I'm a fan (and you should be too) because... Tori Amos is a lifesaver.
I remember the first Tori Amos song I ever heard... it was "Spark". It was late at night, I was half asleep, tossing and turning, depressed, with a big secret that was eating me alive. It was 1999, I think. "Spark" came on the radio and I was hypnotized. There she was, this sorrowful woman screaming "say you don't want it". It just grabbed me.
A week later I saw the video, then came Raspberry swirl and Jackie's. I was in love. Bought "From the choirgirl hotel", one of my favorite albums ever. A couple months later, I got "To venus and back". Absolutely loved it. Went looking for her earlier work but couldn't find it anywhere! (stupid music stores in Peru!).
Then, miraculously, I found the last copy of "Boys for Pele" left in this country. By then I was obsessed. An international Tori hunt began! I got "Little Earthquakes" from a friend who came from the States and got "Under the Pink" when my parents went to Chile. Every single song stroke a chord in my core... I never felt alone again. Tori had my back.
That's the deal with Tori, you either love her or you don't. But if you do, you're a lifer, like me.
She talks directly to the souls of those who get her... and I love her for it.
Her music's been there for me when I've needed it the most. When I came out, when my first boyfriend broke my heart, when a dear friend (turning to lover) died, you get the picture...
Tori got me through.
I love her.
I thank her.
I know I'm not alone.