For each artist in your top 10 artists, name
- your favorite song
- your favorite album
- your favorite lyrics
- how you got started listening to them
- last played
1. Tori Amos
Favourite song : This is a nearly impossible task since I love nearly every song this woman has ever composed. I guess I will say
Spark since this is the first Tori song I fell in love with. I love everything about it, including the dark ambient melody and the brilliant and complex metaphor-laden lyrics.
Favourite album : I have to say
Little Earthquakes This album changed my life when I heard it at 17 years old. I think it is her most personal album. It may not be the strongest musically, it has that annoying early 90s adult contempo feel to it at times, but I can relate to each song in some way. Tori really tore open her soul and let the contents bleed onto the tracks of this album. She does that in some way with every album, but I think she does it the best with Little Earthquakes.
Favourite lyrics : I have to go with the lyrics of "Precious Things" I think the entire song contains some of the best and most unique lyrics ever written. I especially love the lines "so you can make me cum that doesn't make you Jesus" and the line about the "demigods" and their "nine inch nails and little fascist panties" This song could serve as a biographical account of my pre-teen years.
How I started listening : It is embarrassing to say as a Toriphile, but I bought Strange Little Girls after hearing the title track on the radio. I always liked her songs, like Spark, but I did not know who did them. I hated SLG as a whole, but I loved the song Rattlesnakes enough to check out Little Earthquakes and Choirgirl, which I loved with all my heart.
Last Played : I played her wonderful cover of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" just a few minutes ago.
2. Fiona Apple
Favourite song :
Paper Bag for sure. This is my all-time favorite song. I love the melody and the lyrics are pretty much an accurate portrayal of my love life lol.
Favourite album : I love them all, but
When the Pawn was an album that I could really relate to in high school. It is so angsty, yet incredibly poetic.
Favourite lyrics : I love all of her lyrics. I can relate to them all in some way, but I would have to say all the lyrics to "The Way Things Are" could be mistaken for my life story <3 I especially love the chorus "Keep on calling me names keep on keep on. I'll keep kicking the crap till it's gone" It is so simple yet incredibly powerful.
How I started listening : I heard "Fast as You Can" on the radio when it came out in 1999 when I was 15. My mom's friend had both Tidal and When the Pawn, so I borrowed them from her. I fell in love with her instantly after hearing them.
Last Played : I played "To Your Love" a couple days ago. I haven't been listening to her as much because I have been burnt out on her music. Unlike Tori who has 80 million songs, Fiona only has 3 albums and a few cover songs. I can only listen to so much of the same stuff. I still love her, I always will, but I need a break.
3. Regina Spektor
Favourite song : This is a tough one. Right now, my favorite song by her is an unreleased track called
A cannon The melody is absolutely stunning and the lyrics represent everything I love about Regina. It contains simple language yet brilliant and complex metaphors and that quirkiness that makes Regina unique and wonderful.
Favourite album :
11:11 I really prefer obscure underground Regina to popular mainstream Regina, though I love the major label stuff too. Every single song on this album is brilliant. I think this album contains some of her best lyrics as well.
Favourite lyrics : I think I have to pick the lyrics of "Pavlov's Daughter" I think this song contains some of the most unique and intelligent lyrics ever written. I especially love the lines "If I hear another song about angels If I see another feather on the dumb-box
I'm gonna go to Babylon and get me some whiskey
Gonna go to Babylon and get me some whiskey now..."
How I started listening : I saw the video for "Us" a few years ago when Soviet Kitsch came out. I thought it was so beautiful I went out and bought the album the next day. I did not appreciate Regina's eccentric songs and persona back then, so the album just sat on my shelf. It wasn't until Begin to Hope came out that my interest in her was rekindled. I listened to Soviet Kitsch again and then I loved it more than BTH!
Last Played : I listened to "Bartender" about a half hour ago.
4. Aimee Mann
Favourite song :
You Could Make A Killing this is the song that made me fall in love with her. I love the moody electric guitar melody, her melancholy vocals, and the lyrics.
Favourite album : I have to say
I'm With Stupid. This was my first Aimee album. Though some songs are better than others, I like each track in its own way.
Favourite lyrics : All her lyrics are great. I really love the lyrics to "It's Not Safe" since I can relate to them so much. "Don't you know that you're a fucking freak in this world?"
