From: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org (precious-things-digest) To: precious-things-digest@smoe.org Subject: precious-things-digest V3 #255 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 Thursday, July 16 1998 Volume 03 : Number 255 Today's Subjects: ----------------- a good web page (looking for it) [HyJptrCrsh@aol.com] Tori Tour Stuff [HapyFantm@aol.com] Cincinatti show 7/21 [HaughtyGrl@aol.com] texas-error ["shyrrl *" ] What Tori is Selling [HyJptrCrsh@aol.com] What Tori is Selling [HyJptrCrsh@aol.com] Gone to Canada.. ["Mike Gray" ] texas ["shyrrl *" ] Re: Tori's earrings [Robert L Reynolds ] Re: "that one" [Ashley Blaize ] PHEONIX [ToriBoi@aol.com] Tori in "First" mag [earthsis@spindle.net (earthsis@spindle.net)] Milwaukee Concert!!! ["Hanna P." ] Pink UTP [=?iso-8859-1?Q?Thomas_Kj=E6r_Lauritsen?= ] Tori in Jump and Virgin Megastore ["Molly Bass" ] Re: Who Anastasia Romanov was [violet@torithoughts.org] Re: just a question [Richard Handal ] tori amos j-file interview [The Maier Family ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 01:36:15 EDT From: HyJptrCrsh@aol.com Subject: a good web page (looking for it) hey, there was this *great* lyric page, and i lost the link. :( it let you type in key words of the song, and then it matched you with it. very cool.. please gimmie the site. Lip Gloss Boost (my page) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 03:20:47 EDT From: HapyFantm@aol.com Subject: Tori Tour Stuff Hi guys. I don't remember this being mentioned before, but what is the dilly on the tour memorobilia? Is it the same as the sneak Peak shows (RS necklace, Black shirt with cities listed, and some baby tees) with the addition of a tour program or what? and different shirts or anything else? Just wondering... swirling with raspberries shawn.the.little.masochist... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 15:18:04 EDT From: HaughtyGrl@aol.com Subject: Cincinatti show 7/21 Hey peoples :) Is anyone going to the Cinci show on Tuesday? Is anyone planning on making a boot of this? If so, let me know! I've got great seats and I'm soooooo excited! :) - -hg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 13:30:14 PDT From: "shyrrl *" Subject: texas-error okay all...sorry bout this, i got the name of the CD boot wrong, it's actually A Candle in the Wind Yours in Tori, jennifer "I say the world is sick, you say tell me what that makes us darlin. You see you always find my faults faster than you find your own. You say the world is gettin rid of of her demons, i say baby what have you been smokin..." http://www.angelfire.com/tx/shyrrl ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 14:34:23 EDT From: HyJptrCrsh@aol.com Subject: What Tori is Selling Here's what they were selling at the concert: Programs: $12.00 Raspberry Swirl Girl Necklaces: $10.00 Black with red circle (saying raspberry swirl girl) Baby tee: $23.00 White tank w/ red piano: $25.00 Black t-shirt with bluish pic of tori on rock (from lyric book) and some lyrics from "liquid diamonds" on ront and "TORI AMOS PLUGGED '98" and tour locations from milwaukee to tampa n back: $25.00 gray t-shirt with 3 square pics on front and one on back: $25.00 Black t-shirt like the ones from the sneak preview tour:$25.00 Dark gray long sleeved t-shirt like the black baby tee.. (same image on front): $35.00 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 14:34:23 EDT From: HyJptrCrsh@aol.com Subject: What Tori is Selling Here's what they were selling at the concert: Programs: $12.00 Raspberry Swirl Girl Necklaces: $10.00 Black with red circle (saying raspberry swirl girl) Baby tee: $23.00 White tank w/ red piano: $25.00 Black t-shirt with bluish pic of tori on rock (from lyric book) and some lyrics from "liquid diamonds" on ront and "TORI AMOS PLUGGED '98" and tour locations from milwaukee to tampa n back: $25.00 gray t-shirt with 3 square pics on front and one on back: $25.00 Black t-shirt like the ones from the sneak preview tour:$25.00 Dark gray long sleeved t-shirt like the black baby tee.. (same image on front): $35.00 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:26:06 -0700 From: "Mike Gray" Subject: Gone to Canada.. Hi Guys.. Sorry to post o/topic, but just quickly - anyone who wants to contact me, know that I'm away for 3 weeks from tomorrow. I *MAY* be answering mail while I'm gone from m_g_gray@hotmail.com Other than that, take care and I'll see you when I get back. And to stay *slightly* on-topic - the Raspberry Swirl promo at Esprit is *very* expensive for what it is - you can buy it cheaper elsewhere within the UK - I saw one today, but couldn't quite afford it... :( Cheers Mike ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:17:08 PDT From: "shyrrl *" Subject: texas as i was sitting here, being really really patient and waiting, i couldnt keep myself from finally asking this question....has ANYONE had any word on when Tori and the guys are gonna be comin to Texas? I know, if i just wait ill hear eventually, but its just so hard and ive never been good with waiting...just had to ask i guess also, i have a Tori boot.. Candles in the Wind ...that I want to either sell for the price of purchase or trade, email me if you're interested. Thanks! Yours in Tori, Jennifer "I say the world is sick, you say tell me what that makes us darlin. You see you always find