Tori Amos, specifically her album Little Earthquakes, was crucial. E and I know every word to every song of this album, and we knew it then, and we weren’t afraid to tell the world either. Fiona Apple on the other hand was someone who was embarrassing to like. While I do really love Fiona Apple now, I didn’t in the 90s, and it was not too cool to be giving her any kind of props. It could have had something to do with the fact that she was my age (which made her borderline precocious) but I doubt I knew how to articulate that back than. Mostly it was because she was mainstream. She was on MTV. Even when she was telling MTV to fuck off, it was still soooo MTV. You can’t fool us corporate America!
I could give a shit about PJ Harvey too, who was big in the 90s. She didn’t make me die constantly like Tori, who I saw play live a few times. Remembering an entire room of girls singing along to “Silent All The Years” still gives me douche chills.
Ah, douche chills. How I’ve learned to love them so.
xx
Lesley E. Arfin
