Cover story:
Freezing that Frame by Jennie Alibasic
When I was out shooting for the book, Tash came on the stage after
a sound check and just sat herself at the piano, pulled the mike
close to her mouth and started playing and singing. I was amazed,
and I grabbed my camera and shot away. Then I told Mark that he
better prepare himself for staying out on the road for a long time
to come. I think more than some musical genes have been passed on
to Tash's little fingers and spirit.
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Feature articles:
Filking Tori by Lydia Simon
There is some disagreement on what exactly it is that filksingers
do. Some maintain that a filk is a song parody of a widely known
song, with lyrics that are usually humorous and based on a science
fiction or fantasy theme.
The Tori Code by John Higdon
"Original Sinsuality" speaks of a "garden" and
a "tree of knowledge" that existed "before
Genesis," before the physical world. "Sophia,"
the aeon of wisdom, insists "you must eat of" this tree.
"Yaldaboath," "Saklas" and "Samael"
are names for the Demiurge, who in Gnosticism is the equivalent to
the Judeo-Christian God. He is not the Supreme Creator, but only
made the material or "sensuous" world, and that in
ignorance of the existence of anyone else, including his mother,
Sophia. Towards the end of the song, she tries to comfort the
Demiurge by telling him "you are not alone." Perhaps,
as in "God," he needs a woman to look after him.
A Cocktail Party with the Dream King by Nadyne Mielke
The interviews, taken together, make me realize that Neil also
believes strongly in giving back. I know that he gives back in the
form of charity work for the Comic Books Legal Defense Fund, as well
as participating in charity events for RAINN and others. Neil also
nurtures his colleagues and co-creators. Many of the interviewees
spoke, either in passing or at length, about how he stands by his
friends, how he offers advice, how he helps move their careers along
by introducing them to the right person or project at just the right
time.
Secret Life of Bees by Becky Darter
The bigger question is what connection is there between this book
and Tori's new CD, if any? With only a few tidbits of information
about The Beekeeper available when this review was written,
it's hard to say for certain. The themes and issues in the book
reminded me very much of Tori's music and the things she's drawn
to. Further, there was one line in the book that stood out. In a
conversation between August and Lily about beekeeping, August
quotes her mother as saying "She liked to tell everybody that
women made the best beekeepers, 'cause they have a special ability
built into them to love creatures that sting."
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Tori Story:
Underneath My Skin by Heather Cairns
As soon as I got it done, I raced home and posted pictures [of my
tattoo] on a Tori Amos community. Every person who commented there,
or who has seen my tattoo in person, says how wonderful it looks.
The unity between Tori fans is, at times, overwhelming and always
beautiful.
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Multimedia:
Album reviews:
The Fires of Dresden by John Higdon
A young woman and man walk onto the theater's stage. The
woman Ñ wearing a short black dress, stripy tights, and garters Ñ
crosses over to a Kurzweil piano keyboard. The man is attired in a
white dress shirt untucked into black shorts and a bowler hat. He sits
at a drum set on the other side of the stage from his bandmate. Both
players are adorned with white face paint. The woman's name is Amanda
Palmer; the man is Brian Viglione. They are the Dresden Dolls.
You can buy The Dresden Dolls'
self-titled album
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