Where have all the chords gone, Tori?
I could excuse a little homogeneity on Scarlet's Walk because you wanted to take coast to coast across America on that record. Fair enough. But middling piano bridges and Triple A-radio fare on something that is so desperately fierce like The Beekeeper is selling it up the river.
The terms of your probation are this: stop overproducing your records, Tori! Tori, Tori, Tori! Your music shines when its dressed down, not when its dressed up in tacky Wal Mart sun frocks from the clearance racks (which is eerily what I imagine when mouthing words along to "Sleeps With Butterflies" ... see what you've done now?) Stop it with the emory boards and let your music have claws again. Age never defies angst.
Lovingly yours,
Rohin
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Temple Stark
i've been meaning to say - this is a great piece. Equally a huge Tori fan. And funnily enough I like this album better than the last couple - more variety, more punch.
Lighter subjects for sure - but then you've got to think - well, its good she doesn't have to record another "Me and A Gun."
Still, I'm with you - I think she could do better. Goodnight.
2 - Eric Olsen
super job Rohin, thanks and welcome!
3 - Antfreeze
Only a Tori fan could write a sentence containing "chilled seats in the napes of their necks". Go see a.... chiropractor I guess.
4 - Tom Johnson
I pretty much entirely agree - I thought Beekeeper wasn't even good enough to merit the term "subpar." But I'm not a big Tori fan - the only album of hers that's made a lasting impact with me is Scarlet's Walk because of the beautiful sense of wandering through desolation and loneliness she evokes on it.
5 - Jason
I like the new album.
Yeah, the album lacks some of the sonic experimentation of her previous albums, but this album isn't tackling the same themes as say "Boys for Pele" or "To Venus and Back" (my fav. album). The sound should fit the themes and I think it does.
But I think it's improtant to look at the fact that in order for Tori to stay on Epic she needs to put out some matterial that will get some radio airplay, otherwise (esp. since Polly's gone), she'll get the boot.
Now that she's gotten her foot in the door at Epic with a couple of decent selling albums we will see her start to venture out sonically again.
6 - Mark Saleski
wow! tom, you didn't like Little Earthquakes?!
7 - The Theory
I think this album is heads and tail above "Scarlet's Walk"... Actually, I find it more listenable than most of her stuff... then again, I only own several of her albums.
8 - Erica
I see where you;re coming from, but as a songwriter I gotta defend good ol' toz on this one: music comes as it is. Sometimes it is 1454 chord structure, sometimes its not inspiringly experimental, sometimes it is just as it is. SOmetimes a lyric is more true than poetic, and thats fine. But if a voice comes and it needs to be let out, you just do it, and you do it for the honour and integrity of the VOICE, not the approval of your fans. Yeah, i like pele a whole lot more too. But this is a mellowing woman with a daughter who has discovered the truth of creation. And if Beekeeper is over produced, wtf is venus? possibly the most computer-fiddled of all the albums.Remember that the studio is also a composition forum. Mixing is part of it. Post-initial-session, that moment of " a bass would sound great here" is still part of the ever-unfolding process of composition. it won't always please us. But really, its not FOR us. Again, its for THE INTEGRITY OF THE VOICE, AS IT COMES, AS IT GOES.
9 - Alexandra
Thanks for this letter. Not only is it well written,but it is very true as well. I do hope Tori or someone close to her will stumble across it and read it. Where have the claws gone...?
10 - Michael
THANK YOU for saying what so many [non-teenage] Tori fans are thinking!
11 - Lance
Totally with you on that assesment! Right on!...are u really mailing it to her?..lol :) Happiness does not equal bland and over production..sorry people. Different themes just don't justify lack of quality...study the work of Kate Bush..class and quality at its best! :)
12 - Andrew
Overzealous fans may think everything she does is a tremendous work of art. True fans, those of us who were barely old enough to drink when Crucify was released, can be a little judgemental. There were songs back then that touched on certain aspects of my life. With this album, she wants me to relate with with Orange Knickers, driving a Saab and being a car.
