Cover story: The Flying Dutchman Touches Base by Angela Bacon Reid I've gotten to watch Tori both write and record (for LE and UtP) and it's really an astounding thing to witness, like you're seeing some kind of supernatural manifestation... Whenever she'd play stuff she was writing and ask for my opinion, I'd have to go in the other room and listen while she played because she's such a powerful performer, you'd get drawn in to the song by her performance, rather than just listening to the composition... [One time] I was doing dishes in the kitchen and she was plunking about on the piano and all of a sudden there's that wonderful staccato attack on the piano that's the beginning of ["Precious Things"]. I dropped the plate I was washing and went tearing into the living room screaming, "THAT is IT!" It was (and still is) one of my favorite songs of hers, regardless of being there when she wrote it, because that riff is just so fucking perfect.

Feature articles: Fans Plug In by Rob Woiccak Following three successful and critically-acclaimed tours performing on her own at the piano, Tori brought a band on tour with her in 1998 to support the release of From the Choirgirl Hotel. By [then], Tori Amos bootlegs had gone from being something that the average fan could buy to something the average fan could create, and the focus shifted from "commercial" boots to CD-R copies traded between tapers and fans. Compiling Tori by Nadyne Mielke Every winter, radio stations across the US release compilation albums to benefit charities. Some radio stations, like KFOG in San Francisco or KBCO in Boulder, do this every year; others do it occasionally. Recently, seven radio stations included Tori tracks on their compilations. Which should you try to find? You can buy This is Alice Music, Volume 7 online from Amazon. It includes a live acoustic version of 'A Sorta Fairytale'.

Ask the Expert: Ask the Expert by Nadyne Mielke Our expert answers your questions about "Concertina" and other collectible singles, promotional kits, and other merchandise. You can buy the "Concertina" CD single at Amazon!

Multimedia: Album review: Warm Awakening by John Higdon The piano is central to Waking Hour. Indeed, roughly half the songs, sprinkled evenly throughout, are like that live performance: just her and a piano. On the rest, she's accompanied by a band of mostly standard instruments, but at all times these other sounds take a back seat while the piano drives. Percussion and bass serve to underscore the melody, while electric guitar is mainly around to provide haunting atmosphere. You can buy Vienna Teng's first album, Waking Hour, and her second album, Warm Strangers (pictured, left) from Amazon!

Reader submission: Although the song had nothing to do with diabetes, I listened to "Yes Anastasia" on repeat for months. When I drove up Empire Grade through the eerie woods towards my isolated residence in Bonny Doon, the words "we'll see how brave you are" booming from my CD player prevented me from wanting to jerk the steering wheel, hoping to hit a tree. The song, somehow, urged me to be strong.