I think most progressive women with artist inclinations admire Tori Amos. More than hearing her music I like to watch her play it live--particularly when she starts to hump the piano. She crescendos, then brings it back down, crescendos, crescendos and when the song reaches it's passionate climax, it appears as if Ms. Amos does as well. It's at times like these that I'm tempted to utter, You go girl, but I must resist. Much, like Ani De Franco, I know I really should love Tori's music and sometimes I do, and other times it's just a bit too wacky. That's why I had high hopes for Strange Little Girls, an album that finds Amos covering a dozen songs from other artists. From Tom Waits to John Lennon to Slayer, what Tori does to these songs isn't necessarily bad but it isn't particularly good either. Alas, such is the fate of the tortured Tori fan.