True, Tori has a right to make whatever kind of music she wants-- but by God, since I have purchased every album, including the elusive WKTR, and almost every single released, not to mention attended six concerts-- well, several hundred of my dollars later, I have a right to say, "Tori, this album is a stinker and the highlight of your tour this year was the opening act." What's happened to you? People all over feel the same way.
Don't take my word for it. Scarlet's Walk barely made Gold and this over produced messed has yet to sell 200K. I still love you Tori for what you've done- but if you continue down this path, with these type of record sales, you'll lose your label."
This is the last album I buy without first previewing it. The days of waiting for a new release and snatching it up first thing in the morning are over.
13 - Tom Johnson
Mark, regarding Little Earthquakes: the events surrounding that album have tainted my perception of it, unfortunately. It is forever tied to a really screwed up girlfriend who pretty much determined that that album was her life's story and I'll unfortunately never be able to not hear that album without the nagging memory of a pretty awful period in my life gnawing away at any enjoyment I could gain from it. Luckily, there's plenty more examples of really good music out there to fill the void. ;-)
14 - Temple Stark
I have that WKTR. There's a reason its elusive :-)
Orange knickers - these type of phrases always smacks of trying too hard to be weird. Still, when I hear the song I laugh. Knickers is one of those funny words.
15 - particleman
hey, she's gotta sell records. it's not like she can sign to a major label and record a brash album (eg, nirvana, weezer, etc.) give her some time to feel things out. the music industry (at least the major label arena) is all about compromise. some artists think the compromise is worth it. cornflake girl and those other gems are also about 10-15 years old. people change, and so will their music.
but i also agree with the gist of your letter - where's the edge? without the edge, she's just another girl with a piano.
16 - Chad
SAY- HOW 'BOUT **YOU** PUTTING TOGETHER MORE THAN A DECADE OF EXELLENT, SUPER HUMAN ARTISTRY, AND THE STAMINA/STRENGTH TO TOUR ENDLESSLY FOR YOUR LOOPY, OVERBEARING FANS, HMMM???
WE'RE ALL LUCKY TORI STILL DOES INTERVIEW AFTER INTERVIEW, AND INCLUDES A SPECIAL EDIDTION TO THE ALBUM WITH SUCH- AN INTIMATE ONE AT THAT
AND BY THE WAY, GARLANDS COULD BE TUCKED AWAY BACK IN THE STUDIO AT CORNWALL, RATHER THAN FOR ALL TO ENJOY, AND FOR YOU TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.
PERHAPS SHE HAS SOME RATIONALE FOR HOLDING BACK A BIT ON HER INTIMATE MOMENTS, SOMETHING SHE DOESN'T FEEL THE NEED TO JUSTIFY TO THE MASSES FOR.
LIKE IT OR NOT, TORI NEEDS NOT FOR YOU TO 'DEFEND' HER, TO MAKE LIKE A SHORT ORDER COOK TO HER SPOILED FAN BASE, DOESN'T HAVE TO TOUR, DOESN'T OWE YOU, OR ME, OR ANY OTHER TORI FANS *ANYTHING*
-NOT A WHIFF OF A FART FROM HER SONIC MUSINGS.
TO THINK THAT TORI WOULD ENTERTAIN TAKING ORDERS OR 'SUGGESTIONS' ON THE ARTISTIC DIRECTION OF HER CAREER AND PUBLIC LIFE, BEYOND A POLITELY MADE REQUEST AT A MEET AND GREET, IS A *JOKE*
MUSIC IS A GIFT, AND AS MUSICIANS GO, TORI HAS DEMONSTRATED GENEROSITY UNFOUNDED.
17 - Victor Plenty
Well, Chad, if we could make music for ourselves, we wouldn't have to pay people like Tori Amos to do it for us, now would we?
People who don't want their art critiqued by others are always free to keep it in the privacy of their own homes. Selling your art on the open market also opens it up to the shifting winds of public opinion.
