Introverted But Willing To Discuss Tori Amos

Latest Episodes:

Tori Amos and the Media with special guest Rich Juzwiak Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

We’re doing things a bit differently as we welcome our very first guest for a very special episode, where we’ll attempt to scratch the surface of Tori’s complicated relationship with the media over the past three decades. We’ll explore not only how she’s been represented (and misrepresented) by an often unforgiving and unflattering press, but also the ways in which Tori’s intuition and perceptiveness allowed her to have the upper hand, talking circles around and discomfiting her inquisitors, and making clear that she wouldn’t back down from her ideals or be silenced by patriarchal standards - way before it was cool or safe or, let’s be frank, not potentially career-ending to do so.

Helping us to tackle this red-hot topic is a written and literal voice many of our listeners will be familiar with, both from the at once provocative and positively silly podcast Pot Psychology and his writing in The New York Times, Pitchfork, The Washington Post, Spin, Jezebel, and Gawker, among other publications. He also co-authors Slate’s sex advice column How to Do It. A true raconteur and renaissance man - Rich Juzwiak!

Rich's latter day playlist made with love by Joey, Kristen, and Matt
Recent Pitchfork reassessment of Boys for Pele (2025)
Q Magazine “Hips. Lips. Tits. Power." (1994)
Rolling Stone review of Boys for Pele (1996)
Rolling Stone cover story (1998)
Tori on Roseanne’s talk show (1998)
Tori on Rosie O’Donnell (1999)
Tori on the Daily Show (1999)
Tori on The View (1999)
Rolling Stone Beekeeper review (2004)
Stylus review
THR Full Oscar Songwriters Roundtable featuring Tori Amos, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Sting (2016)
Rick Beato interview (2024)

The 20 Most Underrated Tori Amos Songs Jun 28, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we ponder what it means for a Tori Amos song to be “underrated.” Is “underrated” in this context even something definable? Or is it ultimately subjective and personal to the individual listener?

Is a song underrated because Tori rarely or never performs it? Or is it a song that’s been played so many times that we’ve taken it for granted and can no longer hear the genius and the grit that went into its creation? Or perhaps it lives on a latter-day Tori record that’s less celebrated, less heard by the general public?

In the spirit of our wildly successful – and a touch controversial – Best of Tori Amos episode, we bring to you The 20 Most Underrated Tori Songs. We repeated our very scientific method of each crafting individual lists of what we believe to be Tori’s most underrated tracks – from proper albums only; no bsides, no soundtracks, no covers, no seasonal music - tallying each song’s respective points and then ranking the ranking them in ascending order.

The result is a playlist that spans many - but not all - of Tori’s records, chock full of gags, goops, gogs, and go-figures. Given how underrated we likely all agree Tori is in the broader history of contemporary music, this very episode may be the definition of a fool’s errand. Regardless, in the spirit of the woman we call Tori once calling herself an “ant fucker,” we are Introverted but willing to discuss Tori Amos’ most underrated songs.

Playlists:

The Tori Amos Effect: It's Giving "Tori" May 25, 2025

Show notes

We are Introverted but Willing to Discuss Tori Amos, as always, but on this episode, we’re gonna need some thoughts and prayers because we’re going to talk about something else… sorta.

No, we’re not giving a Father Lucifer bridge-style middle finger to our audience. We are instead going to share our playlists of music by other artists that remind us of our favorite Tori Amos music.Let’s face it: being a Tori fan isn’t always glamorous and cool. Sometimes we are judged. Sometimes we are called obsessive. Sometimes “people” don’t like us playing our girl on a speaker. But hey as Tori has famously said “I’m anchovies, if I were potato chips I could go a lot further.”

Has anyone ever made fun of you for listening to Tori Amos? Not let you play your fave tune in a car on a road trip? We’ve made bulletproof playlists that you can use in those awkward moments when you can’t put your Tori on, but you need to get your Tori fix. We like to call it “Tori, Not Tori”.

Let's talk about maybe some of our other favorite music … that reminds us of our real favorite music.

