Mailbag

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

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

   Thanks to Cindy for her informative postings re Trio B. and IED's
reminder. IED should also mention that a group called Balkana did
tour the U.S. last year. This group consisted of four male instrumental-
ists and the Trio Bulgarka, except that Eva Georgieva (the eldest of
the three singers) was ill and stayed home. This, then, was more or
less the core of the group of musicians featured on the Balkana LP.
IED believes "Balkana" was a name chosen by the musicians in conjunction
with Joe Boyd, the producer of that album. Anyway, IED heard them and
they were _great_. If they tour the U.S. again, you are all strongly
urged to hear themn--it's a more intimate experience (not better or worse)
than the Bulgarian...Choir's concerts, because Balkana play at tiny
little folk venues, not big halls.
   Incidentally, the Bulgarian...Choir were on Johnny Carson last
week, and sang two or three songs from Volume One.
   By the way, there are now two volumes of "Bulgarian Polyphony"
CDs out (Japanese imports), featuring a _different_ but very similar-
looking female choir. Has anyone heard these recordings? They look
promising.
   A note for enthusiasts of the work of the group Japan and its
ex-members: Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri have contributed
to a 1989 CD by the Italian female pop artist Alice. Also
Sylvian, Karn, Jansen and Barbieri are said to be working in
a London studio together, and the word is that Japan may be
permanently re-forming. So far it's all rumour, however.
      Bill writes:
 >  In a transcribed interview, IED writes:
 >> Perhaps that's why her self-produced videos have
 >> been so successful. You won't find Bush up there lip-synching her
 >> songs in lingerie with jump-cuts and smoke-bombs.
 >
 > Actually, you can call me disgusting, depraved, and sick, but I'd kinda like
 > to see KaTe lip-synching her songs in lingerie with jump-cuts and smoke-
 > bombs. Just once.
 >
 > -- Bill (wms@sam.cs.cmu.edu)

   IED wants to re-emphasize that it was the interviewer who made
the original comment--IED merely transcribed it. This is important
because the comment isn't strictly speaking true!
   Kate has done a great deal of lip-synching, both in official videos
and elsewhere: not only in the past, but in the recent _LAA_ and _TSW_.
   She used tons of smoke for her Tour of Life, as well as in the videos
_Army_Dreamers_ and _The_Big_Sky_.
   And while not actually in lingerie in any videos, she _has_
been known to wear some pretty skimpy outfits in her films:
there's _Wuthering_Heights_ (white version), _Babooshka_, two of
the European lip-synchs of _Babooshka_, _The_Wedding_List_ (both
versions), _Breathing_, etc.
   Then, too, Kate has been known to use her share of jump cuts on
occasion: remember _Army_Dreamers_, for example, or the second half
of _The_Big_Sky_, both of which feature a lot of fast, tricky editing.
     It's true that the artistic aims of Kate Bush, video-maker, are
far different than those of Madonna or other MTV icons. But it's
inaccurate to claim that Kate's video "language" is in itself radically
purer or more virtuous. It's not. She just has more significant things
to say in them.

-- Andrew Marvick, looking for a clean room at a reasonable rate