my faults faster than you find your own. You say the world is gettin rid of of her demons, i say baby what have you been smokin..." http://www.angelfire.com/tx/shyrrl ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 15:18:00 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert L Reynolds Subject: Re: Tori's earrings Hi all. Call me stupid, but does anyone know the story of Tori's trademark earrings? I heard a fan ask her about them on an interview disc, but the announcer was talking over her, so I couldn't hear what she said. Also, does anyone know why she's not wearing them any more? Thanks and hugs!!! - -Rob ~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Robert Reynolds rreynol3@utk.edu UT Hodges Library Serials Dept. Dark Prince "If you call me an airy-fairy new age hippy waif, I will cut your penis off." -Tori Amos http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/9346/main1.html ~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:19:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Ashley Blaize Subject: Re: "that one" When I talked to Tori's mother on the phone in January, she told me that she really liked the album so far and that Edison didn't like it much. She said that it was a bit much for him. She said she liked the change her daughter was seeking, but her dad wanted her to stay the same as she was. "That's just the preacher in hi, I guess" she said. :) Take care, Sir Ashley - ---Donduck98@aol.com wrote: > > > Cute conversation with Tori's mom: > > I was just in Blockbuster and saw someone whom(who?--whatever) I > recognized from the opening preview concert at the Chili Pepper in Ft. > Lauderdale. We talked for a while about the concert and she told me that her > friend Mike (wouldn't be surprised if he's on the list), had spoken to Tori's > parents during the show. He asked, "So what do you think of the new album?" > "I like it," she replied, nodding at Mr. Amos, "but that one doesn't like > it that much." > > I know it was something to that effect, but don't quote Mrs. Amos on anything > other than the "that one" part. > > PS- If Mike's on the list, E-mail a hi! > == 'If you love enough, you'll lie a lot....' - Tori Amos _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 02:29:05 EDT From: ToriBoi@aol.com Subject: PHEONIX Just wanted to let everyone know that was thinking about purchasing this new bootleg "Pheonix", that I ordered mine from Rainy Day Records and recieved mine today.. I LOVE IT!!!! THe best part of it are the conversations she has with the audience... My favorite part is during the secret time someone screams BLOOD ROSES!! and tori says "fucking hell!!", "i can't, i havent' played it in 2 years!!!" "i promise you i'll do it sometime, like next tour!" hahaha, that was so funny... Also in "Baker, Baker" she forgets the words and it's quite funny. This is a great CD for ANY collector, especially with the band arrangements of "horses", "doughnut song", "god", and some of the others, it's great! Not to mention that it has the studio version of "merman" which is breathtaking.. The quality is great, my only complaint is the cheap paper stickers on the actual CD, and that why did they have to put "Spark" three times on the cd, couldnt' they do some songs that weren't already on the CD? Any interested parties can order their copy at RAINY DAY RECORDS. Joey TOriBoi@aol.com "i'm trying not to move, it's just your ghost passing through" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 15:33:39 -0500 From: earthsis@spindle.net (earthsis@spindle.net) Subject: Tori in "First" mag I hope it hasn't been mentioned before, but Tori is featured in an article on palmistry in "First for women" magazine, July, 20th issue. The article is titled "The Secrets Hidden in These Hands", and features pics of celebrities waving...the pic of Tori is one taken from, most likely, the end of a show..it's her trademark two handed wave. :-) Here's what the palm readers have to say about her: CONFIDENCE Tori Amos' open hands with fingers spread indicate she's confident. Her pinkie, short and spread wide, is further proof; it indicates she's an independent woman who is not much for small talk. Her heart line conveys that she is a warm, strongly physical lover. - ---------- Not much, but if you want the magazine, I say go get it now, cuz these things come out weekly! Love, Angela~ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 22:37:59 PDT From: "Hanna P." Subject: Milwaukee Concert!!! Oh-My-God, it was so so so very amazing, amazing amazing amazing, but this was also my first time seeing Tori, she did a great great job, excellent, excellent, wow. She was playing that keyboard and piano at the same time!!! It was so so much fun. The opening band is a band from Ireland, something like The Drexlins and they were really good too. It was such a great show, it didn't seem like it lasted how long it did, but it did. It was about 1 hour and 45 minutes maybe, it seemed like 10 minutes, oh, I could have listened to it forever. I hope you all have fun seeing her... By the way, if you were at the concert you might've seen me, I was wearing these lime green and white checked pants with a white camisole and for a long time I was carrying around a black t-shirt. (a tori shirt obviously) and I was dancing a lot, so that was me. I have short hair too, if that helps, and I'm amybe 5'5, it was so fun though. I'm sure some of you saw me. