[deadgrandma]

So, I was thinking about all the music I've fallen in love with and suddenly been hit in the face by shittiness over the years and was wondering: What is your number one time you got burnt/sickeningly disappointed by a band or musician?

Hint: I'll tell you now- if you say Variety, then you got off very fucking lightly

I don't think mine will be too surprising, but anyway, let me vent:

TORI AMOS- 2003 Onwards.

I used to be an absolute Toriphile. If you think my Ringo stanning right now is pretty bad, you have no idea. I had everything, my parents were concerned that I was in too deep. But man, she rocked. That was until The Beekeeper hit. While I didn't hate it, there were signs in the music that something had gone wrong. The production had gotten sloppy. The guitar work was childish at best. Tori was beginning to sound tired. Still, the album has more good than bad (though the bad is really bad- Ireland is to this day, my most hated Tori song). I thought it was just a hiccup though, the live tour supporting it gave me confidence not to worry. Man I was wrong.

Her followup album was American Doll Posse. It was the first time I really noticed the "ridiculous overblown concepts" that people often criticize Tori for. The album had a superficial 'hard rock' sound to it- and face it Tori, you ain't no hard rocker, not anymore. There were a few nice tracks, but you had to sift through 70 mins of confusion to find them. It was the first time my worries really started to kick in. Still, I persisted, saw the live show, which was pretty good.

And then came Abnormally Attracted to Sin. Fuck. What a disaster. There is nothing redeeming about this except for the end track. It was a 'visual album' done completely wrong and made me embarrassed to be a Tori fan for the first time. I tried and tried to look for something enjoyable here, or thought it would grow. Now it's literally a coaster in my house. This was the first time I've felt truly burnt by an artist I have put my faith into.

The nightmare truly began when I heard of her releasing a "seasonal" album (a fancy way of say a fucking Christmas album). This time I didn't run out to buy it. I waited and listened to Midwinter Graces. There isn't a cuss word powerful enough to describe those horrible first impressions. This was god awful. What had happened to my gorgeous, blaspheming, intense Tori Amos? This is an album my Grandma would listen to! It also had the worst album cover I have ever seen. Who would want this thing in their house? It also became the first album I didn't buy from Tori.

Night of Hunters, Night of fucking hunters. I can't believe so many people praise this thing. It starts off ever so promising and exciting and then like getting a fart in the face, it surrounds you with how much it stinks. Her daughter sings on this one too (well, she does on Midwinter Graces too but it's not as invasive). And her daughter ain't no singer. The concept is atrocious, and melodies are nowhere to be found. Usually this isn't something that bothers me, but when it's so meandering and dull, I die for at least a chorus. I thought this was gonna be the worst she could get. I was wrong.

She released a compilation of redone classics called Gold Dust. Now, for those who hate on Hesei Fuzoku, just take one listen to this... it's massively worse on all levels. The greats are shortened, neutered and made boring. Piano is barely audible. Production isn't there. Tori Amos sounds like someone doing Tori Amos at karaoke night. Atrocious.

A decade of mediocrity. And that, my friends, is truly being burnt.

Yet still, I will persist and listen to this years album, if only out of morbid curiosity to see if it is possible for her to get any worse.

So, please, share your story on the time you got burnt the worst by a band/musician you loved.