How I started listening : I heard "You Could Make a Killing" in the movie Cruel Intentions. I loved it so much I bought the soundtrack and played the song on repeat for months.
Last Played : I played "Amateur" a couple hours ago.
5. PJ Harvey
Favourite song :
Down By The Water I love everything about this song. The haunting melody and lyrics are incredible.
Favourite album : I love the first four so much, but I have always had a predilection for
To Bring You My Love
Favourite lyrics : The lyrics to "Sheela-Na-Gig" are absolutely brilliant. I especially love the lines "Gonna wash that man right out of my hair" and "Gonna take my hips to a man who cares" It is my favorite song about the pain of unrequited love
How I started listening : I had heard a lot of buzz about Stories from the City... and had seen the video for This is Love. I was intrigued by her and the album, but I did not fall in love with her until I decided to buy Dry, which is one of my favorite albums ever.
Last Played : I played "One Time Too Many" a couple hours ago.
6. Ani DiFranco
Favourite song :
32 Flavors This is the first Ani song I fell in love with. I can really relate to the lyrics and the melody is so beautiful and mellow.
Favourite album :
Not a Pretty Girl I love everything about this album, including its title and artwork, done by Ani herself. I think this contains her best songs as well.
Favourite lyrics : All of her lyrics are brilliant, but the ones to "32 Flavors" are very important to me. I especially love these lines: "Squint your eyes and look closer I'm not between you and your ambition I am a poster girl with no poster I am thirty-two flavors and then some And I'm beyond your peripheral vision So you might want to turn your head Cause someday you might find you're starving And eating all of the words you said"
How I started listening : I had heard a lot about her on a local indie radio station. I actually bought Not a Pretty Girl on a whim after hearing so many good things.
Last Played : I heard a few songs by her earlier today.
7. Kate Bush
Favourite song :
Running Up That Hill This is the song that made me fall in love with her music. I never get sick of it.
Favourite album :
Hounds of Love This was my first Kate album. I think it is incredible. Every song is a gem. I love the Dreaming too, but this one will always be special to me.
Favourite lyrics : I love the lyrics to "Hounds of Love" especially the lines "Now hounds of love are hunting I've always been a coward, And I don't know what's good for me" I can really relate to those lines.
How I started listening : I listened to her the same reason many people did. I was a huge fan of Tori's and everyone was saying that Kate was like the British Tori of the 80s. I don't necessarily agree with this, but I am grateful I checked her out.
Last Played : A couple days ago.
8. Garbage
Favourite Song :
Only Happy When It Rains This will always be special to me since it was my theme song when I was an angst-ridden, moody, pseudo-goth teenager.
Favourite album :
Garbage Even though Version 2.0 was my first Garbage album, I think that the debut album is much better. I love v 2.0 too, but I like the songs on the self titled more.
Favourite lyrics : The lyrics to "Only Happy When It Rains" "I only smile in the dark My only comfort is the night gone black"
How I started listening : I bought Version 2.0 when I was fourteen after seeing the video for "I Think I'm Paranoid" and loving the song.
Last Played : Two days ago.
9. Liz Phair
Favourite Song :
Divorce Song This is my favorite track from Exile In Guyvile and one of the first songs I really loved by her. I love the melody and I like the lyrics. They are written in simple language, yet she crafts many metaphors that effectively illustrate the details of a failed romantic relationship
Favourite album :
Exile in Guyville This is Liz's indisputable masterpiece. No other album she has done compares to this one.
Favourite lyrics : "You put in my hands a loaded gun
And then you told me not to fire it When you did the things you said were up to me And then accused me of trying to fuck it up" from Divorce Song
How I started listening : I heard "Polyester Bride" on an Alternative radio station. I loved it so much I bought Whitechocolatespaceegg the next day.
Last Played : A couple days ago?
10. Elliott Smith
Favourite Song :
Single File A really beautiful and underrated song from his self-titled album. The lyrics really hit close to home and the melody gives me chills.
Favourite album :
Elliott Smith This is his most mellow and minimalistic album musically, which is what I enjoy
Favourite lyrics : I'm a junkyard full of false starts And I don't need yr permission To bury my love under this bare light bulb The moon is a sickle cell It'll kill you in time" from Coming Up Roses, another great song from the self titled album.
How I started listening : I heard the song "Miss Misery" in Good Will Hunting, which was my favorite film for a while.
Last Played : A couple hours ago.