Opinions on Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos

I actually thought Under the Pink was a huge step down from Little Earthquakes (Trent Reznor??? Why?). Much prefer From the Choirgirl Hotel.

"Little Earthquakes", "Under The Pink", "Boys for Pele", "From The Choirgirl Hotel", "To Venus And Back", "Strange Little Girls".

There's a lot of Tori hatred on this forum, and I never worked out why. There's something strange about her, she has this certain quality that I just can't put my finger on, and it's most apparent in "Little Earthquakes". A weird hauntingness. I mean, anyone who can listen to "Me And A Gun" and not be affected has something seriously wrong with them.

LE is her best effort, but that's not to denigrate her other stuff. "Under The Pink" and "Boys for Pele" were a bit too commercial, too Lilith Fair, but Choirgirl was a leap back into form, and "Strange Little Girls" is so underrated.

a 19 track record about splitting up with your long-term boyfriend, song 2 of which is played entirely on harpsichord with a lyric that goes 'i think you're a queer and i shaved every place that you've been...', a cover with a mud smeared tori 1 bare leg up on a chair cradling a rifle, 'professional widow'- a song that goes 'slag pit, stag shit, don't blow your brains out yet' about kurt cobain, 'marianne' - a song about her friends' suicide, etc, etc,

uncomfortable yes, troubling yes, personal yes

"got an angry snatch girls - know what i mean ?"

commercial ? christ no.

I HATE Courtney Love it has to be said, she's is evil. I can't believe she's sold Kurt's diaries.

What's 'To Venus And Back' like? I never picked it up because I never really got into 'Boys for Pele'? I refuse to buy an LP with cover versions though - I was really disappointed that Tori did that.

For the record I find Little Earthquakes amazing. 'Winter' is especially lovely.

Calum: What do you think of capitalism?

So with apologies to everyone who does not know my reason for not getting into this, my opinion is simply no opinion.

Anyway you sound like you're a 12 year old calum.

I actually posted it because I was interested in proper answers from postees that don't just ocme here to annoy others.

See ya at the Sleeper thread.

I find that her voice is almost like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. A female friend of mine has a whole bunch of fascinating non- musical (and none of them involve her sanity) reasons for hating Tori (I will ask her for a refresher 'cause I can't remember any of them except vaguely) but for more musical reasons wellhonestly I sat through most of her albums when I was at university and found every single last one of them mind-numbingly boring. She's better than Liz Phair though.

I like Kate Bush as it so happens though, and I know this is gonna cause some people to spit blood, her tunes don't move me in the way that Tori's do. Respect to Kate and all that, but Little Earthquakes is so beautiful it just never fails to relax me/ move me/ take me somewhere else.

I was going to until you wrote this.

''I actually posted it because I was interested in proper answers from postees that don't just ocme here to annoy others.''

But its fun to annoy others. I want my fun! And you're the monkey man! Anyway, you're not interested in a musical discussion.

What do you think of Diamnda Galas!

Anyhow. Kate Bush begat Tori Amos who begat Jewel. So Tori, as much as I like her music, has to accept some blame.

Whatever you think of Tori, I think it's fairly obvious that her line of descent (Kate Bush, Siouxsie, Elton John, Sinead O'Connor and Throwing Muses) is totally different to Jewel's (early Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, 10,000 Maniacs and lots of folk and country) with the only possible point of intersection being Joni Mitchell.

I like Tori, I can see why many wouldn't, but I think it's evasive to pin a disliking for her on the belief that she's "nuts" (which you'd rarely hear being used with such animosity towards a male artist) - use other words please.

I'd argue that she ties youth and sexualization much more explicitly than Britney, and further in a way which expresses as much vulnerability as strength. Compared to some of her tracks "Born to Make You Happy" is positively empowering. The eliptical nature of her approach is at once an expression of and avoidence of these issues -- just like the mushrooms/toadstools/penises in the album art.

Courtney- Ophelia
Kurt- Macbeth
Rosencrantz and Guildernstern- Grohl and Novoselic
Gertrude- Kathleen Hanna

Yes I agree, though its a bit over-emphasised but conversely under-analysed. I think Tori's "play" at being nuts is the result of a combination of individually innocent musical characteristics, and the typical refusal to focus on each of these elements and see how and why they relate to eachother, to unbind the totality of her nutsness, is a mistake that fans and critics alike seem to fall into constantly.

A lot of this ties into my vague ideas of Boys For Pele being Tori's most, um, fertile album; it demands investigation and inquiry, and yet typically receives it least.

I'd argue that she ties youth and sexualization much more explicitly than Britney, and further in a way which expresses as much vulnerability as strength. Compared to some of her tracks "Born to Make You Happy" is positively empowering.

I think I agree, but please develop this strand out if you have time.

