Mailbag

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

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

     First off, thanks a million to Mike Portuesi for transcribing
that whole VH-1 interview, which IED knows took a lot of work--it's
always much slower transcribing from tape than from any
other source. So thanks again, Mike.
     Meredith's inquiry about the MTV Rockumentary requires IED
to discourage all U.S. Love-Hounds from hoping that the programme will
ever appear on American MTV. Give it up! They'll _never_ put it
on here. (Thanks for the information, though, to those who posted it.)
     Therefore, IED implores all European-based and English-based
Love-Hounds to tape the programme for the benefit of us less
fortunate ones in America. Perhaps, if it contains new interview
clips or something else of interest, someone over there will
take the time to transcribe it for us, as well? Thanks.
     Sharon Fisher reports the appearance of _Peter,_The_Angel_Gabriel_
and _Another_Day_ on a Peter Gabriel bootleg LP, and that their
sound quality is superior to other tracks on the album. Neither
fact is surprising. The two cuts come from Kate's Christmas television
special of December 1979, on which Gabriel was the guest. (He also
performed _Here_Comes_the_Flood_ on the programme.) The _Angel_Gabriel_
track was a brief a cappella introduction which Kate composed for
Peter, just prior to his first appearance on the show. (Peter himself
does not sing in the brief cut--the male voice is Paddy Bush's.)
_Another_Day_ is Roy Harper's song, as sung by Kate and Gabriel. And
Sharon, although Kate's voice is indeed very high on the tracks,
it is also indescribably beautiful and expressive!
     IED has a favor to ask of you, Sharon, and of any other
Gabriel bootleg-watcher who may be out there: you may find soon
--or may already have found, for all IED knows--a bootleg album
of a recording of Gabriel's final concert from the last solo tour.
This performance is easily distinguishable from all others on the
tour in that Kate Bush appears during _Don't_Give_Up_ to sing
her part in the song. (In all the other live performances Gabriel
sings both parts alone.) Should such a bootleg ever surface, could
you please announce the fact to Love-Hounds? Thanks.

 >   I am not a journalist, but I know there are other aspects of this
 >album that have not been explored.  I don't read a lot of interviews
 >with singers/songwriters/musicians, so I don't know whether to
 >attribute this to Kate's tendency towards privacy or to unimaginative
 >interviewers.
 >   But I remember when HOL came out there were stories about the cover
 >photographs, some info on how different parts of the album were
 >technically produced, and other such stuff.
 >   What happened?
 >
 >-- Douglas MacGowan

     Your "menu" was certainly spot on, Douglas: Kate has surpassed
herself during the past year in repeating the same answers endlessly
and virtually without variation. As much as IED would like to lay
the blame solely on the heads of her interviewers--and they have
indeed shown an amazing lack of knowledge or imagination, as usual--for
the dullness of Kate's answers, it just isn't possible. Kate knows that
interviews are as much an occasion for the subject to extemporize
as for the interviewer to ask questions. She could always change the
subject and introduce new ideas into the conversations, but she
chooses instead to reply by rote to the familiar questions she
is asked. In fact, on many occasions she has deflected a novel question
by interpreting it as a familiar one, and answering with one of
her tried and true formula responses. It's sad to say it, but Kate doesn't
seem to _want_ to communicate much with the public, or to spend more time
than is necessary in the public eye, and as time goes by she is becoming
more and more obvious about it. Her evasive, bland replies and
word-for-word repetition of stock answers are perfectly compatible
with her dismissals of the possibility of touring: in both
cases there is an implied conviction that her place is at home and
in the studio, not before the public, and that her energies are
too easily sapped when misdirected into areas which she considers
to be of secondary importance--like touring and giving interviews.
     Face it, folks--Kate has all but retired, permanently, from
the "real" world. From here on in, she will probably only appear
every seven or ten years to promote--perhaps via one or two satellite-
distributed interviews--a new album. Aside from that we will have
to amuse ourselves as best we can with what information and materials
become available to us.

-- Andrew Marvick