The Girl from the South: Tori's Most Southern Songs Apr 13, 2025

Show notes

Greetings to the cowboys, the snakes, and the kin among us. Tonight we have a real southern tale to tell. Somewhere out past the cat’s whiskers and royal palm, where the air hangs heavy with history, there’s a sound—low, humming, ancient. Maybe it’s a siren calling from a forgotten Southern shore, or the echo of Datura blooming under an October moon. Or maybe—just maybe—it’s the land calling back.Tonight, we’re following that sound through Tori Amos’ most Southern-infused songs—the ones laced with heat, history, and a little bit of blood memory.Now, let’s put our alligator boots in the dirt. Yes, Tori was born in North Carolina, but she grew up in Maryland—Southern enough if you’re feeling generous, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly Dixie. Still, this lizard woman knows the South. The places where time bends a little differently. Her Cherokee blood runs deep, and her family’s history is carved into the land like a story waiting to be sung. And yes, the song lines, they do indeed sing.Whether she’s summoning the turquoise serpents, calling out to the Merman in a rising tide, we’re mapping out a Tori playlist where the South isn’t just a place—it’s a feeling. And if we get lost along the way, well… we’ll just drive all night until we find our way back.So let’s go to her Southern land of gold. Just go. Tonight we are Introverted but willing to mess with a southern girl.Playlists:JV KK MM

Tori Amos' Silliest Songs Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

Known for her dramatic intensity and often-dark, broodingly romantic compositions, Tori Amos has perhaps unfairly gotten a reputation for being very, very serious. To be fair, sometimes she is (and we love it!). However, contrary to popular belief, when you take a closer look, Tori also has an extremely funny side. Her particular tongue-in-cheek brand of wit often translates directly into key songs that provide moments of oppositional levity and sweet relief amidst some of her most emotionally-searing sonic landscapes.

Tori Amos’ “Silly Songs” have always been a part of the fabric of her musical worlds and are well-documented, but they were officially named in 1996 with the release of several b-sides that directly contradicted the more bleak album tracks from the legendary Boys For Pele. Songs like “Graveyard”, “Toodles Mr. Jim”, and “That’s What I Like Mick (The Sandwich Song”) gave listeners a warm, welcomed glimpse of Tori’s slightly left of center sense of humor, while still fully highlighting her musical chops.

Whether she’s almost running over an angel, smacking down George Bush Jr with a sassy “who’s your daddy?” or chatting up God to confess her foodie sins, it is important to remember Tori is not afraid to be a ‘lil silly (as beautifully evidenced in her most recent release: the whimsical new music for her New York Time best-selling children’s book Tori and the Muses). So keep your hoochie, program your sodas and join Kristen, Matt and Joey in the Faerie Workshop to explore the magical, playful world of Tori Amos’ Silly Songs, where laughter and joy are an inevitability, and where a wide variety of artisanal baked goods are essential to the narrative.

MM playlist KK playlist JV playlist

The 20 Best Tori Amos Songs Feb 22, 2025

Show notes

Tori Amos’ expansive body of work over the past 30-plus years has covered most musical terrain. From confessional outpourings of emotion, to thunderously-programmed electronic beats, blips and whirrs, to stinging guitar-driven diatribes directed at the religious Right, Tori has become known as both an architect and an adventurer, as well as a consummate player. She has transcended the “singer-songwriter” or “girl with a piano” labels once assigned to her to become one of the most important figures in contemporary popular music. With hundreds of beloved, canonical songs under her belt, it would be a fool’s errand to try and discern what Tori’s 20 best songs of all time are, right?

Well, friends, we are just crazy enough to try and grab that bull by the horns: On this episode, Kristen, Matt and Joey spend an enchanted evening testing their close knit friendship by voting with weighted, secret ballots that were cast to answer an impossible, eternal question: what are Tori Amos’ 20 BEST songs, ranked?

We’re trying out a several new things on this episode, starting with the concept: we dont usually do ranking here, we rearrange or reimagine our playlists, but this time we dare to count down to the greatest Tori Amos track of all-time. The results are a wild ride. We also typically make three separate playlists for each episode, but tonight we have focused our dark powers to vote on and create one collaborative playlist that we voted on anonymously. Kristen and Matt react to the list reveal in real time, making for a raucous discussion about what exactly constitutes “the best of Tori Amos”.

So please join us for a conversation that somehow miraculously doesn’t go off the rails and let us know in the comments what you think of our lil list…and also share your own! Remember, this is “best of” and not “favorite”. Good luck. 🙃

Group playlist available on Spotify!

