I raise my Tori flag proudly. No doubt.

I recently read an article entitled “Birth of the Uncool: in Defense of the Tori Amos Fan” via Bitch magazine (http://bitchmagazine.org/article/birth-of-the-uncool).  Great article and sort of hit the nail on the head of something that has been rather a mystery to me the last, say, 6 years or so — that Tori really has become “uncool.”  Now, I never, NEVER loved Tori because she was considered “cool,” but yes, I did indeed have a pretty hearty group of friends & aquaintances who appreciated her, particularly in the mid-late ninties & about up to 2003-ish.  Then suddenly my Tori stickers on my cello case seemed…well, less cool.  But especially as a musician, I can’t help myself — I LOVE her.  And will forever.  She is the ultimate consummate musician and a total bad ass.  Her music has been my best friend through every major event in my life since 1995.  What more can I say, her music has changed my life.  And “cool” or not, it is worth considering.  It is worth revisiting.

I’ve already written (probably ad nauseum) about Tori and how awesome she is, but I really think the music speaks for itself.  I STILL think she is a phenomenal pianist, though I’m far more impressed with her material from the 90s – her live material, mostly – than from anything since Scarlet’s Walk.  But man, she is awesome.  Her playing, her voice, her timing, her originality of lyrics & compositional techniques (see: Springtime of His Voodoo, etc.) her natural feel for rhythm and nuance of phrase.  One word: superb.  Take this live clip from 1994…sorry, no Regina Spektor or (god forbid) Lady Gaga comes close.  (Trust me, I have FAR more respect for Regina than Gaga, no doubt, man!) http://www.hereinmyhead.com/sounds/files/bees/UpsideDown_LiveInBoston1994.mp3

I think the important thing to me, as a musician, is that no one sounds like Tori.  Her piano style and vocal style are totally hers.  Sure, sometimes her high range may echo Kate Bush or Joni Mitchell, particularly with the piano material accompanying it.  But really, they are all so incredibly different that the comparison may not really be fair.  Perhaps such a comparison is just cliche.

Who knows why Bjork is trendy with professional musicians & Tori is considered a little quirky & “uncool”

My sister did this as a CD cover.

.  Doesn’t seem like a fair evaluation, but the masses are a tricky bunch.  I would actually much prefer that jazz musicians NOT do Tori covers…oh geez, let’s pray that doesn’t happen (and I absolutely love many, many branches of jazz, so that’s no offense here)…but it would mean that Tori had indeed become…well, trendy.  So Bjork can hold that place, and that’s cool.  ;-)

Tori’s music speaks for itself…Nevermind the crazy, tribal dance at the beginning…and the scrunchy.  Tori rules:

A different era, but totally awesome:

One more clip; my favorite Y Kant Tori Read song and a great “running mix” addition.  80s Tori rules: