In “honor” of the release of Tori Amos’ box set at the end of September, we at RetroLowFi felt that it was fitting to do a Tori Amos Records on Random.
The box set, titled A Piano: The Collection, is a five-disc set of classics, remixes, rarities, demos, B-sides, unreleased songs, and five new tracks.
Oh, and to include all this stuff, this box set revises the tracklists for every one of her records, even combining them in some cases. WHAT?!
To prove to Tori that she shouldn’t be screwing with the early albums, you know, that ones that that work, we present to you perhaps Tori’s best album, Under the Pink, on random. Straddle it!
01. God. Damn. That’s certainly a way to begin a record. A song about how you can’t even trust God and how just maybe he needs to get laid. DAMN. Weird guitar noise and bizarre arrangements to boot, nice start.
02. Past The Mission. I’m glad this next song is a little calmer. You need that after being barraged with “God.” On this song, Tori duets with Trent Reznor in the chorus, and frankly, it’s probably the best work he’s done since his second record. At any rate, this song about being stripped of one’s individuality and culture via conquistadors and their missions serves as a nice juxtaposition in subject next to “God.”
03. Cloud On My Tongue. Dear god, this song is gorgeous. And not a bad move from nearly the end of side two to the beginning of side one. A song about cycles and doing the same things over and over again even though you know the outcome will be painful. The song starts quietly, then builds amid strings until the “circles and circles and circles again (got to stop spinning)” ending, then returns to being peaceful.
04. Icicle. Nice transition. This song is so ridiculously pretty, and the music combines with the lyrics so well. The song is mostly bare, just a trickling piano, which symbolizes either dripping water or wandering fingertips. And using masturbation as a method of discovering that religion may be not all it’s cracked up to be is a pretty damn good metaphor.
05. The Waitress. YES! Why can’t she write songs like this anymore! And how striking after “Icicle.” Utilizing the dynamic of quiet-loud-quiet, the song expresses rage and reservationy expertly. The song details how women deal with people they aren’t crazy about how still have to deal with all the time. Man, this song could very well have been my theme song for the past year and a half or so.
06. Baker Baker. Good job, randomizer. After a song like “The Waitress,” we certainly need a little quiet and subtlety. Baker Baker is a gorgeous song, and perhaps one of my favorites of hers. It’s about regeneration and healing. This song will absolutely cocoon a person in the right mindset.
07. Space Dog. And a weird ‘80s-ish bass to bizarrely kick off side two. Many people say that this song is a tribute to Patti Smith, which explains the strangeness of this song. Truthfully, I’ve never known what to make of this one. Lyrics like “racing turtles, the grapefruit is winning” still puzzle me. The dynamics in this song are pretty remarkable, though.
08. The Wrong Band. I guess this song had to go somewhere, but what weird placement. This used to close side one on the cassette I wore to useless pieces of plastic and tape. A song about not being sure if you’re in the right place in life, it’s a neat little one, but not one of the better ones.
09. Pretty Good Year. Man, I’d forgotten how much she did the quiet-loud-quiet thing. This song is great, though, gorgeous. Again, I wish she’d use more of this in her later career. This used to open the record, but it’s placement here is decidedly okay.
10. Cornflake Girl. And we’re back to violence. This song, which Tori has said was inspired by Alice Walker and African women forced into circumcision, is about how much anger and aggression women have toward each other. It’s easily one of the best songs on the album. After a mostly quiet few songs, it’s nice to pick things back up.
11. Bells For Her. What a lovely and haunting song to follow “Cornflake Girl.” The song, which features a piano ripped apart and reassembled to sound like a toy piano, is said to have been an improvisational song. Her producer just hit record and this is the result. That this song is about the fact that death is always a second closer and is played on essentially a child’s toy is terrifying.
12. Yes, Anastasia. Interesting how this random mix ends with the same song the album originally did. There’s absolutely no other place this song could have been placed. This nine-and-a-half-minute absolute epic is based on Anastasia Romanov, the Russian girl who escaped execution. It’s a pretty song, if not a little exhausting.
The result: not bad. While it’s not nearly as good as the album’s normal flow, this new order showcases songs that weren’t previously at the forefront. And that’s nice, but those of us who grew up with this record love it for what it is. Sure, these songs are so solid that it’s not hard for them to stand on their own, but the original order works and highlights all the right areas. That said, Tori, please stop tampering with the albums we loved, especially the classics. It’s fine that you want to release extra songs from this period, but as you can see, there’s nothing wrong with this record.
Emily Kane | 26-Aug-06 at 10:38 am | Permalink
beautifully…beautifully written and beautifully reconstructed. you rule, Nicole!
one thing though I want to say, is that my feeling about Space Dog (despite the somewhat bizarre lyrics, even when she said about them, “Lemon Pie, lemon pie, can you read me? coming through…”) is that it’s about survival. and the soaring major piano parts that come out of the heavy bassline are sort of like bringing your head out of the water. moving into a trailor park, everything falling apart…but “your feel are just on the ground”…it’s sort of holding on through something really awful strange and bizarre happening. that’s what the song always meant to me.
(and the last show I saw her at in Orlando in 2005, she closed her encore with “Cloud on my Tounge”!!!)
again, wonderful read!
Nicole | 26-Aug-06 at 10:59 am | Permalink
thanks, Ms. Emily Kane. i appreciate that.
i can completely see what you mean - a completely valid interpretation.
i seriously can’t believe i don’t play this record more than i do. doing this made me remember how much i loved this album.
Brittny | 28-Aug-06 at 11:24 pm | Permalink
This is a great review. It takes me back to my first listen. And the comments are familiar enough that I say “oh yeah…” but fresh enough that I want to drag the album out and have another listen. Never got death from Bells for her for example but it’s definitely there. That’s what I love about Tori… she taps into the subconcious and brings everything out to play
matt | 29-Aug-06 at 12:26 am | Permalink
Great article and very interesting to read. Just wanted to pt out that Tori has said “Bells For Her” is about a man who was treating her friend Beenie like crap and Beenie and Tori had a fight about this guy and Tori said for once her and her best friend in the world, whom she never thought she’d have a fight with, could not see eye to eye/connect. That’s what this song is about; hence the line “you have her face and your eyes but you’re not her.”
Just wanted to throw that out there. However– it is interesting that we all have our own interpretations of Tori’s lyrics. This certainly showcases the versatility of her as an artist.
Jason Sechrest | 29-Aug-06 at 5:34 am | Permalink
Totally! LOL… Everyone’s interpretations of Tori’s “sonic shapes” and
the words that ride upon them are totally different. For instance,
“Waitress” to me is more about duality. “I believe in peace, bitch.”
For me, it’s about how we each have that lightness and darkness in all
of us.
Also, I like that she’s rearranging stuff for “The Piano.” We always have
the originals too when we want them, but it will be interesting to see
her new take on some old songs.
Nicole | 29-Aug-06 at 8:39 am | Permalink
thanks for all of your comments, you lovely Ears With Feet.
i hadn’t heard that about “bells for her.” interesting.
as for the rearranging, truthfully, i’m terrified of it, but i can’t deny that it could make for some interesting new interpretations.
Helen | 29-Aug-06 at 9:39 am | Permalink
Wonderful ode to UTP. I agree - leave the old songs alone Tori….it’s one thing to here a live interpretation of an old song now, but don’t remaster them. I hated most of what she did on Tales of librarian. Some astrocities on that album!
But this - it’s wonderful. UTP defined the early 90s for me. Cloud on My Tongue - you can’t beat it.
Alex | 29-Aug-06 at 11:42 am | Permalink
Technically TOAL was not a straight up remaster. She REMIXED the songs, which is a big difference.
LE and its b-sides are in dire need of remastering. Will have to see what ends up on A Piano, but it seems from FAD it seems from what’s on Fade to Red that the TOAL versions for those earlier tracks are here to stay.
bee | 29-Aug-06 at 6:44 pm | Permalink
The song spacedog is about how you can have ideas or visions about something, and how all of a sudden this can change into something else, you didn’t expect. Your whole world can change all of a sudden. that’s the ‘racing turtles the grapefruit is winning’. you have your rules and goals, and it can change. that’s why the song has such abrupt dynamics.
David | 29-Aug-06 at 8:49 pm | Permalink
My interpretation of “Space Dog” is full of holes, but I’ve always taken it to be a sort of fraternal sister to “God,” “Muhammed My Friend” and “Marys of the Sea.” An attempt at dissecting the lyrics:
Space Dog
(A case can be made from the title alone that this is a mock-religious song, as “dog” is a backward (and earthbound) “god,” and space refers to the scientific name for what used to be called heaven.)
Way to go
Mr. Microphone
Show us all
what you don’t know
Centuries
secret societies
He’s our commander still
Space Dog
(OK, the Mr. Microphone part is just a guess, but I believe the silly name refers to those who have the power to speak–throughout modern Christian history, that would be ministers, Priests, etc. Imagine “The 700 Club” or a similar televangelist show with a man of the cloth preaching via a microphone. Since Tori goes back to Gnostic scriptures that often contradict those included in the Bible, such ignorant preachers as our Mister Microphone are showing those who know (ahem, literally the meaning of “Gnostics”) by preaching…and even after centuries and secret societies such as the Masons, we’re still living under the terrible reign of this “Space Dog”–this misinterpreted God.)
So sure we were on something
Your feet are finally on the ground, he said
So sure we were on something
Your feet are just on the ground, girl
(”We” could be Christians, the general public, the good-natured people…could be anyone…but we thought we were onto something (but by lyrical implication misled). The unresolved question to me is, who is “he” and who is “she” (”girl”)? “He” could be God, could be Jesus (reason for that coming in the next couple of stanzas), or could just be man in general. The girl could be any woman, all women, or it could be Mary Magdelene…who thought she was onto something, but ended up being persecuted (per her gospels) and fled to save her life and possibly the life of her daughter. In other words, she was duped.)
Rain and snow
Our engines have
been receiving your
eager call
There’s Colonel
Dirtyfishydishcloth
He’ll distract her good
Don’t worry so
(OK, my only guess her comes from the couplet “Dirtyfishydishcloth/He’ll distract her good.” With those, I can guess (without much evidence other than some of Tori’s comments outside of her music) that “dirty fish” could relate to how Christian history has maligned women by labeling them as “dirty” objects, and the dishcloth would represent keeping them distracted/busy by keeping them in the kitchen, doing their womanly service, as prescribed by the Christian patriarchy. So “he’ll distract her good/don’t worry so” is saying that women (possibly by way of Mary Magdelene) will be slandered and forced into labor, so men need not worry about the danger of women, especially given what a threat Mary M was to the church by being the wife/lover of Jesus. It’s about controlling women.)
And to the one
you thought was on your side
She can’t understand
she truly believes the lie
(This one could specifically be about Mary Magdelene, as well, as she must have thought that everyone was on her side, as she was Jesus’ other half…it’s about her (all women, all Christians/former Christians, anyone being controlled through religion) being basically brainwashed into thinking something duplicitous. It’s about betrayal, which Tori says in “Piece by Piece” is the one thing she cannot forgive.)
Lemon pie
He’s coming through
Our commander still
Space Dog
Lines secure
Space Dog
(No clue about lemon pie unless it is some kind of image for the sun (BIG stretch, I know)…lines secure I take to mean “lines” (words) that “space dog” (the Church) feeds us…so perhaps the pie relates to that kind of feeding…or maybe not. Either way, I think this is just an iteration of the deception of the Church.)
Deck the halls I’m young again
I’m you again
Racing turtles
the grapefruit is winning
Seems I keep getting this story
twisted so where’s Neil when you need him
(”Deck the halls”–Christmas reference, obviously. “I’m young again/I’m you again,” seems to be speaking to some happy “before” state in which the “you” was a different person. This could be an indication that the speaker has learned from all the deception that is revealed earlier in the song lyrics. I think that “Racing turtles/the grapefruit is winning” is just a recollection of something kids would do…you race turtles by putting food in front of the turtles, and kids might try different foods…so the one who used grapefruit had the winning turtle. What’s that have to do with anything? Nothing–just a happy childhood memory, relevant in the sense that it’s an emotional place that the speaker returned to, but she admits that she “keeps getting this story/twisted,” and is pulled out of it and back into reality…so where’s Neil when you need both fantasy and someone who can craft a good story?)
Deck the halls it’s you again
It’s you again
Somewhere someone most know the ending
Is she still pissing in the river, now
Heard she’d gone
moved into a trailer park
(Slipping back into a Christmas-themed memory, “you” could be the Space Dog/God, or the patriarchy, or the Church. “Somewhere someone must know the ending” seems to me to be a desperate sort of searching for the point of things, for a higher meaning to things, but expressing doubt. “Is she still pissing in the river, now/Heard she’d gone/moved into a trailer park” is the part that makes me think this song could be about Mary Magdelene. The Gnostic gospels say that Mary M escaped to France via the water, which Tori recently recalled in “Marys of the Sea.” These odd lines could have to do with the demotion of Mary M to a perceived worthless state…pissing in the river, moving into a trailer park…if I imagine, say, the most embarrassing thing that any famous woman of high regard could do…imagine Mother Theresa or Princess Diana pissing in a river and living in a trailer. The tabloids would be all over it because it’s such a hit to their legends–it would ruin them. Well, if the Church wanted to kill Mary Magdelene and she escaped, what kind of rumors would they start? She’s nuts–she’s pissing in the river, living in a trailer park. She’s not what you thought. This is slander to demean her and, through her, demean women and put them in their place–or at least shame them into staying where the men wanted them.)
So sure we were on something
So sure those girls now are in the Navy
Your feet are finally on the ground, he said
Those bombs, our friends, can’t even hurt you now
So sure we were on something
And hold those tears cause they’re still on your side
Your feet are just on the ground, girl
Don’t hear the dogs barking
So sure we were on something
Don’t say you know we’ve gone, Andromeda
Your feet are finally on the ground, he said
stood with those girls before
So sure we were on something
The hair in pairs it just got nasty
Your feet are just on the ground
And now those girls are gone
(The meaning of “so sure” changes here…it’s affirmative. So sure those girls are in the Nacy. So women are now in the military in the water, not pissing in it; their feet are finally on the ground; they’re finally empowered and able to stand. Those bombs (slanderous words?) can’t even hurt you now. Don’t cry because, despite this vicious history, the world isn’t against you and never was–it was just made to look like it was by people who wanted the power. Don’t hear the dogs barking–don’t listen to the men/the Church/dog/God’s intimidating words. And now “those girls” (the ideas of what girls/women are) are gone…they’ve been obliterated by those who know the truth, who’ve experienced the epiphany that tells them that their perceptions are valid…they’re not “on something”; their “feet are just on the ground.”
Nicole | 29-Aug-06 at 9:24 pm | Permalink
bee: that makes a lot of sense. just for the record, though, the patti smith thing came from an interview tori did. do you think your idea folds into that?
david: hot damn, kiddo. your thorough interpretation makes a lot of sense too.
you all are great.
