Five reasons why Tori Amos is cooler than you think
Tori Amos is one of those cultural icons that is obsessively loved by her fanbase and treated with outsider uncertainty by pretty much everyone else. Though the red-headed chanteuse has sold more than 12 million records worldwide and been nominated for 10 Grammys, her widespread loyal followers are a surprisingly clannish bunch, making her orbit of baroque pop and eccentric behavior just out of reach—or appeal—for the rest of us. But with Amos gearing up for a show tonight at DAR Constitution Hall, The A.V. Club offers five reasons why you shouldn’t dismiss this wonderfully weird cult figure.
She’s a badass
Amos was accepted at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory at only 5 years old. Dissatisfied with the stuffy conventions and rigidity of her piano training, however, she began experimenting with rock ‘n’ roll sounds and improvisation, a rebellious streak that got her kicked out by the time she was 11. Really, any piano prodigy tween—or any tween for that matter—who defies her oppressive elders to the point of expulsion is clearly bound for awesomeness.
She’s a geek
While still an emerging artist, Amos attracted the attention of graphic novel demi-god Neil Gaiman when she referenced him in her song “Tear In Your Hand.” Amos became the basis for Gaiman’s iconic Death and Delirium characters—pixie-like personifications of their namesakes in his Sandman series—and she later penned the introduction to one of his spin-off books. The mere mention of Gaiman’s name may be enough to send fanboys into a tizzy, but on her own Amos also published Comic Book Tattoo, a collection of stories inspired by her songs and illustrated by 80 world-renowned artists.
She absorbs other artists
Many of Amos’ albums feature covers of other musician’s tracks. But rather than bastardizing already solid songs with her own oddball veneer, Amos makes a point of preserving the tunes’ core elements and emotional bases. From Eminem’s “’97 Bonnie & Clyde” to David Bowie’s “After All” to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” Amos puts a fresh spin on classics—and overlooked gems—by offering her own experiential impressions and interpretations. The effect may be initially jarring for fans, but her intention is more tributary than troublesome.
She gives back
In 1994, Amos co-founded RAINN—The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network—which puts victims of sexual abuse in touch with nearby crisis centers. As a survivor of sexual assault herself, Amos has been known to exorcise her demons through her music, but RAINN has allowed her to help others in more immediate ways. She has since acted as the organization’s national spokesperson, helping it gain clout among the country’s top charities.
She is academically critiqued
True to form, Amos’ off-kilter creativity has been analyzed by high-brow intellectual thinkers. Much has been made of her genre-defying intertextual references with Gaiman—noted most prominently by S. Alexander Reed, who related their dynamic back to psychoanalyst Jaques Lacan’s philosophy of the mirror stage—but even her provocative covers have been picked apart for their emotional reappropriation.
