Mailbag

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu]

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
 Subject: Mailbag

     First, a sincere and warm thankyou to Julian West for the extremely
cogent information he gave about the connections between _Ulysses_ and
_The_Sensual_World_. IED, who owns the Penguin edition, had searched
in vain for "Chapter  11" yesterday (the original chapter headings are
not included in that edition, it turns out), so could find only the
relevant soliloquy at the very end. The specific page references you
gave, therefore, Julian, are most opportune and much appreciated.
     It occurs to IED that Kate _might_ be drawing partially, or even
possibly in toto, from the recent film _James_Joyce's_Women_, which
starred Fionula Flanagan as Molly Bloom, and which included a long
soliloquy based on but also of course much different from the original
in _Ulysses_. This would be worth checking into.

 >   Now. Mystery lines.
 >   "Going deep south".  The NME(?) review someone posted this morning
 >gave this line as "going deep sex".  I think this is odd, and unlikely.
 >"deep south" and "deep six" are both expressions. "deep sex" sounds a
 >little direct for line two of a song!Can we try to get an authoritative
 >reading on this one?

    As much as he'd like to, IED cannot oblige. This is one of several
lines in the song which IED simply cannot hear clearly enough to
make sense of. We'll just have to wait till the album comes out with
the lyric sheet.

 >  "he's up off his head".  Could this possibly be "Howth Head"? That is
 >the physical location of the episode in _Ulysses_, a headland north of
 >Dublin. (see eg 643 line 13)

   Yes! Yes! Yes! That's what she's saying! Great work!

 >"down on the peach".  Molly uses the word "peach" once, in the phrase
 >"soft like a peach" in reference to female sexual organs (Vintage
 >page 770).  Earlier in the day she has been presented with a gift
 >of peaches and pears. Can't find a reference to "down" on peaches.

     Nevertheless it makes perfect sense in this context. You must
have hit on the correct reference (p. 770).

 >   "?Coralean? girl".  Could it possibly be "Coriolanus" or "Cordelia"?
 >Both are mentioned in _Ulysses_, but beyond that I have no suggestions.

     As Greg O'Rear noted already, Kate is saying "Like a Machiavellian
girl" here. Thanks, Greg.

 >   "?o'er ernos? body"  ???

     The words here are "of a woman's body".

 >   "The Sensual World" seems to be original to Kate. The word "sensual"
 >somewhat surprisingly does not occur in _Ulysses_, and so _a_fortiori_
 >neither does "sensual world". Does IED have any further reference to
 >Rupert Croft-Cooke's work _The_Sensual_World_? I can't find it in
 >the Dartmouth library either. I have written down a date of 1903--if that
 >is the date of the work, it is a natural for earning a reference in _Ulysses_
 >which is set in 1904. I rather think that is Croft-Cooke's birthdate though.

     Yes, it's just his birthdate. Most of his books were written between
the mid-1930s and the early 1970s. IED really doesn't think the Croft-Cooke
books have much to do with _TSW_. It's probably just a co-incidence.
     Finally, IED didn't take umbrage against you, Julian, for correcting
his spelling of Vaughan Williams's name. On the contrary, he shares with you
a respect for spelling which often leads him into breaches of the sad
protocol devised by our present social order, which has become so complacent
in its illiteracy that it actually views bad English as a virtue, and the
consciousness of error as a sin. By all means, correct IED's spelling whenever
and wherever it occurs!

 >These are not the first Joycean references
 >in Kate's work.

     This statement intrigued IED, also. Could you enlighten him about
any other possible Joycean allusions? And thanks very much for sharing
your evident expertise, Julian. It is valued highly by this Love-Hound.

 >Also, does anyone know if the Canadian single will be "TSW" or the
 >before-mentioned American single (whose name escapes me)? Since the
 >(416) 672-KATE number is playing "TSE" and is in Toronto, I'm not sure
 >just what our Canadian friends will be hearing first.
 >Also, in what kind of record store was IED able to find his recent finds?
 >I've been talking to both Towers in the south bay and Star Records in SJ
 >(they supposedly specialize in imports) and these folks don't know shit!!
 >"Kate Bush has a new album out?" ARGH!!
 >
 >-- keving@gaffa.wpd.sgi.com

     IED suspects that the Canadian single will be _TSW_, not _Love_and_
_Anger_ (as in the U.S.). This is because so far as IED knows Kate is still
signed with EMI for the Canadian market, so the single will come from EMI.
     As IED has explained before, he is fortunate to have a Bleecker Bob's
branch in his town (L.A.). B. B.'s is a rip-off joint, but they have a London
branch, and are able to ship out their merchandise immediately from London to
NYC and L.A. twice a week. Hence IED's lucky finds day before yesterday.
     However, all decent import rock shops will surely get in a copy
or two of the new single within the next week or two, no? They're just
a little slower than Bleecker B.'s.

 >   Have we discussed and I jell-ed out and missed possibly taking up
 >a collection and getting on of our UK friends to purchase Kate's
 >new album? Mabye you, IED would be willing to be the pivot person?
 >I went to several local stores this morning. I was not surprised that
 >they didn't know a new album was available. What did surprise me was
 >that several said" UNLESS there's several(more than 1) million albums
 >sold overseas, that it'll be 4-52 weeks before we might see it here.
 >That sucks, pure and simple.
 >
 >Steven C. Blair                7651 Fairoaks Drive Pleasanton, Ca 94566

   No, no, Steven! Don't listen to jerks like that, listen to IED! He's
already told everyone that CBS _is_ planning to release the album, with
a U.S. single, right on schedule. And their promotion campaign sounds
pretty substantial, at least on paper. So no one needs to get the import
LP unless they like collecting.
     Thanks _hugely_ to Michael Lamoureux for posting all those names,
phone numbers and addresses. It takes a load off IED's mind, and he
will be using many of them himself in the very near future. Great
work, Michael.

 >My question concerns Kate's Irish background. I've been told that
 >her father is/was Irish. Is this true ? Being Irish myself (but
 >working in the UK) I'd be interested in any info.

     Well, Nolan, you've got it almost right. Kate's father is
English through and through (or at least a ways back--for a thorough
and rather boring recap of both parents' ancestry see Vermorel's
scummy book _The_Secret_History_of_Kate_Bush_).
     Kate's _mother_ Hannah, however, is indeed 100% Irish. She
grew up in Ireland, and was in fact a skilled dancer of Irish folk-
dance, so Kate has told us. The musical influence from Ireland is
due in part, therefore, to Hannah's background, but perhaps more
directly it stems from the deep interest in Irish folk music which
Kate's brothers Paddy and John Carder Bush had when they were in
their teens and Kate still a little girl. (Paddy has, of course,
gone on to become a scholar and maker of ancient musical instruments,
including many Celtic instruments which are rare or even extinct
today.) Both brothers belonged to folk-influenced groups for a time
during the late '60s-early '70s, and Kate has spoken often of night in
her youth, spent round the hearth of their sitting room at East
Wickham Farm when her brothers, uncles and aunts would play and
sing Irish music till late at night. Kate considers those experiences
to have been among the most important formative influences on her art.

-- Andrew Marvick