Adrienne Trier-Bieniek - Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman: Female Fans and the Music of Tori Amos

THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Lanham Toronto Plymouth, UK

2013

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Trier-Bieniek, Adrienne M.

Sing us a song, piano woman : female fans and the music of Tori Amos / Adrienne Trier-Bieniek.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8108-8550-9 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8108-8551-6 (electronic)

Amos, ToriAppreciation. 2. Feminism and music. 3. Popular music fans. I. Title.

ML420.A5874T75 2013

782.42166092dc23

2013004963

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

For my parents, Rick and Deanne Trier, and my husband, Tim. The title Worlds Greatest doesnt even begin to cover it...
And for my sister-friend, Beatrice Yarbrough, who I know is always watching that star. I adore you.

I was honored when Adrienne Trier-Bieniek invited me to contribute the foreword to this important book. I am a longtime fan of Tori Amos and I know that my life has been deeply impacted by her music, her activism, and the trails she has blazed in the music industry. It is not an exaggeration to say that her music has been the single greatest source of inspiration in both my personal and professional lives. So needless to say, I am thrilled to see a book that explores Tori as a feminist icon and highlights her relationship with her female fans. However, Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman: Female Fans and the Music of Tori Amos does so much more.

This book makes significant contributions to our understanding of female fan culture, the relationship between feminist music and feminist activism, and how feminist musicians negotiate and challenge stereotypes in popular culture. As Trier-Bieniek persuasively points out, female fans have largely been ignored in studies of fandom and music. The only time we see female fans is when they are shown as groupies going nuts for male artists. In the pages that follow, Trier-Bieniek transforms the way we think about fans by putting the focus on women. Grounded in her original interview research she explores how women use feminist music, and Tori Amoss music in particular, as a way of healing. She draws on feminist and sociological theories to articulate a new framework with which to explore womens experiences with music.

Among her fans Tori is also known for her activismincluding co-founding RAINN (after her song Me and a Gun prompted female fans to bombard her with their stories of sexual assault). Adrienne Trier-Bieniek used this as an opportunity to explore how female fans develop feminist identities and become involved with their own activism through the messages of feminist musicians. This is another important contribution to feminist scholarship, activism studies, and music studies.

Sing Us a Song, Piano Woman challenges images of female fans throwing themselves at male rock stars and, I believe, will prompt further studies of female fans as well as the feminist musicians they admire. While the Tori fan in me is overjoyed to see that her status as a feminist icon is documented in the pages that follow, you neednt be a Tori Amos fan to read this bookthere is a much bigger narrative about popular culture and womens lives in the pages that follow, making this book relevant for those studying gender and popular culture, music studies, and feminism. And if the book inspires some to listen to Toris music for the first time or to rediscover her, all the better.

Patricia Leavy, PhD

Kennebunk, Maine, 2013

First off, thanks to Chris Nasso, Bennett Graff, and everyone at Scarecrow Press for their commitment to this book. Also, thanks to the indexing services of Jennifer Spanier of Jennifer Spanier Indexing

I cannot express my gratitude enough to my friend Patricia Leavy not only for writing the foreword to this book but for cheerleading me through my life. Patricia, you are an amazing friend and inspiration. To have you, as well as Madeline and Mark, in my life is an incredible gift that I will never take for granted. In the words of our muse, Take a trip on a rocket ship, where the sea is the sky.

Thank you to Angie Moe for teaching me how to write, mentoring me through grad school (as well as life), and being the greatest dissertation chair a girl could ever ask for. Thanks to Ann Kilkelly and Rebekah Farrugia for being a couple of the first to help me flush this idea out.

Thanks to my parents, Rick and Deanne Trier. Being raised by a couple of hippies-turned-social workers who played seventies rock and taught me the value of political messages in music was a pretty awesome way to grow up. Thanks to the ancestors, my grandparents (Patrick and Dolores Sperti and Ted and Ula Trier) in general and my grandma, Ula Trier, in particular, the most amazing group of people to stand on the shoulders of. My mothers maiden name is Sperti, and she comes from a large Italian family. I thank all of them, particularly the support of my Aunts Reggie Sperti, Claudia Sperti, and Karen Sperti and my cousins Kate Powers, Tonya Price, and Breannna Price. The Trier side is much shorter (literally). Thank you to Rod and Casi Trier (and my cousin Becky) as well as Uncle Teddy Trier, who is with the angels. Thank you to my in-laws, Greg and Karen Bieniek, Erica and Jason Reed, and Steve, Kala, and William Bieniek, and my grandmother-in-law Dolores Bieniek, with an extra shout out to my great aunt-in-law Donna Geraghty.

I thank my cousin Krysta Ann Williams, whom I am lucky enough to also have as a friend, and Helen Michaels, my grandmother-in-law, whom I miss.

I want to extend some gratitude to the usual suspects in my life, my friends Matt Dufon, Jen Wiles, Lee and Kim Paulsen, Chantal McDaniel, Random Messeder, Beatrice Yarbrough (and Lee, Gryffin, and Rowan), Dan and Lori Clapper, Andy and Kim Clapper (and Jaxson!), Eileen Weigand, Efua Akoma (and family), Catherine Kelly, Bethany Kelly, Rob and Sarah Dreger, Jillian Reck (the best doggie care person!), Pam Tucker, Kelly Faust, Michael Gillespie, Amanda Pullum (my partner in all things nerdy), Chastity best name ever Blakenship, and the lovely Carrie Buist (B to the N just isnt the same without you). I love you all. And thanks to my doggies, Mara and Charlie, for keeping me company while I wrote.

Thank you, Julia Jancek. Meeting you changed my life.

I want to say a special thank you to the forty-two women whom I interviewed for this study. Thank you for opening your hearts, your homes, and your lives to me. Thank you for sharing your stories. I now carry each of them with me, proudly.