FIRST TIME REACTING TO | TORI AMOS "CRUCIFY"

[@ickabodcrane6359]

Live “precious things” really shows her mastery of piano and vocals.

[@danieljodrey]

My favorite live of hers is Northern Lad in a soundcheck with her daughters in the audience.

[@toriboy25]

I was lucky to see her in concert once and yes Precious Things was amazing!

[@maripaap6114]

Tori is a preacher's daughter. A lot of her early works like this one touch on sexual repression and exploitation in the church. Her lyrics are always really heavy and poetic. She's an absolutely brilliant songwriter.

[@RogerDidierM.]

This from her first album "Little Earthquakes" in 1992. There is not one bad bit on it. She proves how great a piano player she is, and her voice is sometimes ethereal and sometimes so strong. She is a top-of-the-scale artist. ❤❤❤

[@jeffpawlinski3210]

Tori Amos is a complex person and her songs and lyrics bare her raw musical honesty. She’s one of music’s most well respected artists 30+ years now since her debut even though she’s never won a Grammy. She’s amazing!

[@melissaisloud7404]

‘Me & A Gun’ live version will change your brain patterns. She is amazing.

[@carriemichelle322]

Gotta watch Tori live!!!! 😢 Live In Session Precious Things! Her vocals and piano playing is something spectacular! Erotic and such talent. Seen her live dozen times. ❤

[@dreadpiratexx]

Love love love Tori. This whole album was important to me

[@brheinfeldt]

Got bored one night with nothing to do, so got in my car and was cruising around Dallas, TX. Passed by the Bronco Bowl Entertainment Center, which actually had a very good Concert auditorium inside. Outside, a sign was advertising TONIGHT, TORI AMOS IN CONCERT... I had heard her name, but didn't know her music. Nothing better to do and the ticket price was right, so in I went. At first sight, almost every woman there had red hair, which I thought I had died and gone to Heaven!!&! Then Tori came out on stage with a full band and made me become a huge TORI FAN!!&! Best $12 I've ever spent!!&! The next time I saw her in concert, she didn't have a band... just herself and 2 pianos, and she was just as good without as she was with a band!!&! ❤ Tori!!&!

[@myopia2020]

I love this story! Tori's ticket's are still surprisingly affordable. She truly cares about her fans and isn't trying to rip us off.

[@baconwafers4928]

Tori has the most amazing energy. From Little Earthquakes to the track she cut with her daughter. Been to more concerts than I care to remember, but Tori's show live is Top 2 easy. An entire audience hanging on every note, on every word. Her video for God is insanely good. The energy for Raspberry Swirl...OMG with the drums live. Dear God that women is amazing.

[@almandragoran]

Tori has always said that while she has her interpretation of the songs, she believes her listeners interpretations are just as valid. With Crucify, the context is that it’s on her first solo album “Little Earthquakes”. When she wrote and recorded that album, she had been a struggling songwriter and performer in LA for 10 years, and had released a disastrous rock album with a band called “Y Kant Tori Read” that almost made her quit music in 1988. Tori felt like a failure, laughed at by the industry (“Every finger in the room is pointing at me, wanna spit in their faces, then I get afraid what that could bring”). She’s talked about how she needed to stop seeing herself as a victim to get over it (“I’ve been raising up my hands, drive another nail in. Just what God needs, one more victim”). She had been looking for validation outside herself (“Looking for a savior in these dirty streets, looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets”) instead of inside herself (“You’re just an empty cage girl, if you kill the bird”). At the end she vows to never go back to doubting herself (“Never going back again, no, to crucify myself again”). That’s my interpretation anyway. There is a lot of stuff on Little Earthquakes about finding her voice as an artist and a woman, and about pulling free from other people’s expectations of her.

[@melissaisloud7404]

Beautifully stated. “Dirty sheets” could also refer to sheets of music as much as bed sheets.

[@mattiusgabe7354]

Her 2003 live performance of Crucify is amazing. I love me some Tori. I also love her 1998 Sessions performances (her songs "IIEEE", "Precious Things", "Waitress") - her live performance and musical chemistry with the other musicians is borderline hysterical there. I love her videos "Spark" & "Caught a Lite Sneeze". Too many good things from Tori!!

[@ddiamondr1]

Yes, Tori live is crazy. My favourite song of hers is probably one of her her most accessible melodically: Cornflake Girls. The piano is stunning, and one of the reasons it has a soft spot in my heart is because my mom was a professional piano player and she absolutely loved Cornflake Girls.

[@Wungolioth]

I think you might like Silent All These Years, it would be the last of her songs I would recommend you watch the music video for, the record company had a habit of editing down her songs for the videos, even Crucify was edited a little, and a slightly different mix from the album version.

