|
QUOTES >>
"This guy Eminem wrote a very powerful song about domestic violence. I didn't align with his character, but I did align with the woman that he killed."
-- Tori; MTV News Europe, Sep 2001
I: You covered '97 Bonnie & Clyde, one of Eminem's most extreme songs, is that a desired controversial cover from a controversial rapper?
T: Haven't you noticed that I don't rap the lyrics but whisper them? Whispering the lyrics seemed more frightening then shouting them. What aroused my interest in this song was how Eminem exposed himself so much to the public. He's like a man who goes to a marriage counselling service, complains to the therapist that his wife doesn't know her rightful place and feels upset because the therapist doesn't agree with him.
-- Tori; Belgian/Dutch Magazine Humo, Sep 18, 2001
"[There's] a mass, unconscious rage against the feminine in much of today's pop culture. And it's not just from Eminem. In a lot of work out there, I was hearing about this subjugation of women and that was a turn-on for a lot of people and even for some women."
-- Tori; The Boston Globe, Sep 16, 2001
No opinion on Eminem. She's not a fan. "Of course not." You can't be a fan of someone who degrades women if you are one and don't degrade men. She says he needs a really good shrink. He's very talented in tapping into a male rage.
-- Tori; "Good Day Atlanta" 99X, Oct 2, 2001
As for Eminem's reaction to her version of '97 Bonnie And Clyde -- his song depicts a man who has stabbed his pregnant wife, put her in the trunk of his car and is about to dump her in the river, with their daughter along for the ride -- the singer was diplomatic. (Amos assumes the identity of the woman in the trunk in her version.) "I'm not really going to talk about it. If he speaks about it to people, that's his business."
-- Tori; Jam! Showbiz Website, Oct 12, 2001
"Someone asked me today about the issue of giving money to somebody like Eminem by covering his song. Huh. I wanted to say, do you think the piddly-squit amount they get from that matters to them? That is not the issue. When people are dancing to words about cutting women up, something needs to be said."
-- Tori; The Times (UK), Dec 18, 2001
Eminem's fans hate her cover. "That's the greatest compliment I've received," she says, teeth gritted. "My version invades his space, and men aren't used to feeling invaded, it drives them mad. Empower the wife, give her a voice. That's how you are an activist, I think. Is the song pretty? No, but I never said it was." Her blue eyes blaze. "Singing it is not a tribute."
-- Tori; The Times (UK), Dec 18, 2001
I: The most shocking track is an adaptation on 97 Bonnie & Clyde by Eminem. It's a very chilling song.
T: Good, that's the effect I was going for. When I first heard the song, the scariest thing to me was that people were grooving to music about a guy who butchered his wife. Half of the world is dancing to this, oblivious, with blood on their sneakers. The wife had to have a voice, so my version is told from her point of view as she lay dying.
I: In general, do you think artists should take more responsibility for their lyrics?
T: I think we, as writers, have to. We can't separate ourselves from what we create. I've heard a lot of people say, "They're only words." But words are like guns; they're very powerful.
-- Tori; YM Magazine, Dec 2001
"I'm not really, picking his [Eminem's] work apart. I did a song by him that I thought was a powerful work about domestic violence and he aligned with the killer who murders the wife and I aligned with the woman he kills. ...Well, but this is just a little message to all the guys out there that are listening, if you're planning on killing your wife, be careful on who she becomes friends with when she's dead."
-- Tori; Jonathan Ross Radio Show (UK), Dec 8, 2001
Last year's covers album, Strange Little Girls, led to some interesting conversations. "I'm open about some of them. Slayer sent T-shirts; that was fun. But some of the messages and conversations were very personal. Yoko Ono had to approve Happiness Is A Warm Gun, and she was absolutely divine. Neil Young had to hear Heart of Gold, because I changed the lyrics. But I didn't change a word of Eminem's ['97 Bonnie and Clyde]. Eminem and I have the same lawyer, which is handy."
-- Tori; Blender Magazine, Nov 2002
|
BACK
COVERS