Mailbag including a response to this IED person

[blblbl!henrik@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (Larry DeLuca)]

Well, yes, "Symmetry is death" taken in a vacuum is slightly out of
context.  However, in the frame of reference I was using (that of
excessive use of symmetry without thought for variations on a theme)
it is entirely right.  Symmetry must be used sparingly to be
effective.  My comment about "little girl's jazz classes" relates to
this.  Symmetry is often overused here because either a) the
choreographer is short on ideas, b) it essentially doubles the amount
of choreography a student can learn (kinesthetic memory of this sort
is something people are not usually trained with by normal existance
-- it is hard-won).  However, in "dance pieces" of this sort, the
element of surprise is quickly lost, and the audience's attention can
wander for fully half the piece without losing a bit of it.

Don't dwell too much on symmetry -- it's one complaint of several that
I had.

No one made Doris Humphrey God (anymore than anyone ever made any of
the founders of Modern Dance or any other movement God).  However,
Miss Humphrey was a keen observer, a brilliant dancer and
choregrapher, and her school of thought (along with her pupil Jose
Limon and her contemporaries Martha Graham and Mary Wigman, her
predecessors and successors, opened up new avenues for dance).  I
merely quoted Doris Humphrey because she wrote up a series of
excellent treatises on choreography I thought anyone seeking
information on the subject would find enlightening.

Back to _Suspended in Gaffa_ -- I will agree with many of your points
about emphasis in the video.  However, I still feel that there's
nothing new said -- bouncing up and down to the bass line while using
pointed fingers to indicate significant downbeats while mouthing the
words at the camera doesn't do it for me (maybe it does for you).

Insofar as your comments about "mere Love-Hounds" ranking songs and
such -- I really think there's more to listening to an artist than
blindly absorbing everything they put out as the work of God, or the
other extreme, the excercises in mental masturbation that so often
take place here (to the point of losing, if you will, "the point" of
the music -- whether or not Kate Bush ever had an 8-track studio is
not *really* relevant -- while it may be a nice piece of trivia that
may make more things "fit into place" the whole point of the song --
whether or not one has earned success enough to achieve it, whether
the success one has already achieved is "real" or not, whether one can
"have it all" really doesn't live and die around such an inane
discussion).

While I find Kate Bush to be one of the more creative people out
there, I also find things of hers I don't like as well.  I would worry
if I didn't.  There are even aspects of her work I would call bad.  I
try to listen with a critical ear to whatever I hear, because I can
learn the most from it that way.  Further, when something that
*really* impresses me comes along (like a lot of the layering in
_Watching You Without Me_, or the sum total effect of _The Ninth
Wave_, or _This Woman's Work_) I am doubly gratified).  I have little
respect for people who criticize without creating, and even less
respect for those who blindly suck in everything someone puts out, no
matter what it is, because they're God so it's got to be good (Even
Doris Humphrey had her clunkers ;-) ).

Further, I never meant this to turn into a discussion of the
choreographic art, as I don't feel that really applies.  My original
question was "What does Kate Bush think about her early videos (in
retrospect)?".  When I received |>ougie-Poo's outlandish emotional
attack for slinging mud at an idol (as opposed to an answer to my
question) as well as his blanket statement that everything "Kate" does
is awesome I was required to elaborate.  I gave specific examples of
things I didn't like.  I pointed out clear reasons why I didn't like
them, and further, I gave references.  |>oug sputtered and sparked but
didn't come up with anything to do except sling more mud and spin the
discussion off sideways, talking about "`Kate's' limited training"
etc., etc., etc.  However, whenever an artist puts out something for
the public to view, criticism of some sort will result.  Mostly I
found her choreography, while occasionally interesting, to not be
anywhere near the standards she has set for herself musically.  I
wanted to know if she felt this way.  I wanted to know why she chose
to do it herself instead of calling in someone else to advise her.
Since y'all claim to be true authorities on "Kate" I thought I'd ask
and see if anyone turned up anything interesting in an interview
someone might know about.  Can anyone answer my original question?

Insofar as your "I hope 'Kate' never sees this drivel" comment, even
if she were to decide I was a total asshole and was just being
gratuitous I think it might provide more food for thought than any
abject worship.  Were I standing in front of God Herself I think I
would phrase my comments a bit more delicately (no sense offending
anyone gratuitously) and ask more detailed questions, but I'd
certainly be much more interested in discussing the videos and the
decisions made about them than my shallowness as a person.

					larry...

PS: On a dancing note, I would recommend that anyone who's even
vaguely interested in dance, what it can be, or David Byrne's music
pick up a copy of the video _The Catherine Wheel_ (choreography by
Twyla Tharp, music by David Byrne).  It's a truly impressive piece of
work.