Skip to main content

Tori Amos - Benjamin

Many years have passed since my high school obsession with Tori Amos' Little Earth Quakes and Under the Pink. A few times over the last decades I have occasionally sampled her new releases, but nothing resonated.

Her new album, Native Invader, has pulled me back in. It's rich songs are lyrically compelling, harmonious and based around great drum beats (something I loved in her earlier work). Released in September, it is both timely and timeless. The album weaves environmental, spiritual, indigenous  a and political themes into a dizzying sonic tapestry. There is also an ethereal, pagan vibe coming through many of the lyrics (in my opinion).

The song I want to spotlight is Benjamin. At this point, no one has written a more powerful call to action for protecting the environment agains the onslaught of Trump and his cronies.

"campaigns
funded by
the fossil fuel industry
how many of us
will they own
to give them global mastery

sucking hydrocarbon from the ground
those pimps in Washington
are selling the rape of America
as they attack Juliana"


Here are some insightful quotes from Tori Amos on the topic of the song (taken from Toriphoria):

"I think there is a lot of distraction right now, while things are happening. It shocks me that people are talking about... the erosion that's happening at the Environmental Protection Agency: protecting whom? Protecting what -- the American oligarchs? That's the shocker for me -- what's going on in the courts, Juliana vs United States [a case which inspired the track "Benjamin"], the Water Protectors for Lakota nation -- those things that we only hear snippets about now. The distractions are there. And, look, I know that people in New York are consumed with yet another tweet and, if you're a political journalist, that's fine. You have to be on the front line, you've got to know what's going on, that's your gig. But if your gig is something else and you're not doing that gig because you're being diverted, then you've taken yourself away -- you're not seeing things, you're just a consumer." [The 405 - September 5, 2017] 

 "Benjamin" is about the fact that agencies such as the EPA, that's the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of the Environment are supposed to be protecting the natural world but really what's happening is that they are protecting the big oil, energy and sugars companies who have no hesitation about destroying the world. There are people out there, who I call the Benjamins, although they can be male or female, who are trying to show us what is really happening. There are things happening in America behind the scenes that mean we are losing protection for basic things like clean air and water. And really whatever political aisle you align yourself to, or don't, surely we should all be fighting for and entitled to those things, it's very basic." [Boyz - September 13, 2017] 

Comments

Post a Comment

Trending Tracks

Sweetbottom - Shrapnel In My Ankle

Sweetbottom -  Angels of the Deep . I can provide a totally valid explanation for the existence of this record in my collection. You see, I'd been eyeing this peculiar 12" at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall record shop for about a month. It was in the $5 box. After a few weeks it finally landed in the $1 bin. For the album artwork alone, I thought, this is worth a buck. Four late-70s dudes clad in white, cotton shirts and pants, hairy chests and... white shag carpet. Sweetbottom indeed. Adding to the allure, the notes revealed that the album had been recorded at the Shade Tree Resort Studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin between 1977-78. Could this be like the Great Lakes version of Yacht Rock? Could I be holding some long-forgotten, Midwest soft rock obscurity? I was tempted to cheat and pull out my cellphone to Google them, but then I paused. This is $1 we're talking about. Let's take the risk and live dangerously. As I approached the register, I noted that the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jules & the Polar Bears - Good Reason

Jules & The Polar Bears is one of those bands that you want to like, but continue to remain on the fence about even after a decade of failed listens. Recently, I've been sampling bands from the late 70s and early 80s who released fake new wave albums -- major label acts who played middle of the road rock, but disguised it in skinny ties, brightly colored sweaters and catchy, Cars-y keyboard riffs. Jules & The Polar Bears are a good example. Their first record, 1978's Got No Breeding, was compared to Dylan, The Kinks and Springsteen. Personally, I hear a quirky Jackson Browne in the songwriting. Everything sounds bearded and mid-tempo, except Jules Shear, the singer. He gives the band a distinct sound with his "singing at the top of my range" yelp. But even with Shears' interesting squelch, the songs never break out of 70s rock conformity. The guitarist's resemblance to a member of Orleans or Doobie Brothers is telling. Enter 1979's "Fenêt...
Post a Comment
Read more