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 09:28:41 +0200 From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Thomas_Kj=E6r_Lauritsen?= Subject: Pink UTP In precious-things-digest V3 #253, "glytter grrl" wrote : >Subject: UtP vinyl:black or pink > >how do i know if my record is black or pink? i have one...but not >opened. i'd really rather not open it, so any info would be >appreciated. thanks! According to the Tori Amos Collectibles book by Paul Campbell, UTP was initially only released on CD and cassette in the US. Later Atlantic released the pink vinyl pressing, limited to 25,000. This means that your LP is pink if it is from Atlantic (US) and black if it is from East/West (UK). - - Thomas Lauritsen Copenhagen, Denmark (work) (home) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 07:52:56 -0600 From: "Molly Bass" Subject: Tori in Jump and Virgin Megastore Hi everyone, I just got back from a week long trip to Florida and I skimmed the messages (I'm pretty behind) and didn't see either of these next things mentioned... I know some of you like to collect everything so, In a magazine called Jump, it was a teen mag I happened to pick up in a waiting room, there is a short blurb and pic about Tori's new album. It was on the page opposite from an interview with Sarah M. The cover had girls in bikini's if that helps. Also When I was wondering around Pleasure Island and around that area, I walked past the Virgin Mega Store and Outside on the Front they have these huge banner/poster things and they Had one of Tori I mean huge at least ten feet...If you live over in that area in Florida it is really worth seeing...I was a bit intox. and was just blown away by the size...I believe it was the album cover my memory is a bit hazy...Of course they may have these at every Virgin store I've never been in one so it was new to me Molly Marguerite ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 01:34:33 -0700 From: violet@torithoughts.org Subject: Re: Who Anastasia Romanov was Richard wrote: >Violet's swamped with things these days, but once upon a time she would >get these huge files together giving background on a number of interesting >things and send them out to the lists. She still does it, if a bit less >often these days since she's so busy running a mailing list, etc., Actually, for a REALLY long time, she's been trying to gather everything together to ultimately put up on the RDTRN/ToriThoughts.Org site. :) Regarding the file I made on Anastasia in May of '97, there are a few errors in the text which I subsequently corrected. Here is the incorrect part followed by the correction: >> Since then, the bones of Anastasia and her younger brother, Alexei, were >> discovered in a grave in a very remote section of forest (where soldiers >> tried to burn the corpses before burying them them -- it was one of the >> soldier's testimonies that helped researchers locate the missing >>bodies). >> After DNA testing proved positively that the two skeletons were >>members of >> the Romanov family, it's now certain that none of them survived the >> massacre. >> >As it turns out, there were no bones remaining for Alexei and the missing >>sister. (I originally found this information in files on the Internet, >and >when I researched further, I discovered the errors -- not really >blatant >errors, but the way it was phrased amounted to the above). > >In actuality, it was not the *bones* of the two corpses that were discovered, >but the *site* where the two corpses had been *burned* and their ashes buried. > >What actually happened according to chief executioner Yurovsky (as >chronicled >in _The Romanovs: The Final Chapter_ by Robert K. Massie) was >that two bodies >(Alexei and one of the duchesses) were completely burned >and their ashes buried >at the site where the other bones were also >buried. > >Of the nine sets of bones that were found, scientists agree on the >identities >of seven, leaving four people -- Alexei, Anastasia, Tatiana, >and Marie -- to be >accounted for. Two of these three duchesses were in >the grave and (if we >believe Yurovsky's stories) the third was burned >along with Alexei. (Dr. >William Maples believes that the two bodies are >Tatiana and Marie (Anastasia >missing); Dr. Sergei Abramov believes that >the bodies are Tatiana and >Anastasia (Marie missing). After the massacre, Yurovsky turned in a written report to the Soviet government on the execution and disposition of the bodies. The original was kept in the secret files of the Central Archive of the October Revolution in Moscow and a copy was given to Soviet historian Michael Pokrovsky, who was never permitted to publish a word. In 1978 when an respected Russian filmmaker/writer began researching the executions, he interviewed Yurovsky's son (a retired vice admiral in the Soviet Navy) and the son gave him a handwritten copy of his father's report, saying that he wanted to repent for "the most horrible page" in his father's life. The report filled in gaps and corrected errors made by previous researchers. I have been working on a synopsis of this account, which had been hidden for sixty years, and which contains testimony about the events of that evening written by Yurovsky himself. It will be up online eventually. So much to do, so little time. Violet xoxox ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 03:28:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Richard Handal Subject: Re: just a question Josh said: > Hi, first time poster here... Nice meeting you, Josh. > I think most know that it was Trent who sang on Past the Mission, but > who does the backup vocals on Girl on LE, and also the super low-bass > vocal on Little Earthquakes the song? in reading my lyrics list in the > LE book-thing, I discoverd that Eric Rosse as well as Steve Caton (the > guitarist on that album) did the underlying vocals, but who is the > phantom voice behind her on Girl in the line *sit in the chair and be > good now*? I've always wondered about this....anyone know? *help* Some questions about some of this stuff came up late last summer, and I posted a big thing in response to the questions. I've edited that post a bit to reflect the specific questions Josh has here and am attaching it below. I hope it helps answer some of these questions. Sorry it has to be so technical. Be seeing you, Richard Handal, H.G. ___________________________________________________________________ >From handal Wed Sep 17 15:28:05 1997 >Subject: The deal with Girl >To: precious-things@smoe.org (Precious Things mailing list) >Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 15:28:05 -0400 (EDT) Hi, All: [...] First off, for those who said they didn't hear any male vocals anywhere in the song, check out two places--the 2:11 minute/second mark when the "rushin' rivers..." part begins, and then again at the 3:03 mark where there is a male voice which speaks "sit in the chair and be good now." As a trained studio recording engineer (I studied recording engineering at Omega Studios, the same place BT did here in Maryland), although I do think it's possible that some of the layered vocals which begin at the 2:11 mark may be, in fact, Tori's voice which was manipulated to sound like that of a man's (which I doubt because I don't know why she and Eric would have gone to the trouble to do that instead of just laying the track with Eric's *own* voice), it sounds to me that there are others of the layered background vocals which definitely are genuine male voices, and clearly, the speaking voice at the 3:03 mark is also a genuine male voice. By the time LE was recorded, pitch quantization was done electronically, not by tape manipulation. Whoever mentioned the Alvin and the Chipmunks effect was right about that having been done back in the 1950s through a tape manipulation process. The Beatles also engaged in effects such as that in some of their recordings, but things such as lowering the pitch of vocals took a distinctly high tech turn, when, in 1975, a company called Eventide introduced the first of its very successful line of outboard studio processors--their line of Harmonizers. All of a sudden, one could assign any given pitch within a wide range from the original source's pitch by dialing a knob, and even by using a tiny piano-like keyboard. These days, those are just the simplest effects made possible by using such devices, which can come with literally thousands of preset effects. One of the main reasons that Harmonizers came so quickly to be the recording industry standard in adjusting pitch--typically on vocals--was that one was able to retain the envelope of the original sound. The envelope is both the suddeness of the onset--the "attack"--and the diminution--the "decay"--~of the waning sound. (Anyone who ever programmed a synthesizer will be familiar with adjusting the envelope of a sound.) Were you to take a recording of a voice and, using a Harmonizer, shift the pitch up to that of the Chipmunk voices, it would not cause a sound with much in common with the Chipmunk voices created through manipulation of recording tape, because the envelope would remain pretty much intact. Tape manipulation to raise or lower pitch results in a faster or slower attack and decay cycle as compared to shifting the pitch electronically, which is why engineers love the things. Electronically pitch-adjusted sounds keep most of the sonically identifiable qualities the same as they were before adjusting the pitch, so the sound in question retains most of its original "flavor," if you will. Great for sweetening sound, lousy for making Chipmunks. However, there are enough other sonic cues I hear in the background vocals in Girl which begin at the 2:11 mark which make me feel with near certainty that at least some of them are not manipulated versions of Tori's voice. I feel the same about the male speaking voice at the 3:03 mark--that it's not Tori. Having spoken a great deal with Caton, I seriously doubt it's Caton's voice. It's most likely Eric's. [...] Be seeing you, Richard Handal, H.G. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 03:58:47 +1000 From: The Maier Family Subject: tori amos j-file interview hello peoples... well, this evening was the night [*finally*] when triple j radio here in australia decided to devote their three hour "j file" slot to tori. the j files are done each wednesday night and focus on a different artist each week; traditionally the slot features interaction with fans phoning in, talking live on air, and richard playing some rarities, live tracks, interview snippets etc. and, what can i say? they did a pretty good job - -- richard kingsmill's interview with tori was particularly interesting - -- she really had him floored at times! he was tripping over himself trying to find the words! :) i've transcribed the interview below for those who might like to read. he interviewed tori a few days prior to this evening's show. she requested that he play the entire interview on the show: [fading out the last strains of SPARK] richard kingsmill: "first up ME AND A GUN, and right there SPARK - the first single and the first taste of the current album for tori amos, FROM THE CHOIRGIRL HOTEL. richard kingsmill with you tonight, you're listening to the j files on triple j. ah, preceding the recording of FTCGH it was a pretty chaotic two years for tori amos. she toured constantly throughout 1995 and 1996, although she didn't make it to australia which is a real pity, but we'll get onto that later. she also suffered a relationship break-up, she suffered a miscarriage and then she enjoyed a marriage so it was a pretty eventful 18 months prior to the recording of this album. there was a lot to talk about in just 20 minutes. when i had the chance of interviewing her recently things didn't go according exactly to plan and tori asked for this interview to be played in full and i had no problem with that. rk: hello, triple j. john witherspoon: richard? john witherspoon. i've got tori here for you right now. tori: hey richard. rk: tori, hi. how are you? tori: i'm okay. rk: that's good. can you hang on one tick. hang on, the other phone in the studio's just rung. [in the background richard answers the phone and tells whomever is on the other end that "he's in the other studio"]. sorry tori. tori: that's okay. rk: we're on a tight schedule, i know, so we'll fire off the questions if that's okay - are you set? tori: mmm hmmm. rk: before we start talking about the new album i just wanted to get some sort of sense of the importance of your own work to yourself. when you look back at what you've created so far are you proud of the body of work you've done so far? tori: um... well, that's a funny question because more than anything it just reflects my life. i don't know if you're proud about it. rk: do you, i mean, are you the sort of person who looks more ahead than you do back? tori: umm... hmmmm. rk: because a lot of artists sort of get to a point where they've done four or five albums and they kind of think 'oh there's still so much more to do, so much more i've got to get out through my music' and i'm kind of curious to know where you sit, at this point in time, with the new album just out. tori: no, and there's so much more crap they can write, you know what i mean? i mean, i think at the end of the day, um, it's kinda scary, you know, writing music because you don't know what people are gonna think. and it's pretty vulnerable. ummmm, and people can be kinda vicious about the whole thing. so all you can do is like write the music and put it out there. rk: yeah. you've never been one though to hold back with your music. tori: ummm... you know, the... at the end of the day the muse kind of takes me by the hair and drags me and says: 'you know, if you don't respect me then, um, i'm never gonna come to you again'. rk: so you feel like, and i've read this before in your interviews, where you feel like you're almost a channel for the muse. tori: well, i think um, if you think you do it by yourself then you might have a really, really humbling awakening coming. rk: [laughs]. i mean, how much intervention do you honestly feel? when you're creating the music are you literally that sort of out of yourself where you lose sense of time and place? tori: no. obviously my experiences come in to play, but at the same time you have to realise it's just thread, it's not what all the songs are about. and you have to respect that, um, the songs, it's not just about you and if you think that then i think, um, the songs just stop coming. rk: why would they just stop coming? tori: well, do you write songs? rk: no. what? do i? no. tori: if you try and you get arrogant then you'll know why they stop coming! rk: but why does, i'm just a bit confused as to why arrogance, i mean, if you felt confident in what you're doing and you felt like you were churning out great stuff... tori: no. confidence and arrogance are two very, very different things. *you* know that! rk: yeah, i know *that*, but i mean in terms of a songwriter, what do you mean by arrogance? tori: if you think you're the only one that's creating then you're quite an arrogant person. there are a lot of them out there and they don't make records anymore. the ones that do, um, understand it's not just about them - whether it's neil young, peter gabriel, robert plant -- [tori laughs a little] give them a call! they'll tell you this. rk: so, would it be fair to say it feels like a magical process for you? tori: [tori is silent for a long time. you hear sounds of breathing, thinking and beginning to speak occasionally, as she remains mostly silent before speaking]. magical's a very tricky word right now, just because the americans really use that against you if you say that. rk: uh, okay. why? tori: well, do you know many americans? rk: [laughing] uh, no. well, i know a few... well... tori: [giggling, though seemingly very serious] well, stay away! rk: why? have the press bitten you a little of late? tori: i think, um, anytime you mention the word magical they