[@meriannestoneback7436]

Yup. They cut out my favorite - and the best - line from this song: "I got enough guilt to start my own religion."

[@ks5553]

Whatever song you do next from Tori, do a live version. She is one of the BEST live performers I have ever seen. I can't even describe how good she is live, you just have to experience it.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Tori's religious upbringing is an obvious influence on her early work. But trying to interpret her lyrics in a literal sense... well, good luck to you on that one.

[@willfromyadkinville]

i fell in love with her on the first note. this album was beyond awesome! every song was a gift!

[@sethleon2158]

You need to watch live versions with Tori. The pic on this vid is good one from 'WTSF' concert, but there are also lots of others. While she is a very good vocalist, & excellent pianist, very good songwriter, overall composer -- what I feel above all else is that she is a performance based artist. You miss that primary aspect and how she goes all in becoming every aspect of the art in the act of performing it when you do the official vids.

[@brianoreilly3035]

Love you trying to assign meaning in the beginning & By the end you switched to the groove of it. Fascinating what an artist like tori can do with organized lengths of sound and silence. Thanks again ❤it

[@quinjesuis9187]

Love it, love her voice(message) from the heart, why do we beat ourselves up over what they think, don't get no peace that way, sing(love) from the heart knowing that when you do it is you who you are, yes, then there will be peace in the valley, no matter what may happen, good or bad, victory or failure, you can pat yourself on the back and lift head up high and say i gave it all and did it my way 😊😊😊

[@ArenMichael]

this is still one of my favorite songs by anyone ever. I like to think it's the sister song to REM's Losing My Religion. her live performance from the 2003 Welcome To Sunny Florida DVD is worth checking out. the way she closes the song on it is stunning.

[@michyn4959]

She is amazing, I have seen her live and she is better live if that is possible. She also is the first person I ever saw playing two pianos at the same time live decades ago.

[@barbarapeffer9161]

"You're just an empty cage if you kill the bird." That line always hit me a certain way...

[@thelatentobserver121]

Tori’s lyrics are pretty out there. To be honest, I never really know what she’s talking about, but there’s enough there for me to sort of get it. It’s one of those I try not too hard to get.

[@scottNNJ]

Her songs definitely need to be heard multiple times in order to get the message … and even then it’s not all there. I’m often frustrated in thinking that she was so close in getting the message through, but she doesn’t quite go all the way with it. Maybe that’s the allure; the need to fill in the gaps. These days a Google search will reveal the whole story, but that wasn’t always the case.

[@Doppeldropper]

She has lots of unique songs, and great voice to sing them with great piano skills too 😊 "Winter", "Doughnutsong", "Sorta farytale", "Pretty good year" are worth checking out too 🤘🙂👍

[@ladylisaromance8129]

I adore Tori. Her vocals are mind blowing 🤯

[@davidcox30004]

This album Little Earthquakes is one of the best albums made. A true masterpiece of her talent. She is currently touring and is a must see in person.

[@andyh4224]

Thank you for reacting to the music video, it's my favorite version. You Rock Britt!

[@peterbland7227]

What a talent.

[@maysecm]

I have seen Tori live several times. She is great! She grew up in the church. I believe her father is a minister. She was very gifted at an early age on the piano and went to that renound music school i cant remember its name. Her song are all her own personal experinces at some point in her life. I once saw her and Sandra Burnhart was to open for her. So i thought oh some great laughs before the music but no Sandra came out with a full band and sang her behind off I never knew she had that gift it was a joy Love Tori concerts! Oh just one more thing Toris songs are up to the listener as to what they mean. She is very deep and i believe spirital advanced beyond any one church or religion.

[@brheinfeldt]

The Juilliard School, I believe, is the school she went to and was kicked out of for not conforming to playing exactly as she was supposed to. Their loss entirely.

[@meghangerhart643]

@@brheinfeldt It was the Peabody Institute. She was the youngest ever person to be let in at the age of 5 and was kicked out for “musical insubordination” at the age of 11. 😂 Their loss, our gain. ❤

[@openyourchakras918]

So happy to see you doing more Tori!!! 💗 💫

[@rantoppp]

Tori Amos - Me and a Gun (Live at Montreux 1992) is a very emotionally charged song. It's chilling to say the least. It's about a traumatizing experience she went through. It's heartbreaking and will leave you with feelings. Silent all these Years at the same concert is also very good.

[@wiseblood90]

Winter is a beautiful song by tori

[@MattJocks]

For context, she is the rebellious but loving daughter of a pastor.

[@SaraKvammen-tx7qc]

She is a genius piano player/composer/songwrighter as well.Very deep and brave.