The eliptical nature of her approach is at once an expression of and avoidence of these issues -- just like the mushrooms/ toadstools/penises in the album art.

Yes. Again, I'd like to see an examination of Tori's "neurosis" that didn't just fall into attack or uncritical acceptance. And if Tori - or her character - is an extreme expression of the neurotic in pop, as I suspect, then that's another demolition of the "Tori=nuts" argument (neurotics are almost by definition not nuts).

Dom- How do you know this?

I discovered Tori Amos in 8th grade and became addicted to her for a long time. I think Under the Pink is an improvement on Little Earthquakes (which I definitely think is a masterpiece, but some songs sound a bit dated today). I also happened to think Trent Reznor's performance on Past the Mission was a surprising accomplishment- he actually sings, unlike much of his work as NIN. Besides, if you don't like it, you can barely hear him anyway.

I used to be infatuated with Boys for Pele but the lyrics are so inpenetrable for the most part. It has some of my favorite Tori songs (Horses, Putting the Damage On, Not the Red Baron, Marianne, etc), but overall, it's spotty. From the Choirgirl Hotel also has some fantastic songs, but also some that I can do without (Jackie's Strength, She's Your Cocaine, Raspberry Swirl). Same goes for To Venus and Back. Many of the live versions of her songs are worth the money, and she gets credit for including Purple People and Cooling- two incredible b sides (of which she has many. Ever heard Alamo from the Talula single?). (

Like, the way "Tear In Your Hand" is this awesomely classic "Don't Stop Believin"-style classic rock epic, only with so many different hooks that could have been spun out into different songs that it's like a tribute to all three songwriters in Fleetwood Mac.

There is something so decadent about the use of melody in this track: the verses and the choruses are already devastatingly tuneful, but then she goes ahead an inserts a climactic bridge that is actually two bridges in one, and then just when you think she's returning to the standard chorus she turns around and unleashes this awesome counterpoint chorus that sounds like it was improvised on the spot in the best possible way.

Course I was blissfully outside the world then, road-tripping and holing up in New Mexico, so I didn't learn to ph3ar until I saw her (at the Beacon, iirc, Supporting Under The Pink) and, more importantly, her fans. It was like a revival meeting, and when they all primal-screamed the "bitch" in "The Waitress" it got kind of spooky the levels of hero-worship and personal catharsis and madness of the crowd.

But then she has put her money where her mouth is, so as long as I avoid the fans and the slackjawed love-me-love-Tori worship of even her most obvious clunks it's all good.

for mine, boys for pele is much more organic sounding and consequently has aged better. none of those corny guitar lines that plagued tracks like 'precious things'. 'horses', 'doughnut song', and even the bizarre 'blood roses' hold up as interesting, engaging listens. it still doesn't quite cut it as an objectively good record in my opinion.

i've stopped listening to choirgirl, but used to have a strange infatuation with 'black dove', so the fact that the album got its pennys worth in the first place stands as something of a testament.

the others i either don't know, or do not recall accurately.

Precious Things is incredible

Precious Things is incredible

-- Surmounter, Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:17 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

hahaha

=) and of course Mother

not to mention Little Earthquakes, which is definitely the creeper beauty on the album

omg the end is just right on

i can't even remember writing all that stuff above. must have been pissed off with my old job at the time.
it's a really earnest, well crafted record. a little too polished and identifiable as an early 90s record. but i can forgive it that. 'crucify' still holds up as a classic tune.

listening to the 'creeper beauty' title track right now. 'doesn't take much to rip us into pieces' indeed!

give me life give me pain give me myself again. nice mantra

one of the very few 10/10 albums i own - a wonderful, flawless record.

i think so too... i get the 90s thing but i completely forgive it

just rediscovering this. fantastic album.
only just found out about the great b side UPSIDE DOWN from this same era. should have been on the album, wipes the floor with most of the rest of her stuff.

I listened to this album a few months ago while helping a friend paint his apartment. So great! Her first three records are so brilliant, I don't know why I ever felt embarrassed for liking them.

nevr feel that way.

Too bad about the utter drop in quality since. "From The Choirgirl Hotel" had a couple of nice moments ("Hotel", "Liquid Diamonds"), but everything else since has failed to grab me.

Also, I saw her live when she started playing with a band and I hated it. Scene-chewing nonsense. Too bad.

i understand.

i loved the full band shows i saw, total energy and some really incredible reworkings of old stuff.

'upside down' is gorgeous yes, britney's 'everytime' reminds me of it. favourite tori b-sides: 'honey', 'bachelorette', 'here. in my head', 'sister janet', 'do it again'

released T W E N T Y years ago today. TWENTY!

NME has this: http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=148&p=11691&title=on_this_day_tori_amos_releases_little_ea_1991&more=1&c=1

i'm going to listen to the whole damn thing...