Before “Flicker” was a song, it was a daydream. And ten years later, it’s time to tell the whole story.

On this episode, Anatomy of a Track returns with a very special chapter: the extraordinary origin story of Tori Amos’ “Flicker,” her original song for the Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy.

We launched this series earlier this year with a deep dive into Tori’s brilliant In Times of Dragons closer, “23 Peaks,” alongside her longtime musical right-hand man, John Philip Shenale.

This time, we’ve got another slightly less brilliant bald man who collaborated with Tori on a different—but no less epic—scale. OUR OWN MATT MAZUR. 👨🏻‍🦲 That’s right, the call is coming from inside the house. ☎️

TL;DR: Matt was the executive steering Audrie & Daisy at Netflix—and the guy who dreamed up the idea of bringing Tori Amos aboard to create an original song, pitched it, and actually made it happen.

From Los Angeles to the Cornish coast of England and back, Matt takes us on the ride of his life: a die hard Tori fan suddenly working shoulder to shoulder with one of his greatest creative inspirations, navigating enormous stakes, the evolution of an extraordinary song, and an impossibly ambitious awards campaign.

For the song’s tenth anniversary, he’s sharing the most complete account yet of how “Flicker” came to be, including new stories, behind-the-scenes revelations, and the extraordinary intersection of fandom, friendship, art, and activism. A literal daydream turned awards contender to be reckoned with—brought to life through passion, persistence, shared values… and a whole lot of Netflix money, HONEY.

But at the heart of it all is a song, a film, and two young women whose stories deserve to be remembered.

This episode is lovingly dedicated to Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman. ❤️

Join Matt, Joey, and Kristen as we shed a little light on “Flicker.”

FURTHER READING, WATCHING & LISTENING

VICE: Joe Vallese interviews Tori Amos and the directors of Audrie & Daisy
https://www.vice.com/en/article/audrie-and-daisy-netflix-documentary-social-media-sexual-assault/

Los Angeles Times: Tori’s first-person essay on sexual violence and writing “Flicker”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-ca-st-tori-amos-sexual-violence-20160918-snap-story.html

Netflix: “Flicker” featurette with Tori Amos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UI23cmWRpA

MTV News: Tori discusses Audrie & Daisy with Meredith Graves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPeT2P10Cs8

Front Row Features: Tori Amos Lends Voice on Netflix Doc Audrie & Daisy
https://frontrowfeatures.com/news-dvd-film-music-online-streaming/tori-amos-lends-voice-netflix-doc-audrie-daisy-17358.html

Billboard’s Soul Sisters: Tori Amos interview
https://shows.acast.com/soulsisters/episodes/toriamos

Awards Daily: Tori talks “Flicker,” cyberbullying and teenage sexual abuse
https://www.awardsdaily.com/2016/10/03/best-original-song-interview-tori-amos-talks-about-flicker-americas-endemic-cyber-bullying-and-teenage-sexual-abuse/

Billboard: Tori on “Flicker” and the 20th anniversary of Boys for Pele
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/tori-amos-flicker-netflix-audrie-daisy-interview-7534135/

The Hollywood Reporter: Full Oscar Songwriters Roundtable with Tori, Sting, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfbTkBpWRQ

The Hollywood Reporter: Tori on “Flicker” and reconnecting with her muses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWlWM5w2ug

Sting.com: Hollywood Reporter Songwriter Roundtable transcript
https://sting.com/blogs/news/hollywood-reporter-songwriter-roundtable

Talkhouse: Tori Amos in conversation with Shirley Manson
https://talkhouse.com/tori-amos-talks-shirley-manson-garbage-talkhouse-music-podcast

Deadline: Tori on “Flicker,” sexual assault and social media
https://deadline.com/2016/11/tori-amos-audrie-and-daisy-netflix-flicker-awards-interview-1201847384/

IndieWire: Tori Amos and “Flicker”—How to Hunt Down an Oscar Song
https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/tori-amos-flicker-oscar-best-song-audrie-and-daisy-sexual-assault-1201763180/

Los Angeles Times: Tori on the Valkyries and Mad Max’s Furiosa as inspirations for “Flicker”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-en-mn-tori-amos-20161018-snap-story.html

KPCC’s The Frame: Tori on music’s ability to provide comfort during troubled times
https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/tori-amos-musical-artists-can

When we first heard that Tori was bringing three new background vocalists onto this tour, we had absolutely no idea what that was going to sound like.

And then we heard them and it was like:
OH DUH. OF COURSE.

Liv, Deni, and tonight’s very special guest Hadley Kennary became such a distinct part of these shows that by the end of the tour, it was impossible to think about the arrangements without hearing their voices in them.

Three powerhouse singers, each coming from their own musical lives, stepping into a songbook with thirty years of history behind it—and figuring out how to make something that felt completely at home without simply reproducing what had come before.

And somehow, they did exactly that.

Hadley in particular brings a beautiful kind of musical curiosity to these arrangements that we found completely captivating. Her voice has a honeyed combination of warmth, power, and character, and you can hear her making choices—responding to the music, pushing it somewhere new, finding colors we hadn’t heard there before.

She didn’t just become part of the sound of this tour.

She helped originate it.

So today, we FINALLY get to talk to Hadley about what was happening inside those songs, what it meant to step into Tori’s extraordinary catalogue, and how three individual voices found their way toward something entirely their own.

As Tori says, Hadley is “Never last”, but she IS the grand finale of our mini series featuring the Angel Witches… ✨

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

If you have been finding yourself wondering, “Where’re those angels when you need them?” you’re in the right place.

We are not only Introverted but Willing to Discuss Tori Amos, but also beyond overjoyed to continue our deep dive into the world of our beloved Angel Witches—the powerhouse harmonic trio who made history as the first vocalists ever to join Tori Amos on tour—with the one and only Liv Gibson.

If you made it to a show on the In Times of Dragons tour—or followed along through the glorious wealth of YouTube recordings we were utterly spoiled by—you probably noticed pretty quickly that Tori’s stage aesthetic and sound had changed. And we mean sound in every possible sense: the acoustics, the arrangements, and even our understanding of “the Tori Amos sound.”

Liv, alongside her fellow coven-mates Deni and Hadley, helped create this fresh, unprecedented experience, realizing layers of Tori’s music that had rarely, if ever, been heard live before—and bringing to life characters from nearly twenty albums of Tori’s original material.

Naturally, a fairly forensic investigation into the Angel Witches’ own music ensued. Liv’s is particularly fascinating: soulful, playful, sensual, funny, surprising, and deeply her own.

On this episode, we’re joined by Liv to talk about the music she makes when she’s not busy being an Angel Witch—and to explore what is uniquely, marvelously Liv Gibson.