Tori Amos — Under the Pink

January 31, 2024

Tori Amos released her second album, Under the Pink, 30 years ago today in 1994.

The first song on the album, “Pretty Good Year,” starts out immaculately pretty but becomes furious...

I feel a special connection to “God” because watching this video was my introduction to Tori Amos. You can hear her being increasingly influenced by the grunge rock of the time:

If anything could be called her signature song, it’s “Cornflake Girl.” She said:

“Cornflake Girl” is about how I came to terms with the naive notion that all women are the good guys and men are always the bad guys. That, obviously, is not always the case. … Whenever they would seemingly instinctively attack men, I’d have to say, “I don’t automatically feel that way, I’m trying to rise above such feelings.” Hatred for men, en masse, is as poisonous a feeling as shame.

The last song on the album, “Yes, Anastasia,” is a beautiful and energizing 9-minute epic. The song ends with the refrain: “We’ll see how brave you are.” She said that line meant: “If you really want a challenge, just deal with yourself.”