[@justinsomething]

great reaction! tori is, hands down, one of the most amazing artists ever. i had never thought of the ending choreography in the way you interpreted it, but i think you're on to something! with her arms outstretched and palms out, it definitely does mimic a crucifixion - and the red pompoms in her hands could be a visual reference to blood (as could the red organza under her dress). interesting!

[@kileypaet8221]

I don't know why more people don't react to Tori Amos. You should do "Silent All These Years" by her next. Her Storytellers performance gives a little incite to some of her songs.

[@NoCreamedCorn]

Love that you’ve gotten on the Tori train! Seconding the Precious Things (live - Soundstage) suggestion. Also check out Pretty Good Year.

[@ThistleAndSea]

Tori puts a lot of herself into her music. It's almost cathartic. Her whole Little Earthquakes album is like that, the music just pours out of her. Britt, listen to Silent All These Years if you get a chance, also from Little Earthquakes. Her music videos are like little Art pieces too. 🙂

[@LaurelHicksYoga]

She is a piano prodigy. Started playing at 2 years old and was self taught and the youngest person at that time to be admitted to the prestigious Peabody institute at 5 years old. She is an incredible artist and songwriter. So complex. Listen to Icicle or really anything fro the little earthquakes album. It’s incredible.

[@NathanCline12-21]

Tori was so underrated in her time

[@jessicahimmel7867]

Tori is an absolute genius, thank you for reacting to her ❤❤

[@BenJammin1005]

Great song! Flows so much better the way Tori intended it though, they cut some pieces out for the video.

[@marieaug9322]

Shes a master of round about metaphorical lyrics.

[@mikerant4135]

New artist for me (old fogey) absolutely stunning lyrics and (for me) so reminiscent of half a dozen toxic relationships I had prior to marriage (fickle 60's - 'free love' isn't condusive if you're looking for something 'substantial'). Love the paino work, reminds me of Joni M, which is about as complimentary as I can get. Just ordered a copy of the LP! Cheers!

[@ShortyRock801]

Her nirvana covers are awesome

[@andyh4224]

Caught a lite Sneeze is another cool song!

[@user-cd7eu4wt9g]

This whole albums a masterpiece

[@TheEmpressIsIn]

For me, this track at its core is about the guilt and shame used by society (our families, friends, institutions) to demand conformity and obeisance. We sacrifice what we love and desire; and often our truest selves to fit in and make others happy. The chains of social conformity are heavy and limiting; so we must shed them to be our authentic selves and to free our minds from virulent ideas forced on us throughout childhoods and even our entire lives.

[@user-cd7eu4wt9g]

Yeah you nailed it sweet

[@awakeforever]

Tori amos winter live is next level

[@Bensbarking]

As some others mentioned Tori is the daughter of a minister and raised heavily in the church, so she has themes of religion in her work sometime. This song I've always felt is the way the church made her feel. I think its about her self esteem issues caused from immersion in religion, and that's why the metaphor of crucifixion for negative self esteem is so strong, cause it is the source of that negativity. Fun reaction again!

[@angelapublic8165]

First, up before I watch. Thank you for allowing auto-caption. I'm not completely deaf. I discovered Tori Amos before I lost me hearing.

[@RogerDidierM.]

If it helps understand, know that she's the daughter of a preacher, and that she was sexually assaulted when she was a student, I think. She ended a tour in Europe a couple of weeks ago and she will be touring the US in June.

[@farfromperfek]

Tori's father is a Pastor and was raised in a household like yours. I have read she said this is about living with religious guilt and her not being a Christian any longer.

[@jald20991]

I'm seeing a number of recommendations that Precious Things be your next foray into Tori Amos's discography. That's a pretty good choice! (Although I am excited to see you experience some of her songs from albums other than her debut) If you do go with Precious Things I really recommend this live performance. I've been stanning her since the early 90s and have seen her live around 35 times. This particular concert (a RAINN benefit show that was released on VHS) was *legendary* - her 1996 tour was Tori at her most absolute powerhouse insane (complimentary) and this was filmed in early 1997 and it captures the intensity she was dialed up to in the late mid-90s really well. It was also, unbeknownst to pretty much everyone, filmed just a few short weeks after she had a particularly tragic miscarriage (which would become the core of her 1998 album), and that rawness is very apparent in retrospect. (And informs the interpretive dance she does before Cornflake Girl earlier in the setlist should you want to check that out) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jajLppyGqbOWn6s

[@RockDocNeal]

Hi Britt, Tori is an incredible songwriter, singer and pianist and the album this song is off of is a classic. I think you would also really like the singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers. She mixes a lot of different musical influences into her songs which makes them very unique sounding. If you'd like to check her out, I'd recommend the official videos for either Alaska or Light On.

