Rob wrote:
>Tori Amos poured her heart out on 'Little Earthquakes' and then had nothing
>much to say on 'Under the Pink'. It took the end of her long relationships
>with Eric ending to create the wonderful 'Boys for Pele' and her miscarriage
>to bring about the very dark 'From the Choirgirl Hotel'. It seems that for
>an artist to please their fans (and critics) they have to go through a
>personal hell.
I personally find this topic very interesting. It gets kicked around quite
often on the Liz Phair list, especially at the time
_whitechocolatespaceegg_ was released. Although that album does contain a
couple of songs that are more personal than any others she's written (I'm
thinking of "Go On Ahead" in particular), it does feel like she's keeping
the listener at arms' length through much of the album. The songs are still
great, but they just don't have the same impact -- they're more like
character sketches of other people, whereas the songs on Liz's first two
albums felt more like these revealing narratives about herself. A lot of
her fans do chalk this up to the changes between her previous album four
years earlier and that one -- she was now happily married, a new mother,
and more sure of herself than she'd ever been. Gone was a lot of the
turmoil and vulnerability of her earlier recordings.
I sometimes wonder how Aimee Mann is going to fare on her next album. She's
obviously a very gifted songwriter, but a lot of the material on her solo
albums does seem fueled by the dysfunctional relationships she's had in the
past and all of her record label battles. Now that she's married, happy,
and in full control of her career, she doesn't have the same demons to draw
upon. Of course, "Ghost World," one of the most fabulous songs on her new
record, has nothing to do with any of the aforementioned subjects, and was
in fact inspired by a graphic novel (sounds much better than comic book,
no?) of the same name by Dan Clowes that she had read and loved.
Stephen in Vancouver wrote:
>Can't agree more w/you Jim!! I never purchased either Hits or Misses for
>exactly that reason- the songs being out of context to the central theme.
>I have often wondered why these were released- was it a JM decision, or the
>record company's? It never really has made sense to me.
You never purchased _Hits_? I hope you have "Urge For Going" in some other
form then, because it would really be a shame if you haven't heard (and
don't own) this song. I bought _Hits_ just for the express purpose of
having that song on CD.
I never did pick _Misses_ up myself, though, for the very reason you
stated. I just didn't see the point, and it didn't contain any material I
didn't already own.
Cheers,
Jase
NP: Big Star, "September Gurls"
