03. “Strange Little Girl” sung by a man would be condescending… a song about little blue girls who have to escape the worlds that enclose them would seem to inherently imply that only such a strange wispy little creature could ever be susceptible to such a fate. Tori introduces something else into the mix… a kindred spirit who knows from experience what the act of running away feels like. 
Suddenly, this has become more familiar territory for us fans. A strange little girl is not a fragile creature of blown glass, but a spirit on the loose looking for something that can contain her. You feel her tear into you as Belew’s guitars slash past Tori’s wurley to assault your ears like the winds that she is wrapped up tightly against. This girl is not so fragile after all.
The song itself says the same thing about the album as it says about its character… something that seemed so tiny and careful at first surges up the same way Tori’s voice leads the way in “New Age.” It recenters your listening … it is telling you not to let the quiet deliveries and fragile vocals obscure the steely nerves and sinews beneath this record.
[…] Last night just before waking up i dreamt of Tori Amos fronting Ani DiFranco’s band, and at the end of the chorus of “Strange Little Girl” she suddenly broke into “Father Lucifer.” At first glance this just seems like a silly dream incoherency, but a cursory glance to my guitar after i woke up revealed that both choruses are in the same key and share two of the same chords. I didn’t quite remember how to play “SLG,” but i’m sure that when i get home i’ll be able to easily reproduce the transition from “you really should, really should be going” to “nothing’s gonna stop me from floating.” […]