get very confused on new age, they get very confused on what that means. rk: it just sounds like you're being very cautious with the words you use and i'm just worried that you've used words in the past and people have started to criticise you because you've just been very open in interviews. would that be true? tori: that's true. my grandfather taught me when i was a little girl to respect the spiritual world and, um, it's funny when you do that sometimes how people really, um, make this, i don't know, some kind of disneyworld, um, bastardisation of what that means. rk: yeah, i mean it's very hard to talk about that stuff and, for one, put it into words but two, relate sincerely something special you would have felt inside. as soon as you put it into words you kind of undercut the significance of it, don't you? tori: well, you've just put it perfectly. rk: [laughs] well, that's really a shame, isn't it? tori: yeah, it is. rk: yeah because, i mean, it can be something that's so enlightening to you that you want to share it or you want to just relate it and it is frustrating. tori: i think the best thing is you put the music out there and people get it or they don't. and if they don't, you just keep doing what you're doing and, um, that's sorta the end of it. rk: your music is interesting because it's not only open to lots of interpretations but it's also open to a lot of different emotional responses. i mean, i listen to your songs and just depending upon what i'm feeling at the point in time, it will reflect how i kind of try to get inside your head and hear what you're trying to create. and, therefore, it's open to many interpretations, many of them probably the wrong interpretations, in terms of what you were trying to create. tori: yeah, but the exciting thing is this, you know, getting inside your own head, not getting inside my head. [laughing]. you don't want to get inside my head. getting inside your own head, that's kind of exciting! rk: oh definitely! i mean, that's the wonderful thing. but you also reflect on the artist, him or herself, and try to just imagine or wonder, it's just common human behaviour isn't it really? tori: ahhh... mmmm.... rk: and therein is the difficulty in doing interviews with artists because sometimes you're prying and probing into their subconscious... tori: yeah! and i'm prying into yours! rk: [laughs]. you're not supposed to do that! i'm only supposed to do that to you! tori: yeah, but 'sposed to - those words aren't in my vocabulary! rk: can i just... tori: that's why i lived in the corner when i was at school. rk: what? you were isolated? tori: my desk was always in the corner. rk: oh, okay. why? was that a safe position for you do you think? tori: it's not about safe. i asked too many questions that they didn't like. rk: oohh - i see what you mean now. sorry! so, they kind of separated you and banished you... tori: yeah. funny that, eh? rk: uh, yeah. education. i mean, we could sort of talk about education and its limitations on young people but that's probably a 20 to 30 minute discussion at least! tori: no, we could talk about... well, the thing is, when you're the interviewee questioning the interviewer, what's going on in their brain, that doesn't seem to be okay, which i find very funny. rk: oh, it is. i... tori: you guys just don't want to go there, do you? rk: no, we don't want to be drawn into the process... tori: yeah... rk: do you know why? part of the reason being it assumes, and reflecting back on the word arrogance, we're as important as you are. tori: don't play that sweetpea! don't even play that card. don't hide behind that one. rk: what? you don't think i'm being sincere? tori: no, no, not that at all. you're hiding behind that so that i don't like tear you apart. rk: no, no, that's, look. i mean, totally, an interviewer's role should be to allow the musician, the person they're speaking to, to speak to their fans. i am just a mediator who, whenever i interview someone, i'm just merely trying to get them to open up about their work to try and give some sense of communication to the fans, i've... tori: i think you'd be surprised what sort of interview you and i could have if i could really, really sit down and talk to you. 'cause you have to know - i haven't told you *anything* that i don't want to tell you. and you have to know that i'm very, very curious about who you are. so be very, very, very careful because i might just stalk you. [laughs]. rk: [laughs]. yeah... tori: that made you very uncomfortable, didn't it? rk: oh yeah, i mean, totally. and i understand that the artist is only going to reveal a certain amount of their own self to the... tori: you have to understand something, i've done thousands of interviews, and you have to understand that i've been stalked many times. you have to understand that sometimes i'm curious about you guys because don't think i don't know stuff about you when you ask me questions. that just really, really makes me giggle sometimes, that you guys think that i don't know stuff about you just by what you ask me. funny eh? rk: i know. but if i can be bold at this point and ask you, after ten minutes of speaking, of what you think of what i'm saying, i'd be curious to know... tori: i would like to sit down with you with a margarita and a really good green salad and have one hour and interview you! and whatever