Liner Notes: January - Take to the Sky

But my priest says, "You ain't savin' no souls."

My father says, "You ain't makin' any money."

My doctor said, "You just took it to the limit."

And here I stand with this, a-sword in my hand.

You can say it one more time - what you don't like.

Let me hear it one more time-

Have a seat while I take to the sky, take to the sky.

"Take to the Sky" by Tori Amos

I'm 100% certain I was in a cult in high school. I was a theatre kid and was very involved in my high school theatre department. I was a stage manager, ran publicity for shows, and served as the business manager for two years. I was not, however, popular or cool, so I'm certain I was an enforcer in the cult. One of the people who got things done on behalf of dear leader and put up with bad behavior from his favored ones and tried to smooth over tension from the rest of the flock. If I use all the things I know about cults, my favorite sub-genre of non-fiction/true crime books, I was in a cult in high school. (I'm also reading a book about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple right now, so there's that.) I could go on and on about it, but that's not the point of today's post. Tori is the point. 

Tori Amos was one of our goddesses.

I started my freshmen year of high school in 1994. If you're my age, you know how much amazing music happened in the 1990s. We had everything, and we listened to everything. Tori was a huge part of that experience. When I got my first CD player, the first two CDs I bought were Little Earthquakes and the original Broadway cast recording of Hair. She was worshipped in my high school theatre. If you didn't know every nuance of a song, every veiled reference you were not elite enough for the true Tori girls. 

Fandom back then was not what it is today. We didn't have social media or the internet. If you wanted to know about your favorite musician or actor, you had to read every magazine they were featured in. You had to read the newspaper. You had to go to the library to see if some periodical from Norway was available so you could read a short quote Tori said in an interview with their local press (it might not have been Norway). But like fandom today, there were the gatekeepers and purity tests (if you will) to prove you are a true believer. That's what made Tori the perfect goddess for all the little theatre kids to worship. There's so much Tori lore, and the true believers used it to test the rest of us.

I was never a true believer. I tried once to be one of the Tori girls in that way, but I was neither obsessive nor petty enough to be one of them. And I always had short hair. The Tori girls did not play when it came to an aesthetic around being a Tori girl. I was never going to be that type of ethereal weird girl. But I love her music; that cannot and could not be denied. I started listening to her when I started high school, and I remember feeling like I was experiencing something transformative when I listened to Little Earthquakes for the first time. She wasn't like other musicians I listened to. I felt empowered before I knew what that word even met. Her music is vast but also very intimate. She uses instruments not usually used  in modern rock music (at least in the 90s). A lot of her music is abstract and metaphorical, so it lends itself to the interpretation of the listener. 

I was also 13 or 14 when I started listening to her. I didn't know all the things she was talking about in her songs. I may have had an idea, but didn't know the reality of what she sang about. I didn't know the lore either. And honestly, I don't think all the Tori girls did either, but like true cult members, they were good at hiding it and making you feel lesser if you didn't "get it."

"Take to the Sky" is one of my favorite Tori songs and I think it gets to the heart of my feelings about the Tori girls. The chorus is so freaking liberating, I don't even know how else to describe it. And the verses felt so very personal to my experience back then with the Tori girls, and even now in my late 40s, how I've returned to my true form, a feral 90s girl. There is something about the image of standing with a sword in my hand and taking to the sky that feels powerful with the knowledge that I'm comfortable with the person I am. 

Here's what I added to this month's Liner Notes based on "Take to the Sky" and my experiences with the Tori girls. 

January 4

January 5

January 6

January 7

January 8

January 9

January 10

January (to date)

I forgot to share the songs from last week, so they're included here too. Songs referenced in this month's Liner Notes (so far):

• "Take to the Sky" from the "Winter" single 
• "Muhammad My Friend" from Boys for Pele ("she wore Shiseido Red")
• "The Waitress" from Under the Pink ("I believe in peace bitch)
• "Beauty Queen/Horses" from Boys for Pele 

WIPs, What I'm Reading, and Other Small Joys

I think I can safely say that I'd like the free trial period of 2026 to end. I don't want a subscription and I certainly don't want my credit card charged for this mess. It has been a year in a week, and I'm not sure how we're all still managing to put cohesive thoughts together. I think this meme from FB sums it up for me:

Tiny OSHA Me in her Hi-Vis Gear. I love Tiny OSHA Me. 

I didn't work on any other art this week. I wasn't really in the mood. I did read my second and third books of the year, Piranesi and Love Me Stalk Me. My friend Kelly sent me Piranesi a few years ago and I wasn't ready to read it at the time. It's the first selection for my work book club this year, so I decided to read it since I have a copy and it stares at me in judgment while I read other things. I think Kelly's description of it being a "fever dream" is completely accurate. It also gives some strong cult vibes, so there's that. Love Me Stalk Me is the first in a series by Laura Bishop. It's dark romance, so if that's not your thing, move on along. It was good. The villain twist was good and I'll definitely read the second book in the series when it comes out in August. 

Bea is back to her wild self. I don't know what was wrong with her last weekend when I had to take her to the urgent care vet, but she's been running around like a wild animal this week, so I think she's back. She doesn't like me going to the gym in the morning. 

She's also proving to be an extreme cuddlebug when she wants to be. Which is nice to experience, particularly after she injures me for no reason.

Her other new favorite things are the draft blocker pillow (so cute) and "helping" me work on the stitch journal. 

I'm off to run the errands I was supposed to run last weekend. I also need to dust and put away holiday decorations. We really need a standard three-day weekend every week. Not enough time to do things and relax.

I hope you do something nice/good for yourself this weekend. I don't know what that is but I hope you do.

Groundhog Day Cards: The link to sign up for a GHD card is open. I'll keep the link open through January 20. This will give me enough time to make each card. Even if I have your address, please sign up so I know how many to make.