News: Here A Tori, There A Tori (June 11, 2007)

[Here a Tori, There a Tori is an occasional and recurring column that rounds up any small, recent Tori sightings.]

In this episode:

• Tori in Alternative Press’ 22nd Anniversary List
• Jem loves Little Earthquakes
• “Northern Lad” featured in Snow Cake
• Odd Tori Metaphor in Women’s Health
• Covers Galore
• Tori Mentioned in Article on Covers
• Lionel Shriver Novel Mentions Tori Twice
• YKTR Gets Props From American Way
• Separated At Birth: Tori and … Tinky Winky?

Kevin D tipped us off to a Tori mention in the July 2007 issue of Alternative Press. AP is celebrating its 22nd anniversary with a series of lists, and Tori’s in one related to favorite photos. Check it out.

Pete B, like some of you, remembers the Jem cartoon from the 1980s, but who knew that Jem had her own MySpace page? Or that Jem counts Little Earthquakes among her Top 10 albums of all time?

Jared stopped by to let us know that a little bit of “Northern Lad” plays during Sigourney Weaver’s movie Snow Cake.

iieeeyore noticed that Tori earned a mention in the June 2007 issue of Women’s Health magazine. Oddly, it was in a section on weddings, and it said, “ ... It’s hard to believe that just 30 years ago, marriage was a woman’s ticket to financial security, and dual-income families were as rare as a redneck at a Tori Amos concert … “ Do you think they were reaching for that particular metaphor? Hmm?

In Tori covers news, Zwerg recently performed “Sister Janet” at the Music New Brunswick Week showcase. You can see the performance in this video — Zwerg’s moment kicks off at the 4:12 mark. Meanwhile, the band Evans Blue covers “Caught a Lite Sneeze” on its new album, The Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal of Life Ends, due out July 24. Thanks, Douglas! Summer H pointed out that musician Matthew Luke Sandoval has done lots of Tori covers, all of which are available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

And in meta-covers news, Tori was featured in a mid-May London Sunday Times Culture Magazine article on cover songs, according to Alison. Here’s the context, for full effect:

“The fourth way — the hardest — is to somehow turn in a performance that matches the intensity of the original. The Stranglers managed it when they hurled their way through Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By.” David Bowie also succeeded when he ran through a fairly faithful version of Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play,” as did Tori Amos when she gave her distinctive interpretation of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Lionel Shriver’s new novel, The Post-Birthday World, mentions Tori twice in the span of two pages: “Later she played the sappy music Lawrence detested – Shawn Colvin, Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos … “ (p. 15) and “And oh dear, she had cranked up Little Earthquakes so high that a downstairs neighbor had arrived at the door in a bathrobe to complain.” (p. 16) Thanks, jay!

Kevin points out that AmericanWay. American Airlines’ in-flight magazine, has included Y Kant Tori Read in their list of underrated albums from the 1980s, which appears in their June issue as a sidebar an article about the leading voices of decade of rock music. Of YKTR, they say:

Amos’s long-lost debut is a footnote in her fantastic career — it hit the bargain bins really fast — but it presents her in a more traditional (and fun) pop setting, featuring the spunky “Pirates”; funky pop-rock “The Big Picture”; and delicate, piano-driven “Etienne Trilogy.” Members of Cheap Trick and Guns N’ Roses also surface. The album is out of print, but check eBay and secondhand stores.

And, last but most certainly not least, Say No to Crack reveals MyHeritage’s claim that Tori Amos resembles Tinky Winky. What, you don’t see it?