radio station you're on, i would like to take your role and you have mine. i would *love* that. and i would really, really, really be honourable towards you. rk: ah, ah, have you assumed that i have not been honourable towards you? tori: i'm not saying that. rk: oh. tori: but i'm saying don't be afraid that if we ever had that opportunity, don't be afraid... rk: i, i would very... tori: and i would very much love for you to play this whole interview for everybody. is this live? rk: oh, no, no, no - this is not live, but this will get played, we're doing a big... tori: fantastic! because this would not get played in america. rk: no, no... tori: no way! rk: no, i, i... it would be on the edit floor already. either that or the interview would of been cut off by now... tori: oh, absolutely. so, play this. and if you ever get, i don't know, an opportunity to be interviewed, i would like to be the one to interview you. rk: you make this sound like such a threatening process! tori: i don't think i do! rk: i'm interpreting... tori: how many people have wanted to interview you? rk: ummm, not all that many, only a couple and.. tori: and why does it have to be threatening? it's just, i'm interested in interviewing you. that doesn't have to be threatening! if you think that's threatening, what do you think i go through every day? 20 times a day. [laughing]. rk: but you're making it sound like it's a threatening process... tori: oh, am *i*? [giggling] am *i* making it? rk: well, no, hang on, because you just... tori: this is not a dual conversation! you have nothing to do with this! own your part in this. rk: what is my part in this? tori: hmmm. rk: i've answered that! i've said that! i was saying that *you're* making this sound like it's a threatening process. tori: oh, i'm sure i am! [laughing]. i'm sure it's all my fault! rk: oohh, i'm not saying that tori! i'm just saying that you said that you'd want to sit down with me for an hour... tori: absolutely, i would! so, why's that threatening to you? rk: ahh, ohh... umm... to show me what that's like to have the shoe on the other foot, to see what it's like to be on... tori: so maybe i would be absolutely gracious with you and really compassionate. you don't know what i would be like. rk: i try to be compassionate and gracious in every interview i do though. tori: but who's saying you're not? i'm just saying i'd like to interview you, you haven't been interviewed before, i'd like to do it... rk: i've been interviewed a couple of times and, let me tell you, i find it much easier to ask the questions that to answer them. i will say that. tori: so maybe you haven't really had caring people asking you the right questions. rk: sorry, so maybe i, i missed that, maybe i... tori: you wanna try? let's try. let's just go for it, like 'what's your favourite ice-cream sundae?' rk: that's a very american question... my favourite ice cream would have to be chocolate. we don't have sundaes very much over here. tori: i thought every country had sundaes? rk: oh, they do, but it's, you know, ice-cream sundaes are kind of like banana splits with topping and nuts and all that sort of stuff, isn't it? tori: i never have nuts! rk: you never have nuts? tori: [giggles]. rk: what's wrong with nuts?! tori: [giggles again] i just don't have 'em on my ice-cream sundaes. rk: oh, okay, that's the vision i've got of ice-cream sundaes, but if i eat ice cream i just eat it plain. and chocolate is my favourite flavour. and vanilla... tori: yeah, see. i love chocolate too. i don't think you'd be a horrible interview, i think you'd be okay. rk: well, [laughing], that line of questioning's fine. you start digging a little deeper and you might see me squirm though... tori: maybe i won't dig deeper. that's my whole point. rk: ah, yeah. okay. tori: yeah, i won't. rk: so, is it fair to say that the interview process can try to dig so deep that it's just not fair? tori: it's just, it scratches so deep that i'm so ready for you guys that i wouldn't, do you know what i mean? rk: yeah... yeah. i've interviewed a lot of people, tori, and no one's actually said that and i think they feel it and they've never said it. you're the first person who's ever said that. tori: well, i haven't exercised in three weeks and i've got too much cellulite on my body so... [laughing]. there you go! rk: [laughing]. no. i think what you speak is a lot of truth, and i've often wondered about this process, but never had it confronted to me like you've just confronted me with it. tori: [breathing can be heard but she doesn't speak]. rk: so, i don't know if i should say thank you, but it's just interesting... tori: [laughing] i promise you, you don't have to say thank you! but if you ever need to get interviewed, call me because i really, really won't give you a hard time. [pauses before continuing]. i've been given a hard time enough in my life, i'm not going to give you one. rk: well, i don't know where exactly to go with this interview, because... tori: but don't you love that? don't you love for once not knowing where to go? i send you a big kiss! rk: oh tori - if, not intimidation, but if making me shake and squirm and question my every next question, you've succeeded and i, um, i, i'm not ashamed to say that. you've succeeded in, um, sort of making me flounder a bit. tori: [sounding sorry because she thinks richard has