Heresy: Kate can't dance

[unisoft!hoptoad!tim@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Tim Maroney)]

I love Kate Bush's music.  I have all her albums on CD, and listen to
them frequently, and recommend them to my friends.  That said, I would
like to express my opinion that she is and should remain a studio
musician.  I have seen two of her videotapes, LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH ODEON
and THE WHOLE STORY, and, gosh, they were bad.  In acting, there's a
term to express bad acting that relies on various mugs, grimaces, and
other obviously artificial expressions to show emotions.  That term is
"indicating", and boy, does Kate indicate.

Nor are her flaws as a performer limited to her inability to express
emotions even at the level of the average high school actress.  While
her dancing is serviceable, her choreography is uninspired and
uninteresting.  She does the choreography herself, and is obviously
ill-suited to it.

I recently traded in some old albums and videotapes at a local store,
including LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH ODEON.  The clerk expressed joy at
getting the tape and indicated he would be taking it home himself.  I
told him I though it sucked, expressing the sentiments above; he said,
"I don't care, I just like looking at her."  I believe the widespread
adulation of her live performances may well have more to do with her
pleasing physical attributes than with any reasonable criterion of
performance quality.
-- 
Tim Maroney, Consultant, Eclectic Software, sun!hoptoad!tim
"Do what you wanna, do what you will;
 Just don't mess up your neighbor's thrill.
 And when you pay the bill, kindly leave a little tip
 To help the next poor sucker on his one-way trip."
    - Frank Zappa, "You Are What You Is"