The Sticky Inner Hive of the Tori Amos B-sides & Non-Album Tracks Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

On a storied, starry night in Nashville, in 2023, Tori Amos stopped what she was doing, and asked the audience if she should release a record full of unreleased songs. While we don’t yet have an exact answer on the fate of this project, it got us thinking: what existing songs would we add to our own personal B-sides & Non-album tracks playlists? The possibilities are infinite! In this new episode, Joey, Kristen, and Matt kick off the second season of their podcast chatting about some of their favorite redheaded singer-songwriter’s most sought-after compositions and the complex history behind songs that have truly stood the test of time just as much as some of the songs on her albums. We are now ‘Introverted But Willing To Discuss Tori Amos…’ (formerly known as Messing with the Master: Tori Amos), but our mission remains the same: sharing our thoughts and experiences gained from a close 20+ year friendship that began with a shared passion for Tori’s work. So join us as we delve into the significance of her B-sides and Non-album tracks, and discuss how these tracks often hold a special place in the hearts of fans, thanks to the magical, unique storytelling that accompanies them. Listen to our playlists here:

Listen to our playlists here: KK: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3sj1sXoE5855kThAx1f9Yp?si=b0940fd33d0c43f5

MM: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0L5iFktEcJ7MVrQ9CH8CNB?si=qYQ8Bqj6TymeHa3dUiYrDw&pi=u-0xtfRXDGSIuV

JV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL8uVQiRVdY&list=PLyU7AGxcKJ1PkR8sEGhTRUJ_D7aRhHyM4 YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmSZiNt44k0&list=PLyU7AGxcKJ1OucEMokJ40YRlrcQhC7fPT

We rebranded! We have a new name! Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

We have a new name! Messing with the Master: Tori Amos is now Introverted But Willing To Discuss Tori Amos! Join us to talk about our favorite redhead 👩🏻‍🦰

Make the Yuletide GayGayGayGayGay! Bonus holiday episode Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

It's a HOLIDAY (POSSE) BONUS! In this very special holiday episode of 'Messing With The Master', we delve into Tori Amos's holiday music across many decades, exploring her artistic evolution, personal memories of that amazing Midwinter Graces promo tour, and the significance of family in her work. We discuss the impact of Tori's upbringing and her respect for holiday traditions, while acknowledging that The Woman We Call Tori can rock the fuck out of anything, including Christmas music. Playlists: MM KK JV

Boys for Pele / It’s Gotta Be Big (Super Sized Season Finale) Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

In terms of narrative, composition and sheer scope as a record, Boys for Pele is one of the most audacious “pop” records to come out of the 1990s. Make no mistake: despite its twisty narrative, mysteriously confrontational lyrics and non-traditional take on song structure, Pele was a considerable mainstream success, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide and going platinum in the United States. Part harrowing journey into darkness and fury, part coming to terms with the aftermath of a shattered psyche, Boys for Pele might actually be the anti-pop record. Ironically, Tori’s biggest-selling single off the record (her biggest-selling single of all time), was a club mix of the Southern Gothic tale of madness and revenge “Professional Widow” that focuses on the lyric “it’s gotta be big.” Those who entered into this disorienting, often sinister world expecting a four on the floor rave were instead greeted by a smoky, deeply-complex rumination on one woman’s singular version of The Blues. The album finds Tori in a fugue descending into a hallucinatory abyss of anger, despair and confusion; the cathartic kind that evokes the wrenching neurotic pain of a genteel Blanche Dubois cracking in A Streetcar Named Desire. Its roots are distinctly rooted in the deeply soulful, deeply-odd South that might have been written about by Flannery O’Connor or filmed by D.W. Griffith, which is reflected in the choices made for the album’s artwork: Tori appears as the guardian of ghostly, forgotten children much like Lillian Gish does in the 1955 film The Night of the Hunter. All of these works are both branded with the red-hot iron of righteous Christianity and haunted by the foul-smelling sulfuric specter of the Devil himself. It is that unholy and unsettling bilocation and brilliant intertextuality that marks a true literary work of genius, artistic masterpiece, or any consummate objet d’art, all of which are applicable lenses through which to view an intimate, intricate, and positively harrowing work such as Boys for Pele. Categorization is futile, but the ways in which Pele can be read are staggering. Playlists: KK MM JV

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