Surely Tori Amos is more aware of this than some of the fans who appoint themselves to be hypersensitive on her behalf. Otherwise, she most likely would have quit the music business years ago.
18 - Chad
"...Surely Tori Amos is more aware of this than some of the fans who appoint themselves to be hypersensitive on her behalf. Otherwise, she most likely would have quit the music business years ago......"
There's something to be said about not being so biting and harsh...and to respect the effort being made... and not making such a big deal of yourself as a consumer of the music...
Tori's not bulletproof, no, but she has earned a certain legitimacy and credibility over the years
Anyone with such an 'open letter' to Tori Amos so bitterly worded and condescending.... so lacking in tact... must not understand what it means to create and share art, nor... like Tori very much
19 - Victor Plenty
Yes, it'd be good if people were nice to each other.
20 - rohin
Chad,
Like a lot (and trust me, there are a lot) of Tori fans out there, I've got a love/hate relationship with her. I believe that at her worst, Tori is still strides above most musicians in the biz.
but I don't think that excuses what she has presented as 'The Beekeeper' -- I think this album is an example of an artist who has become overconfident. She deserves to be overconfident 'cause she's gone through all the trials and rituals that a lot of us probably won't see in our entire lives.
She shouldn't be making songs that somehow sound lacking to the bunches of us. But this letter is purely my own opinion and it's laced with some humor.
I'm a writer and I've faced a lot of rejection, so I *do* know what it feels like, but Tori's putting her musical to be disscted and analyzed. It's just what we do. And we differ in our evaluations of her music. As yet, I don't find TBK as riveting as I do Scarlet (and that disc surprised me in how much it grew on me...but then again, I dug the concept...and I can't even buy the concept that seems "forced" on TBK.)
Hope I've been able to defuse a little of your frustration.
21 - Chad
"She shouldn't be making songs that somehow sound lacking to the bunches of us"
She should be doing *exactly* what she thinks she should be doing. PERIOD.
I write film criticism myself...and.. I guess it is a bit hypocritcal of me to react so strongly to something so... well... critical....
Tori's *not* bulletproof, but I see her artistry as such a gift, and find myself so charmed with her music, etc. It pushes my buttons to see people, metaphorically or otherwise, taking her aside to point out what a mess she's making of herself
And, in all honesty, I think that's what your review reads as.
You have every right to sound off, but there's a fine line between getting something off your chest and being condescending and antagonistic.
No hard feelings *shakeshands*
22 - Anna
It should be noted that during the recording of this album Tori's brother died unexpectedly and her mother nearly followed. This is not meant to be an 'apology' for her music, but as we all know tori's musical life is her personal life and the two aren't separate. Let her express her grief however she chooses. I enjoy the Beekeeper! If you are a true Tori fan (I am using the editorial you here) you must trust her enough to not think she would betray her fans by putting out something incomplete or 'commerical' or half ass or whatever else. If Tori never experimented, we wouldn't have gems like Pele or Choirgirl.
23 - Roxanne Rieske
I'm 27 years old and have been a Tori fan since the early days of Little Earthquakes, when just a bare bones demo was floating around. I have always found her to be an amazing muscian and composer and have seen the progression in her music these past 13 years. Some fans pick what they like and that's it, but for me, I take in Tori as a full life experience. The new book has helped me in a lot of ways to understand her music better, and my apprecation is growing more because of my reading. All of her music, and expecially The Beekeeper, is drenched in mythology and pyschology. If you can't get The Beekeeper, then go read some Joseph Campell and Carl Jung--those two will open your eyes to a whole new field of Tori. Just because *YOU* feel disappointed with her music, doesn't mean the rest of us do. Many long time fans actually get what she is doing and appreciate her life and what she gives us.
24 - yoss
yeah!!!!! i agree with you Roxanne!
25 - Temple Stark
Rohin, This work of yours now has another venue for success, glory and taking control of the world :-) - and many more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a place affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
Also please let your contact know, if you had one, that this article, is published at one more place. That helps a lot.
Thank you.
(As well as being part of the first ever Editors Picks here)