Tori Amos in "First Look Video in September 1995"

"THE TORI PAPERS #1: FIRST LOOK VIDEO INTERVIEW "Transcribed by Mike Harris

Date: September 1995



["Silent All These Years" clip]
TORI: Well, I talk a lot about being a victim. But there wouldn't be a lot of abusers out there either, if the victims weren't giving them a whip. I mean, you've got to think about ... I think about some of the boyfriends I've pulled in my life that are just ... low-lifes! And I stayed! I hung out!

["Crucify" clip]
TORI: I would get taken advantage of. You know, do things for somebody, and ... they walk over you, or ... want to make you feel like nothing.

["Crucify" clip]
TORI: I do think that there're times when we can all be pretty abusive, and we can be those victims, and we change roles with ourselves.

JAREN: ... is another great one, First Look Video 'Crucify', the latest from Tori Amos, who just happens to have joined us on the phone right now ... direct from her flat in London: Tori, you there?

TORI: Hey, Jaren.

JAREN: Hey, how you doing?

TORI: I'm doing pretty well. Just trying to catch up with the ... with the time.

JAREN: Yeah, it's about, um, what, 10:30 there right now, right? Little after?

TORI: Yeah, I ... yeah, I just flew in from Taipei today--

JAREN: Oh, my, so it must be --

TORI: -- so it's about 6:30 in the morning, body time, but I'm just trying to get adjusted.

JAREN: All right, well, we'll let you just sleep: I just want to ask you about that, uh, that video that which is another cool one: Cindy Palmano, you worked with ... *again*.

TORI: Again?

JAREN: Right. Uh, you guys, uh, obviously you're happy with her as a director. Lot of cool ideas on that one.

TORI: Yeah, she's pretty ... she's so prolific. She just always comes up with new ways of looking at things. And, um, you know, she's kind of a "sick chick", so I like hanging out with her.

JAREN: "Sick chicks" are always nice ... um ...

TORI: By the way, you have a friend there, a redhead!

JAREN: Yes, Gail, another redhead. I said to her earlier, I said, "You know, is this show big enough for two redheads?",you know ...

TORI: Yeah, but she's real and I'm not ...

JAREN: She's real --

TORI: Uh-yeah.

JAREN: -- and you're not ... well, that's, that's --

TORI: Her hair is real.

JAREN: -- brazenly honest of you, Tori!

GAIL: Only where it counts.

JAREN: Anyway, anyway, you're up to some other stuff. Are you gonna be doing some dates in England in the next few weeks? -- is what I'm told.

TORI: Um, I'm all over the place, really, I'm on a world tour. I just finished Asia and I'm doing Europe now: the U.K.'s part of that. But, um, I'm going to Germany in two days to do "Rock in the Ring", which is kind of interesting because it's me and the piano in front of sixty thousand people and we've never really done that before.

JAREN: Wow, and Elton John is on the bill for this thing, too?

TORI: Yeah, crowded house. Elton John. Um. It's a big, you know, festival, so there's a lot of people playing.

JAREN: Right. I'm going to ask you real quickly about this EP that, it, that just came out, which, uh, includes the new version of "Crucify", but also a cover, an interesting -- a few interesting choices of covers including "Angie", the Rolling Stones, uh, old tune, which I read recently that you said you liked doing because it's not a typical song for a, a, a girl to cover.

TORI: Yeah, most people don't think a girl should sing, uh, a song about another girl, you know? And, um, I think that's ridiculous. I think it's a really ... why not? It's a beautiful song, and, um, women have great relationships with each other. Whether they're sexual or not, that's their own business, but, you know, we--ummmmm, I have a lot of close women friends, and, um, I just got a kick out of singing that song.

JAREN: Yeah, well, it's a very cool version of this song, and, uh, I know a lot of people are looking forward to seeing you when you come back, they tell me you're going to be here in August, in the States again?

TORI: Yeah, coming back, coming back around ...

JAREN: Great ...

TORI: And, middle August I think we start up again ...

JAREN: In the meantime, thanks so much for the video, it's another great one, all right?

TORI: Oh, thank you, Jaren.

JAREN: Take care, we'll let you get some sleep, all right?

TORI: Okay.

JAREN: Hopefully I'll see you soon.

TORI: Okay, bye-bye.