[@sirex02]

More Tori Amos please! 🎉Asortafairytale official music video!😊

[@douglasfrazier2856]

She wrote a song about being raped at a party - down south, North Carolina - a slinky dress and no escort, fair game - four men - lots of personal trauma & conflict to process in her writing - another big single is Cornflake Girl, but that's really obscure to figure out - a protest against female circumcision in East Africa

[@meghangerhart643]

TW: KIDNAPPING, R*PE, TALK OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION. PLEASE DON’T READ IF THESE TOPICS COULD TRIGGER YOU, EVEN IF YOU’RE A BIG TORI AMOS FAN. Take care of yourself first! ❤ She was raped after a gig when a patron asked her for a ride home and she said yes. He then proceeded to hold her hostage at knifepoint. He made her drive him around, told her he’d bring her to his friends, and ultimately raped her. He told her to sing church hymns (“And I sang “Holy Holy” as he buttoned down his pants”) and she didn’t know if she was going to survive it. She spoke really candidly about it once in 1994 and said that was the only time she’d ever speak about it in that much detail. She spoke about the fact that he kept telling her he was going to hurt her further. She spoke about her survivors guilt and the fact that she’s only alive because he had to stop to get more drugs. That’s where “Me and A Gun” came from. She changed some of the details, I think to distance herself slightly from it so she’d actually be able to perform it without it being a horrifically triggering experience each time. Cornflake Girl started with a discussion with her friend about female genital mutilation in certain parts of the world and how it was/is a common practice and Tori was shocked to learn that it was frequently other female family members who would perform the mutilation. This led her to write a song about the betrayal between woman. When Tori was young, the name they’d give to one girl who was close friends with another but betrayed her anyway was a “Cornflake girl”. It comes from the cereal and how there are always way more cornflakes than there are raisins. A “raisin girl”, which Tori describes herself as, are much harder to find. They represented the girls who are worthy of your trust and hold it close. Hope that helps.

[@icspots2351]

Wow!

[@openyourchakras918]

Me & a Gun live will give you some perspective on a serious situation Tori was in & yes precious things for sure!

[@TheQuietComprehending]

Even if we don't understand her lyrics, I know she means whatever she says.

[@gerstelb]

This was Tori’s first single from her first album, and honestly, you’ve robbed yourself a bit by listening to the “radio/video” version. Not only was the song shortened a bit for radio, but the record label act took out a lot of the piano in the chorus and replaced it with electric guitars, because they thought they couldn’t sell Tori’s original sound. Later Tori re-released the video with the piano back in the chorus, but this version is still cut up a bit. It’s missing one of my favorite lines: “Got enough guilt to start my own religion.”

[@angelamarkle7968]

If you could ever react to Winter from Montreaux and our Cooling the live version. She is quite something. Her lyrics aren't always obvious. She and incredibly talented pianist Ava her love shows are something I cannot describe. Give her a few listens. You won't be disappointed.

[@davidkoblentz]

and then you will get to the Boys for Pele album... welcome to the Tori world... I would say next is "Caught a lite sneeze"

[@emilybinder698]

I'll hold my tongue until I see you listen and watch more

[@sarahartz1721]

Where are those angels, when you need them?

[@mkgtweetytweety]

I'LL GIVE U A HINT 'BOUT THE SONG: "SHE'S A PREACHER'S KID!!!!" HER FATHER WAZ A METHODIST PREACHER!!!! LOVE❤ AND LIPPY💋, mkgtweety

[@scottNNJ]

I always loved this song. Never was crazy about the video though. The lyrics have her being really hard on herself and feeling emptiness, but she smiles a lot in the video which seems a bit contradictory. Maybe I’m missing something?

[@davisworth5114]

Tori Amos is a traumatized survivor of sexual assault.

[@Zagnutwaller61]

Sounds like she's in a bad relationship.

[@rogerdaly6326]

Tori to me always sounded like a Kate Bush wanna be vocally. She is a gifted pianist but Kate seemed more creative 10 yrs earlier. Just my opinion not the gospel.

[@sethleon2158]

I think Kate was a more creative sonic composer in the studio -- all the non-trad instruments, call & response background vocals some with deeper male voices etc... , also a much better dancer. But Tori was more at ease performing and more spontaneous with the way she combined piano, voice and song, and of course the better pianist. In some ways they quite opposite actually. I prefer to listen to Kate's albums, and Tori's live performances -- grateful for both them!

[@user-cd7eu4wt9g]

Why does she always do the stupid thing she makes herself a victim God doesn't need another victim why is she crucify her own self and ruins everything in a way I think I don't know this is subjective

[@swedeballsdeep]

She was accepted to an arts school at 5 because she was already composing music.