Since the first time I heard her, I've loved Tori's work. Whether it's the unflinching rawness Me and a Gun, the fairy tale-childhood lost ballad Winter, or the kind of smoky, wobbly-on-high-heels tune that perfectly fits Playboy Mommy, her songs make a deep sort of sense, a reverberation in my soul, and in that of many women and men I've talked to.
So while normally, I don't "do" giveaways, when Chris Lam of whatIruninto said that Universal Music was looking for a few good blogs to share this video and give away a couple albums, I was jumping up and down, "Pick me, pick me, pick me!"
I love to share good things, and while I wish I could buy my blogfriends every single album she's ever released, funds don't permit. But I'm thrilled that they're letting me share TWO.
Tori Puts the Writing First
There's an incredible interview with Mark Shrayber over at Jezebel. A small excerpt:
One of the most unique things about your performances is that when you sing, even when you're in a huge theatre, it feels like you're singing directly to them. What does it feel like to know you have such an impact on people?
Well, you know, the thing is, in order to have an impact on people, your modus operandi cannot be to have an impact on people. You have to be a musician and serve the muses and you have to surrender, in a way, yourself. In order to empower, I must surrender and let them kind of take over my physicality. And stay out of the way. Because only by serving the songs and respecting them can you possibly have the correct intention, and the intention is that you seeing the song from a grounded place, a clear place, and an emotional place.
So in order to be that, your first thought cannot be, 'I wanna go out there and blow people away." That's when you're acting from your ego. And that's when you're performance is ego-based, and I have been there in my life, and we all probably have in different ways. But you're a writer, you put the writing first, and you be the best damned writer that you can be, then you can't control how people respond to it, but it's within your power to tell the story and in a way that does the story justice.
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| Tori Amos in concert during her Dew Drop Inn Tour. Photograph taken at the Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Do you see why I love this artist?
She spends an hour, hour and a half before almost all her concerts meeting and talking to her fans, letting them takes pictures, etc. She doesn't hold back, in her performing, in her songwriting, or with her fans.
Critics are saying that The Unrepentant Geraldines is Tori's best album in years.
Two lucky commenters, chosen at random*, will win a copy of The Unrepentant Geraldines, which includes the amazing song Promise. or, if you just can't wait,
buy it now:
*A lot of blog authors will use Rafflecopter or some other device to ensure that you not only leave a comment, but Follow the fan page on FaceBook, on Twitter and via email and reTweet and sign up for the newsletter, yada yada. I always hate being asked to jump through a billion hoops, and figure you do, too. Just leave a comment, and I'll be drawing the winners on Wednesday. (Though if you choose to Follow and reTweet and all that stuff, because I am cool and give good content, I do appreciate it.)
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