June 6th:
Tori Amos loves Tori Amos.
Tori Amos is too damn talented for her own good.
Tori Amos is unconfortable with her appearence, and has been for years before the "touch up".
Yes, her plastic surgery affected me, in a way, on a personal level. I always saw the woman as one with steel integrity - idolized her to no end. But Myra Ellen Amos is just another human being, with insecurities, fears, flaws, lies and truths about her. I realize, though, that Tori Amos, the person, has never really interested me in the least - at some point I found her personal life interesting; I too once thought her as one with superior intellect - but let's face it, there is more paranoia and shallowness to this woman than there is authenticity and sincerity. Her political views are misinformed, paranoid and often times plain stupid.
Having said that, I know I should be focusing on the Tori Amos she gives more freely (freer for cunts that download and never buy): the musician- but it's quite difficult when Mrs. I-have-so-much-money-I'll-throw-it-at-your-face-every-chance-I-get talks about couture, travelling, how much her living costs and how much Husband™ spends on recording equipment channelled in a Parish-Hilton-wannabe vibe, then talks about how Give is about the recession and how terrible it is. It's like having a recently laid off friend over for dinner and showing them how much you just spent on a 32" plasma screen.
June 30th:
So evidently I decided one month wasn't enough time with this album.
In a world obsessed with small lighters and big cocks, Abnormally Attracted to Sin comes for the one who likes to pretend to be sexually sophisticated (come on, nothing sophisticated about the Fuck Me eyes, or a rim job, or a rim job breath) - an album that requires avoiding, at all cost, what Tori Amos has to say about.
All the poppycock and prevaticating really do prevent one from enjoying the album for what it is: a lust-enameled, luxurious fun gem that is very out there (the title track is lush); an album that makes her happy, seemingly. To expect her to write Boys for Pele part deux (not musically, but in the inspirational, progressive sense) 14 years later is just delusional - she is not the same person she was back then, and probably it's best for her own sake.
I like the fact that the lack of musical structure (Police Me, Welcome to England, Starling) is back on the game but, as a whole, it's still missing the way her former albums (namely, her first 5) used to coalesce into a huge pile of flawless genius.
While I enjoy the album greatly and still think it's a big step in the right direction from the last two albums, and the production is mostly flawless, I am a bit saddened she doesn't think of the piano, which initially brought me to her 11 years ago, as the main instrument- it's so buried in the mix you can barely tell it's there - however, thank jeebus for stealing music from the internet, coz I found solo versions of Fire to Your Plain and Lady in Blue (2009 05 28, some radio show) that tell me she's still got it. These are breathtaking and beautiful, download them!
Why doesn't she fuck that piano in the studio like she does live will always be a mystery to me- the mind boggles when you get to hear the two Tori Amos that are there: not Pip, not Santa nor Jabba the Hut - Tori Amos, the snobbish cunt who believes the goverment is after her, and Tori Amos who cares about nothing but her piano.
When she loses all relevance (within the next 5 years? You know her albums sales have dropped, significantly) and no one cares about pseudo-pomo alt electronic-acoustic music maybe she'll release an album where the piano matters again? Let us hope so, because as much as I love to hate her wrongheaded decisions, I know I will follow her until she stops making music.
Loving the album (and that amazing djembé in Flavor) for what it is and not hating it for what it's not.
Personal final tracklist:
Give
Welcome to England
Fire yo Your Plain
Police Me
Abnormally Attracted to Sin
Flavor
Strong Black Wine
That Guy
Curtain Call
Lady in Blue
I think the album flows perfectly like this.
Oh, and...