Iván | 29-Aug-06 at 10:38 pm | Permalink
Este fue el segundo disco que compré de la Tori, y con el que me enamoré de su música, definitivamente un buen disco, pero no es el mejor…
Chris | 30-Aug-06 at 3:04 am | Permalink
Ivan’s comment, for our English speaking readers (roughly):
“This was the second disc of Tori’s that I bought, and with which I fell in love with her music. Definitively a good record, but not her best…”
Sady O | 30-Aug-06 at 7:39 pm | Permalink
Adding to the “Space Dog” discussion: “Pissing In The River” is by Patti Smith. It’s also one of the best break-up songs ever written, because it’s about the worthlessness of break-up songs. Here are some of the lyrics - “Cry me a river… You’re going to leave me, what about it? You don’t need me, what about it? I can’t live without you, what about it?” The title reflects the wastefulness of sorrow, of crying when there is nothing left to save. When Tori wonders if her friend is “still pissing in the river,” she may be wondering if she’s still being melodramatic about her heartbreak, or if she’s moved on to the trailer park, which is less glamorous, but slightly more livable. In a way, it’s Tori reflecting on her newfound status as “Queen of the Victims,” which she acquired in the wake of her first album.
the vigilante | 04-Sep-06 at 1:30 pm | Permalink
Hot Dawg!
I can’t believe there’s a conversation going on about my “all-time” favorite Tori album…To be fair, “favorite” can also be applied to other albums of hers, what’s weird is all the other Tori fans (sorry guys, not into the EWF stuff) I’ve ever known seem to have ONE album particularly that resonates with them…I’ve known Earthquakes Girls, Pele Boys, and one total obsessive fan who asked me if I liked “To VenuEs and Back…” she really said venues…
So onto my useless point in cyberspace, which is I am TOTALLY excited for the Piano Box collection, but I have a sad resignation due to the fact the Under The Pink won’t be included in its entirety…Call me greedy! But Space Dog REALLY should BE included as with Icicle and The Wrong Band…Would’ve been nice if they’d maybe left Cornflake or God off, ONLY because I have a strong suspicion these will be IDENTICAL to the remasters already released on Tales From a Librarian.
Makes me wonder if Tori & Co. won’t get the chance to one day take another bite outta my wallet with a STRAIGHT UP Under The Pink remaster, as she may be likely to do releases of ALL the albums separately as such…For now, the box set will have to do, and there are special treats when considering that the brilliant B-sides Daisy Dead Petals, Sister Janet (the somewhat “simpler” “sister” song to Icicle) and Black Swan are included (I’m not so into Honey, folks) and of course the previously unreleased Take Me With You (Prince cover, anyone?)…So all in all it’s well worth it, but I wanna know, “Where’s ‘Butterfly’?”
I like how the reviewer above “playfully” chastised Tori for slightly tampering with the original unadulterated work…As an impressionist stylized piece of art, it really is that strong, so right on!
Val | 30-Sep-06 at 3:39 pm | Permalink
Tori is my absolute fav artist of all time. Love the article Nicole, and this site in general
is pretty cool. Comment: “Racing turtles the grapefruit is winning”…I always pictured this as
two kids placing pet turtles at a starting line, and when they shout “Go” they also roll a
grapefruit on the side which of course is faster then the turtles. I like to read the lyrics
more as fun ramblings about little individual stories that intertwine, rather then a big story
wrapped in one…that coincides more with the “we were on something” premise where random
thoughts are actually introspective and run into each other (from across the room…for you
diehards). Peace & love
Nancy | 05-Nov-06 at 6:43 pm | Permalink
Space Dog is about tripping acid/hallucinogins, guys! “So sure we were on something”?! The comopletely confusing song lyrics… “seems I keep getting this story so twisted, where’s Neil when you need him?” BAck in 94 Tori was into the hallucinogins and this song was inspired from one of her experiences
Ana | 10-Feb-07 at 5:30 pm | Permalink
Sorry if someone has already posted this, but does anyone either understand or know the exact meaning of “Bells for Her”? I know it must mean something…I just don’t fully grasp it.
Nicole | 12-Feb-07 at 12:36 pm | Permalink
Hey Ana.
No worries. I’ve read Tori say that “Bells for Her” is about death, but people also think that it’s about a guy not treating a friend of Tori’s well and Tori being unable to stop the abuse.