Madonna like Kate???????????????

[ed@das.llnl.gov (Edward Suranyi)]

The following article was posted by Jim Kasprzak to rec.music.misc, in
response to Loren Petrich's claim that Madonna and Kate Bush "have a lot
in common."  Loren is a strong Madonna supporter.  Jim claims to be a
rec.music.gaffa lurker; I hope he doesn't mind that I reposted his
excellent article to this forum.

Article 49928 of rec.music.misc:
Path: lll-winken!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!jimcat
From: jimcat@itsgw.rpi.edu (Jim Kasprzak)
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Re: MADONNA on MTV [all day] Wed, Aug. 1
Message-ID: <715$R#_@rpi.edu>
Date: 31 Jul 90 03:39:45 GMT
References: <JP5$A4^@rpi.edu> <65592@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV>
Organization: The Big Wedge
Lines: 93

In article <65592@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV> loren@tristan.UUCP (Loren Petrich) writes:
>
>There is a whole newsgroup, rec.music.gaffa, devoted to Kate Bush and
>related subjects, and I think that Madonna and Kate Bush have a heck
>of a lot in common. I have long suspected that Kate Bush is the
>Madonna of the alternative-rock set; if you think that comparison is
>unwarranted, please explain why in reasoned, non-flaming words.
>
 
 Whoa there.
 
 I looked real hard for the hidden smiley after that first sentence.
Unfortunately, it seems as though you were dead serious. This is 
scary.
 
 For starters, let me explain my opions with regards to Madonna and
Kate Bush. I'm a 'lurker' in rec.music.gaffa, and I own a couple of
her albums and really enjoy Kate's style of music, but I couldn't
hold a candle to the diehard Katefans who regulkarly post there.
Madonna, on the other hand, is one of those pop artists I view with
semi-accepting tolerance anmd even a bit of grudging respect. She's
a lot less likely to make me say "yecch" and reach for the dial when
one of her songs comes on than most purveyors of pop sludge.
 
 But to hear this comparison made... well... 
 
 I'm sorry, but I just can't hold it back...
 
 <FLAME ON>
 
 HOW DARE YOU SO MUCH AS MENTION MADONNA IN THE SAME *BREATH* AS 
KATE BUSH?!
 
 <FLAME OFF>
 
 Whew. It feels so good to get that out of my system. Now let me 
try and be a bit more rational about the issue.
 
 Madonna is, first and foremost, a pop artist. Her major goals are
to become a legend in the public eye, an idol, an icon, a symbol
which evokes a universal image in the minds of anyone exposed to her.
She wants recognition. Oh yeah, and big bucks. 
 
 Now, to her credit, Madonna is damn good at what she does. She
has such pervasive exposure that even I, who habitually avoid pop
radio and television as much as possible, can't help but get this
certain image in my mind when I hear phrases like "Boy Toy", 
"Material Girl", or any of the other various personae she's 
constructed for her media blitzes. I don't like the music, and
hardly ever hear it, but I could hum the tunes and probably 
recite most of the lyrics to most of her hit songs. She's visible,
pervasive, and yes, somehow memorable.
 
 But now we get to what I see as the main difference between 
Madonna and Kate Bush. Madonna is doing these things with a mass
media audience in mind. She wants to be seen and remembered - 
by *everyone*. Now you take Kate Bush. Kate's songs are artistic
endeavors. All right, so are Madonna's, but we're talking a whole
different level here. Kate speaks from deep in her own heart. 
There are unique, individualistic images in there welling up
through a highly creative and imaginative mind to reach the 
audience as the haunting, abstracted gestalt which marks every 
one of her songs. Kate is doing this, first and foremost, for
herself, because she can't help but do otherwise. Reaching 
enough of a slice of the record-buying public to sell out 
stadiums isn't her goal. Kate doesn't go looking to hook more
followers - they find her. 
 
 To sum up, I think Kate Bush's artistic style as opposed to 
Madonna's is analogous to a Van Gogh painting as opposed to 
the cover of "People" magazine. 
 
My logic here may not be watertight, but I think you get the 
idea. It's actually a very emotional issue for me, and I think
a lot of Kate Bush fans feel the same way. If I had this sort
of reaction, I can't wait to see what some of the dyed-in-the-
wool Love-Hounds have to say when they get a hold of your 
article.
 
 Loren, I've read almost all of your postings about Madonna 
simply because you present her in a more reasonable light than
most of her more rabid fans. It's your fault that I can name 
all the songs on her most recent album. (-: While I can't say
that I like Madonna's music, I try to keep abreast of this 
pop phenomenon out of sheer curiosity. But please. When you 
make comparisons to Kate Bush, you're treading on sacred 
ground. Please take care to treat it with respect, or you 
may incur the wrath of those who worship there.

-- 
 Jim Kasprzak          kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu (internet)
 RPI, Troy, NY         userfe0u@rpitsmts.bitnet
 "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission."  -Rush

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If anybody else wants to reply to Loren, be my guest.

Ed
ed@das.llnl.gov