misunderstood her] that wasn't my intention... rk: i know it wasn't your intention. but as an interviewer, i like to maintain a level of a] control, b] consistency and c] good conversation and at the moment [laughs] i'm struggling with all three! tori: [giggles] um, okay. let's go to one thing because i'm really, really curious. um, who's your favourite formula one driver? rk: ah, i hate car racing, don't get me started, don't get me started on car racing ... tori: do you? can i just tell you something? rk: what? tori: i really wanted to be a car driver. rk: when? tori: nobody knows that but i really, really didn't want to play the piano. i wanted to race cars. and my dad didn't think that was a thing that girls did. rk: how old were you at this point? tori: five. rk: but were you playing the piano before five? tori: yeah. two and a half. rk: oh, okay, but car racing was a bigger passion, was it? tori: yeah and being a ballerina. but i was fat and not cute. so there you go. rk: you look great now, were you really a plump child? tori: oh yeah. rk: oh. was that, um, i, see i was always thin as a kid and so i never... tori: were you really? rk: yeah. i know big kids got victimised a hell of a lot, didn't they? tori: yeah, but i'll tell you a little secret. i only look good now because all the photographers, they put me in the computer and they slim me down. rk: oh they don't! tori: oh of course they do! rk: i've seen you in person. tori: i'm okay. you know, that's what they do. you know, let's not be naive - that's what they do to everybody. that's how it works. rk: do you mind that? tori: the only thing you have at the end of that day, right -- before johnny comes in and drags me off to do 20 more interviews, is that, um, you have your instrument. you look at it, you respect it, you play it and that's all you've got. and your self respect. at the end of the day that's all you have. rk: self respect and the instrument. and a respect for that instrument. tori: that's it. in the music business that's all you've got. rk: do you ever question... tori: and you know what? that's not bad. do you know what i mean? rk: if you can maintain that, that'd be brilliant. isn't that like the little seed inside the whole plant whereby if you can maintain the purity of that everything else you can deal with? tori: [takes a deep breath in, breathes out and giggles a little]. hmm. it, yeah, depends how big the 'everything else' is. rk: ah he he... tori: do you know what i mean? if we're honest, you've gotta be so strong to fight that. and for some reason i've been up for, like, 24 hours. i'm so tired, i'm being very honest with you. but for all those musicians out there, that's the truth. you have to know why you're making music and if you don't stay true, *somebody* will steer you down a different path. rk: hmmm. you are strong though, aren't you? tori: i'm not *even* gonna answer that. rk: why? tori: that's vulgar to answer that. rk: that's vulgar to answer that? tori: you know that question. rk: i know the question. i know the answer as well... tori: okay. richard: ... i just wanted you to reassure yourself that you're strong enough to go through that. tori: i don't need to reassure myself. rk: for the fans... tori: no. you and i wouldn't be talking if i didn't know that. rk: okay. i understand. ummm, this interview is going to wind to an end very, very quickly... tori: fair enough... rk: [laughing]. i've barely asked any of the questions on my page. i don't mind that... tori: don't you love that? rk: i don't mind that one little bit. often the best interviews i do, i don't sort of even ask *any* of the questions. tori: hmmm. rk: i don't mind that whatsoever. there's many, many things i want to ask you because this is such an interesting new album...but maybe... tori: but, but no, but you have to know there are questions i want to ask you. so, when it's time, call me. okay? and i'll interview you? rk: [laughing]. okay... tori: deal? rk: yeah, yeah, if you can be contactable. tori: you'd be surprised! rk: okay. tori: okay. bye for now. rk: can i ask you one smidge of a question? very easy - are you coming back to australia soon? tori: i would love to come to australia. i would love to. it isn't my choice at this point. [laughing]. call east west records, okay? rk: sorry? what was that? tori: if you want me to come, call east west records and tell them you want me to come. rk: well, yeah, i just know that the fan base here that you've got is incredibly strong... tori: yeah, i would love to come but, you know what? let's be honest - call east west records and tell them that you want me to come.... that's what this is about. rk: okay. i think they should already know that though. tori: yeah, but let's not be silly. put heat under them. rk: [laughing]. put heat under them. okay. tori: if you want me to come, put heat under them. that's the truth. rk: well, the fans are hearing this, so i'll let them deal with a lot of it too. tori: fair enough. rk: okay, tori amos, thanks for your time. tori: okay, bye bye. rk: bye. ~~*faerieblessings*~ heidi xo. [off to rest her aching fingers... *grin*]. - -- "i'm a winter girl; i like coming out when things are desolate and everybody's ready to slit their wrists." ~* tori amos *~ ------------------------------ End of precious-things-digest V3 #255 *************************************