get any answers, not from that source anyway.But the songs started coming." Was the reference to celebrating your Top Ten in the charts an ironic sideswipe at the "Professional Widow" remix? "No, it's about when you hear people listing their griefs, it can be become a bit like a Billboard chart. "Hey, only your uncle abused you? I had 17 sailors and then my uncle!" That's what that was about.. I get a lot of letters from girls who don't talk about what happened to them because they feel they have no right to speak up. So they become victims anonymous." And yet for all that you've been through, there's a pretty joyous, rock 'n' roll feel to this album. "Yeah, that's really good. It surprises me. I listen to this album and I smile. It happened and I didn't know it. I found a way to dance with sorrow." - --- Anyway, that's the lot for now. MikeWhy - "The Dent" got it's own little article in Vox! :) I'll mail it as a scan to you later! Nadyne - been trying to contact you, but to no avail. Do you have the singles that I sent yet? Cheers Mike Mike Gray - mike.gray@zetnet.co.uk : ICQ 6200976 Webpages : http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/mikegray/index.html /\ about me, lots of music, and more... "Don't tell me I haven't been good to you. Don't tell me I haven't been there for you. Just tell me why nothing is good enough." - Sarah McLachlan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 23:28:36 EDT From: Mac456789 Subject: New Tour Dates Hi everyone I just checked on Atlantic Records.com and they've posted the additional summer tour dates. It looks like she'll start the american tour on July 15. She'll be at Madison Square Garden on the 28th of July. Tix go on sale on 5/8 for that show! I can't wait! s. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 23:18:44 EDT From: AKlink8489 Subject: Chicago Meet & Greet Photos I've posted a large number of photos from the Chicago Park West Meet & Greet to my web site. Feel free to check them out! They're at http://members.aol.com/toritour/chgopics.htm Amber "All the White Horses" http://members.aol.com/AKlink8489/index.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 21:49:22 EDT From: Venus65 Subject: Tori radio Broadcast Hello Darlings, I'm lookin for an EWF in the LA area who taped the live radio broadcast from Chicago on Thursday. I would be ever so grateful if you could possibly send me a copy (My little sister was supposed to tape it for me, but something went terribly wrong, its a long story) xoxoxStephanie ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 19:41:12 -0600 From: allthegirlshateher@juno.com (Warren C. Jaycox) Subject: Re: tori to play for free in cali - some US tour dates announced - mtv feature Hi- With the exception of the LE tour, she's always come to Denver two days in a row, so how come the departure? Anyone know? :( Warren >9/1 - Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amph. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 22:34:00 -0400 From: Tripp Gwyn Subject: B-Side questions/comments I'm kind of suprised the version of Cooling on Spark is from the Pele era. I think that's kind of cool to go back and visit her. I wonder what happened to "TO THE FAIR MOTOR MAIDS OF JAPAN"? I'm begining to wonder if that report that Tori recorded 35 songs is true. Last night on the radio show she said she was going back into the studio because she was "behind on B-sides". I'm very happy to know that Merman is going to be on the Jackie's Strength single. I don't think it would go well with Rasberry Swirl.... Tripp Gwyn tgwyn@infoave.net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 19:07:16 PDT From: "Giovanni Mantilla" Subject: Fwd: Tori Interview on Wall of Sound Hey Mike and everyone! I got this email in my mailbox today and I think you may be interested on reading this interview!!! Giovanni > >Hey there, > >I'm writing from Wall of Sound. We've recently published an interview >w/Tori that I think >you'll dig--we've even put the entire thing up in RealAudio! Here's the >url: > >http://www.wallofsound.com/interviews/stories/63_1index.html > >Enjoy! And feel free to pass this along to any other fans you know. > > > ************** CORNFLAKE CITY: A Tribute to Tori Amos http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1826/main.html ARTISTS CENTRAL http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1826/personal.html ************** ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 00:06:38 -0400 From: Beth Coulter Subject: Philly Tickets/August! Tori will be playing the Spectrum August 2 or 8. Tickets will go on sale 5/8. And I thought I could relax for a while! ;) Fairy Blessings, Bethey I'm OK when everything's not OK cause it's the Fairies Revenge they say and I have always been a Fairy *************************************************************** I gave my life to become the person I am. Was it worth it? - -richard bach- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 22:03:53 -0500 From: A Faerie Subject: Re: Mp3 problems Cindergirl wrote: > They aren't downloading for me. so you're not the only one. > > Was the date for Tori to be on Leno the 11th or 12th?? Hey Guys! Sorry I couldn't answer right away, but i was out of town seeing Tori in Chicago, and i just got in like an hour and a 1/2 ago. I checked the link and it worked for me, so try it now. I know that server the mp3's are on was going to be down at some time for upgrades, and thats the problem you may have encountered. If you have anymore problems (or anyone else on the list) please let me know and ill do everything i can to correct it. Exect some *goodies* on the coming up soon! if you are curious email me and i'll let you know whats going on! Thanks and ill post a full Chicago review soon! since its friday and i *just* got back, im wading through my emails and unpacking...... Take Care! Danica - -- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/5612/torimp3.html - - Tori Amos: A Realm of Mp3's Website ....Make me laugh, say you know...what you want http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/5612/glittermain.html All That Glitters....Is Sour (my homepage) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 19:03:29 -0500 From: lilchibi@flash.net Subject: TORI on News 1515 Woo! She was great on 1515. It was very informative and it was about an 8-10 min segment with some of the "die-hard" fans from the Irving Plaza show. There was a lot of new info stuff, and they showed clips from her NY show as well as a clip from spark. They also showed a clip from an upcoming video, "HOTEL". Right before it, she was talking about how she started using more of those little buttons on the wall "synthesizers, etc." and she says something to the sort of do those guys do stuff, and her manager people go...(inhaling on a ciggy) "Yeah...they do *stuff*" HEH HEH. Tori rocks. But the video clip of "Hotel" was really cool, she was kind of levatating (sp?) or suspended over what resembled Niagra Falls. She was on her back, and at one point she was spinning through the clouds. Very cool. I am just highlighting, if you want a complete transcript of the whole interview, even including what was not seen on TV, go here. http://www.mtv.com/news/feature/index.html They have the complete transcript, in no order. But as I was reading through it, Tori did say MERMAN would be available as a b-side on the Jackie's Strength single. I think I am gonna go as far as to speculate that the songs on the 4-Promo CD are gonna be the singles. But good news for everyone wanting a hard copy of Merman. She also compared Merman to COoling. Go read. Mental note for those wanting to record it later this weekend. THe Tori clip appeared in the middle of the show. The first ten mins were about the name change of Old Dirty Bastard, to Big Baby Jesus. It's not worth recording. But at the very end of the first clip, John Norris says, and we'll be back with Tori AMos and some of her avid fans. (not a direct quote, but you get the point.) I urge those of you who missed it to definately catch it this weekend. It was well done, with many interwoven clips! Bravo MTV. BTW, Tori looked radiant as always. Laura, the quickest girl in the frying pan ------------------------------ End of precious-things-digest V3 #160 *************************************