11/13/2005 05:20:00 PM|||Brian Fending|||

Rachel and I were in the car today (her car, which is nominally important later) driving to The Mall and she had Tori Amos' The Beekeeper playing. I had stolen this CD from her for several weeks and only recently returned it, selfishly placing it *in* her car instead of *on* her desk, knowing that I could just put it in whenever I drove her car instead of mine. She never suspected ulterior motives.

Just as we were about to turn into The Mall, I shared a revelation of mine with her, something that attracts me to this particular recording and as well as others by Tori Amos:

"You know what I really, really like about Tori Amos? Her diction."

"You're kidding..."

"No, no... listen. She never gives up on a note to just say the word. She finishes every consonant, closes every vowel - but not until the note is over. It's both why I can't sing along and love to try. She's just so distractingly good."

"Wow. You're a real music geek."

"Yes. Yes, I am."

So listen to the album, a ballad if you can, and notice those consonants. They're fabulous.

|||113192110268485807|||The Fabulous Diction of Tori Amos (please pronounce the "s" properly - it would be rude not to...)