While My compaKT disk gently weeps...

[RMS.G.JON@OZ.AI.MIT.EDU]

Andy Marvick, in his guise as ace Kate-fan, IED writes:

> so we agree after all. As for the vocals, however, where do you hear
> vocals on The Dreaming that are like BKTMM's? To IED, there are
> several specific sounds Kate produces with her voice on BKTMM which
> occurred in other recent tracks: "Alternative Hounds" (especially
> the line "I don't know what I want...", where the voice sort of
> swoops in a manner almost identical to several sounds in
> "Alternative Hounds"), and "ent IV" (the way key words at the ends
> of phrases drift into a kind of voiceless exhalation ("It's all
> right, now....." from BKTMM, "for the military...." from X4, for
> example). In other words, the style, as far as IED sees it, is
> consistent with Kate'that she sings in a higher range, which, to my
> ears, is reminiscent of "The Dreaming".  I agree that a lot of the
> phrasings are quite Hounds Of Love-ish, but there are still a few
> places (I can't think of any specific instances right now) where it
> reminds me of "The>This is really interesting. Some may be surprised
> to hear that IED does not share this sentiment. To him, BKTMM,
> although a superlative piece of music by normal standards, and
> packed with brilliant ideas, is nevertheless -- in comparison with
> Kate's last two albums -- a fairly unadventurous recording. There is
> furthermore some anticlimax

Well, it is a rather conventional pop song in structure, but it's got
a really unique Kate feel to it which I find quite intoxicating.  The
drone is quite interesting musically, but it's going over ground that
she's tackled on many occasions.  "Running Up That Hill" and
"Experiment IV" both end with synth drones.  She's falling into a rut
with these endings.  Remember "Pull Out The Witch" and "Exp. IV" both
end with helicopter sounds?

> that Kate is travelling in, we have real reason to be hopeful. The
> greatest likelihood, however, is that all of these interregnum
> tracks ("Burning Bridge", "Not This Time", "X4", "BKTMM", "Make it
> Go Away" -- if that one exists -- and "Rocket Man" ) will have very
> little to do with KBVI stylistically. They are stopgap works,
> tidbits thrown out on the streets to keep the wolves at bay during
> the long, cold winter between HoL and KBVI.

Yough.  It may be a logical (and terribly unfortunate) progression.  I
hope you agree that her music has been moving in a more "accessible"
direction ever since "The Dreaming".  I don't know how much more
accessibility I can take, however :-).

And MarK T. Ganzer writes:
>> --Jon Drukman
>> "Am I yours?  Are you mine?
>>  We'll find what we're meant to find..."
>
> ARRRGGH!!! Jon has come up with the solution to the line of "Be Kind
> to My Mistakes" that has puzzled me for months! Listening to it again,
> it's obvious that what's the line was. My mind got fixed on one idea,
> and I couldn't hear the obvious. NOW it makes sense....

No sweat, Mark!  Glad to be of service!

> I agree with Jon here. However, every time I hear the opening line of
> the new vocal, I can't help but think I am listening to Faith Brown's
> parody of the original "field" video :-) The rest of the track is a
> distinct improvement, however.

Finally!  _SOMEONE_ who agrees!  Bless you Mark, you've made a poor little
Kate fan happier!  I dedicate this playing of "The Dreaming" to you...

	[ I agree too!  I like the original version of "Wuthering
	  Heights" much better too. -- |>oug ]

> Now that you mention it, my import copy of the CD is the same way.
> Actually most of Kate's music from Never For Ever on really shines
> when the volume is turned up. All the little details and mood-setting
> parts start to come out. I never was impressed with "Experiment 4"
> until I got a chance to really crank up the volume on the 12" version,
> whereupon all the eerie feelings associated with the story started to

Yessir.  Loudness is definitely a positive quality here.  I was fixing
my dad's stereo this weekend, and I plugged the CD playerand cranked
"Sat In Your Lap" for him.  Even he was getting into it.  He surprised
me by requesting that I cranked it even louder.  Lovely!

However, I never got into "Exp. 4" until I saw the video.  It really
strikes me as unfortunate that you need a video to truly appreciate a
song, but I think that's the case with "Exp. 4".  And I _still_ think
that the violin passage is really overrated.

> come out. It was the same eerie feeling I got when listening to "Get
> Out of My House" (although it did not jerk my emotions around like
> GOoMH did, something I consider the main difference between 'The
> Dreaming' and Kate's later work).

Yeah, well, "Get Out Of My House" (what an unfortunate set of initials)
not only jerks your emotions around, but bends them into pretzels, and
then stuffs them back in the wrong way round!  Marvelous!

>      [ Kate has said that music should be listened the way it was meant to
>        be listened: LOUD!  -- |>oug ]

She's a very clever woman, ain't she?

--Jon Drukman
"Am I yours?  Are you mine?"

ps:  the new "Dukes Of Stratosphear" record is quite amazing!
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