#To Venus And Back

[texaschainsawmascara]

Tori Amos

[knvsugi]

[xleggy]

Happy 25th birthday, To Venus and Back

[quitecontraryy]

Lately, I'm in to circuitry What it means to be Made of you but not enough of you And I wonder if You can bilocate is that what I taste Your supernova juice You know it's true I'm part of you

[persistent-wallflower]

Tori Amos - To Venus And Back

[thosekillerheels]

First, please don’t feel you have read this whole thing-it’s a stream of consciousness love letter. Dearest, dearest, dearest To Venus And Back💗 you are my second favorite Tori record, and my only “ all purpose” one, meaning I don’t have to be in a particular mood, I just push play and float in your interplanetary glow. If I had to describe you in one word, it would be LUSCIOUS. I’ll never forget Tori describing Venus on VH1 Women First as “a bleeding watercolor coning out of your speakers.” Listening this morning, I was taken aback by the perfection of every note, every breath, every sound. So I’m doing things differently this time-going song by song to luxuriate in your beauty.

-Bliss-the last cassette I bought “in real time.” Your dark, mysterious tone, your driving intensity of the last, repeated chorus, the timbre and tone of Tori’s voice (here and throughout the record), the “weird Tori-“ness of the verses, the “I said”’s. So freaking good

-Juarez-Bliss is fantastic, but it was when I heard Juarez for the first time, I KNEW this record would be thebomb.com. Only T could make just 3 piano notes so haunting and effective. The percussion, the “rubber band” twanging sound (obsessed) the background harmony, the lyrics, the breathy vocals and the way they trail off at the end of some of the lines. I always envision a purple desert(all the songs are purple. The songs and the album art mirror each other completely)

-Concertina-so light and airy, with some slightly jagged edges from guitar

-Glory Of The 80’s-it always tickles me that there’s HARPSICHORD in the very beginning. Another thing only T could do, make harpsi work in a song set in space. “Orbiting around”,always reminds me of Black Dove for some reason. Yaaaas Bugle Boy Models, Silicon Party Barbies, drag kings called Venus, and “karma drawn up in lines”-a nod to the prevalence of coke during the decadent decade! And yes, I bought The Story of O (in the wild at a used book store) because of this song

-Lust- my sweet, sweet, girl. You’re absolutely “one of my best friends out of all the songs,” and one of my most used phone alarms. Beautiful, ethereal lyrics, and a piano refrain that, like the slithery keyboard of Riot Poof’s chorus, never, ever, ever loses her shine. I listened to this song a lot when I was homesick at college. Love, love, love. She lives inside my bones

-Suede-subterranean, dark, purple and dull glowing green like electronic lights. The Pay Per View performance is my JAM. “Swallow her whole star intact-I mean!!

-Josephine-Such a dear heart. I love the stripped down recording against sparkling mental images of Paris at night, looking out over the city. And “empty like the Tuileries” always carries extra poignance as an illusionto Tori’s miscarriages

-Riot Poof- MY GIRL! sensual, reptilian, warm, a GROOVE. Another song where I love all the sounds. The chorus has been my ringtone since 2008. A VIBE.

-Datura-I mean!!! Epic in every sense of the word, withThe epitome of lusciousness. The Dionysian, ancient vibe of the the first part, with a pagan veneration of nature herself, flower by flower. The flowers of Tori’s garden in Florida at the time and a real moment for anyone like me who loves Tori’s speaking voice. Then “is there room in my heart…” I alway visualize flying through dark space among the stars. The zinging/shooting star sound is one of my favorite sounds on the whole album. Obsessed. Then we float out even further to the “Dividing Canaan” part-when the percussion, especially the cymbals, becomes a intergalactic ocean where we swim, and swim, and swim. The first time I listened to this song, I thought a new song had started, and was confused. Later during that time, “Dividing Canaan” became a vehicle for me for meditative, centering practice. I would balance a book on my head and focus my attention in a meditative gaze. I remember specifically using the book Naked Lunch, I think just because it was around

-Spring Haze-more amazing percussion. More purple land and skyscapes. I’ve always loved the slightly melancholy mood of this song, and the rhythmic interplay of the vocals, drums, and piano is a great example of the sonically detailed layering on the entire album-you really have to listen to SH to hear everything-like Datura, Riot Poof, GOT80’s, and Juarez. The deepening ocean is warm and lulling

-1,000 Oceans- Simple yet beautiful, the only landscape (Salisbury Hill) that evokes the color green. The piano mimics calm ocean waves. Another comfort song of love and protection

-Zero Point-This girl!! Another epic, another visit to a now apocalyptic Paris. I believe T made the right choice putting Datura on the record. I love how Zero Point was such a mystery for so long though. Datura and Zero Point are intrinsically connected because their “format” is exacttge same, and yet they are completely unique in themselves. I really took the litany at the end into my spirit and my identity when ZP first came out, and like Lust, she’s in my bones. I think a lot about the power of the ancient, universal, leaning feminine force the narrator has ascended into-she has access to the Om, the Vatican Library, and other “places”where sacred/secret knowledge of the universe and the self without Ego can be found for those who are dedicated to a spiritual quest of self and universal knowledge. Years ago, someone was collecting essays for a book about different things Tori. Zero Point/secret knowledge, involving the Mayans, Buddhism, and other shit. So, an exploration of a facet of The Divine Feminine. The project fell through, but I read a lot and researched, and I still have all those notes. Maybe I should restart that project for my own academic curiosity and achievement.

I think it took me about 2 hours to write this. This album lives behind me heart, a place Tori talked about while promoting the album. I love, love, love her. Happy Birthday, love; I’ll go anywhere with you(and back) always and forever 💜💜💜💜

[album-rankings]

To Venus and Back, Tori Amos, 1999

1. 1000 Oceans

2. Concertina

3. Spring Haze

4. Bliss

5. Josephine

6. Glory of the 80's

7. Datura

8. Suede

9. Lust

10. Juarez

11. Riot Poof

[pink-lemonade-rose]

The Waitress (Live)

[snakedisorder]

Tori Amos by Loren Haynes (1999)

[texaschainsawmascara]

𝔖𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔪𝔢 𝔠𝔲𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰𝔫’𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔍𝔢𝔰𝔲𝔰

Tori Amos official merch

[therealgchu]

30 day song challenge

day 11: a song you never get tired of - Tori Amos: Precious Things

day 12: a song from your preteen years: Peter Shilling: Major Tom (Coming Home), yes, i'm old:

[pascalishere]

girl I’m so nervous to venture further into Tori Amos’ discography. From what I can tell, everything after Scarlet’s Walk is just really boring. Not only that but all of her records are really long, so I’m going to be in it for the long haul if I do decide to go forward. Decisions, decisions…

[queenoctarine]

[kukushka777]

Steady as it comes right down to you, i've said it all so maybe we're a bliss of another kind i said, steady as it comes right down to you I'VE SAID IT ALL SO MAYBE YOU'RE A FOUR HORSE ENGINE WITH A POWER DRIVE I SAID, A HOT KACHINA WHO WANTS INTO MINE I SAID, TAKE IT, TAKE IT WITH YOUT TERRA-TERRACIDE AND I SAID STEADY AS IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO YOU I'VE SAID IT ALL SO MAYBE WE'RE A BLISS OF ANOTHER KIND I SAID!!