NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A timely and passionate call to action for engaging with our current political moment, from the Grammy-nominated and multiplatinum singer-songwriter and New York Times bestselling author Tori Amos. Since the release of her first, career-defining solo album Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos has been one of the music industry’s most enduring and ingenious artists. From her … industry’s most enduring and ingenious artists. From her unnerving depiction of sexual assault in “Me and a Gun” to her post-9/11 album, Scarlet’s Walk, to 2017’s Native Invader, her work has never shied away from intermingling the personal with the political.
From her time as a teenager playing hotel bars in Washington, DC, for the politically powerful to the subsequent three decades of her formidable music career, Amos explains how she managed to create meaningful, politically resonant work against patriarchal power structures–and how her proud declarations of feminism and her fight for the marginalized always proved to be her guiding light. She teaches us to engage with intention in this tumultuous global climate and speaks directly to supporters of #MeToo and Time’s Up, as well as young people fighting for their rights and visibility in the world.
Filled with compassionate guidance and actionable advice–and using some of the most powerful, political songs in Amos’s canon–Resistance is for anyone determined to steer the world back in the right direction.
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3.5
I do not read much non-fiction. By “much” I mean pretty much not at all. I’ve just always been more drawn into the fictional, often fantastical. The exception to this has always been Tori Amos. When her book Tori Amos: Piece by Piece came out I was quick to grab it. She’s always been a favorite artist of mine with her songs having such a layered mystery about them, I will always sit up and listen when it comes to hearing her process or, in her words, where the “Muses” take her in regards to crafting her songs. The deeper meaning that people can also relate to on a more surface level, and pick up new elements overtime is one she has always done really well. It’s why her songs have endured.
When I heard about Resistance there was no question that I would read this book. I had initially imagined it to take a more political stance, and while those moments definitely appear and have their place, I felt like the overall tone of the book is addressing an artist’s obligation to speak out or for those that cannot speak out for themselves. Whether it’s political or societal it all kind of overlaps.
What always gets me when I think about Tori Amos is how long she’s been doing what she’s doing. I know she has a loyal following and is revered in the industry, but you don’t hear about her as much as you do some of the more commercially successful artists. Nevertheless, though, I really liked hearing the stories about where she started out, where she came from, the battles she had to fight to get the message across that she wanted to tell despite dictates from the recording agency bigwigs.
The story doesn’t necessarily follow a linear path as Amos goes back and forth between older and newer songs. I enjoyed how she would relate an older song, for example Silent All These Years to the time in which is was released and/or written, then turn around and talk about it’s accessibility to today’s climate. How a song can transcend it’s original intent to take on new meaning.
Amos’s writing feels, at times, eccentric, but anyone who is a true fan knows that’s exactly all Tori. Often speaking on more of a theoretical level at times giving us full conversational exchanges she’s had with her Muses or loved ones who have passed. But it’s very easy to see where she’s coming from, and like many of her songs, find your own way to relate to the issues.
I kind of wish there was just a little bit more cohesiveness, just to hold the over arching message together a bit better. The going back and forth from past to present, while interesting, brought me out of the narrative quite a few times. When she picks up again in the present time, I would constantly have to remind myself where we left off before we delved back into the past.
Otherwise, Resistance is an interesting look at a unique and trail-blazing artist, giving insights into fan favorite songs and speaking to the idea of art as a vehicle for change.
I’ve been a massive fan of Tori Amos ever since I stumbled across a copy of Little Earthquakes when I was in my early teens. This book is such a gift for fans of hers – it’s a mixture of autobiography, song commentary, life advice and above all a guide for artists on how to continue to create and use your art and your gift to resist and rebel in these troubling political times. The chapter on Silent All These Years, my favourite song of hers, moved me nearly to tears. I recommend listening to the songs she’s discussing as you read, it really enhances the experience.