Tori, Tori, Tori: Little Earthquakes Release!

Little Earthquakes was the very first CD I ever bought.

It was the summer before 8th grade, and I was in the epic throes of my first heartbreak, Josh.  Before the big breakup, my best friend Rachel and I used to sneak over to Josh's house and he'd often put on his older brother's Little Earthquakes cassette while we sat around being awkward and tortured.  So, not only had my heart been shattered in a  million pieces (I kind of envy the depth of feelings and the commitment I had to them at that age), but I had no more access to Tori.  Rachel and I decided it was time to move on from cassettes...

I saved up, bought a Discman and an adapter for my stereo and set off to Camelot Music at the mall to buy my first CD.  It was $18.99 (holy cow, right?) and it came in a long rectangular cardboard box which I tacked up on my wall after I opened it.

Rachel and I worked for hours trying to decipher Tori's songs on her singles... Then we'd type it on the huge boxy computer and listen to the loudest printer in the world slowly spit them out so we could cut them up and make our own CD insert.  (PS- we got a lot of those lyrics way off, check out the picture below.)

Looking back, I can see I didn't grasp everything Tori was saying... But what did speak to me, even at 14, was the simple authenticity of her songs.  She wasn't trying to be different or weird.  That was a huge ideal in the mid-90s, at least from my perspective... in fact, Josh declared he wasn't going to listen to Tori anymore once Rachel & I started because we "were making it too trendy". Tori really was a role model for me in my formative years (no Pretty Good Year reference intended here). ;)

Well, Tori has re-released Little Earthquakes... It came out April 14.   Any Tori fan has got to go get this CD.  First of all... Listening to it reminds me who I was in the 90s... it's comforting, it's surreal, it's important. Now I'm 35 and a mother of three...  this is a huge gift.  

This double CD is special... Like having a little sliver of my youth.  There's something about listening to music that was really important to your growing up years... it sticks with you in a  way no other music does.  It's imprinted on you.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to climb into a song again the way I could back then.  And listening to that important music decades later, as a grown woman... I am appreciating it from both sides and it's kind of earth-shattering.  In one ear I hear it as the girl I was, and the other as the mother and woman I am now.  Tori wrote most of this when she was 29 so I am getting an entirely new layer now.  I'm glad it's been a few years since I've listened to Little Earthquakes... had I not shelved it for a bit I don't think I could look at it fresh now.

There are two songs on here I had never heard before, Ode to the Banana King and Song for Eric. When I was in my Tori glory I collected as many singles as I could and wound up with 18 CDs... The singles weren't cheap OR easy to find, they were all either $11.99 or $13.99--- I remember thinking my Tori collection was close to $300 adding in the VHS of Little Earthquakes which I still have! I wish I didn't decide to put everything on iTunes and get rid of 2/3 of my physical Tori CDs...   There was lots of moving after college and I thought it'd be smart, but now I miss my big stack o' Tori.  I still have all the songs, but there is something about holding all those CDs I bought. It's why I got so excited opening this double CD up.

If, like me, you listened to Tori when you were still growing up, and you're listening to this CD again now... here are my top three favorites I'm listening to differently and liking even more than before:
1.  Mary
2.  Crucify
3.  Sweet Dreams

I have been carrying this CD around since it arrived... I can really only play it in my car, but it's just suddenly this talisman connecting the girl and the woman.  I'm so happy to have it.  Tori really has a talent for writing songs that help you uncover pieces of yourself.  Definitely worth another dive in if you loved it back then.

The physical CDs I still have...

ORDER LINKS:
Little Earthquakes Deluxe Edition 2xCD:

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Earthquakes-Deluxe-Edition-Tori/dp/B00SSL4EBO/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_1

Little Earthquakes Deluxe Edition on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/little-earthquakes-deluxe/id961925135

Under The Pink Deluxe Edition 2xCD:

http://www.amazon.com/Under-The-Pink-Deluxe-Edition/dp/B00SSL4E5K/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_2

Under The Pink Deluxe Edition on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/under-the-pink-deluxe-edition/id962152973

Full streams of each deluxe edition:
Little Earthquakes: http://youtu.be/2CdWEHjaL30  
Under The Pink: http://youtu.be/IfKuZwE-PHQ