More Madonna vs. Kate from .misc

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

Article 50026 of rec.music.misc:
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From: ajoel@sim.uucp (ANTIPUESTO JOEL CESORA)
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Madonna on HBO
Keywords: madonna, blonde ambition, HBO
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Date: 2 Aug 90 16:39:56 GMT
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Could someone post or e-mail me when the Blonde Ambition concert will
be aired on HBO. Thanks in advance.

And as far as comparing Madonna and Kate Bush, I think that it's like
comparing apples and oranges. I enjoy both for different reasons.
Madonna makes good Top40 pop songs (IMO), regardless of how one
interprets her ideals or image. Kate Bush also writes good songs (again,
IMO), but a different kind of song involving a different musical and
lyrical content and vernacular. I'm not going to argue which is more
"worthy" of attention. I think they are just two artists who express
themselves differently (song reference not intended).

-Joel
janti@athena.arc.nasa.gov

"Mmm, yes..."


Article 50043 of rec.music.misc:
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From: laural@cbnewsl.att.com (laura.l.la gassa)
Newsgroups: rec.music.misc
Subject: Re: MADONNA on MTV [all day] Wed, Aug. 1
Summary: Madonna ~= Kate Bush ?  Naah.
Keywords: Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Kate Bush
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Date: 2 Aug 90 19:09:48 GMT
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[Loren says he suspects that Kate Bush is the Madonna of the Alternative
Rock Set]

Disclaimer:  I'm not a rabid fan of anything right now.  (For a while I was 
nearly religious over OMD, but that's another story).

Anyway, I have five of Kate Bush's albums (one is a compilation), and really
really like three of them, and aren't so thrilled with the other two.  (I'm
telling you this so you'll get a sense of where I'm coming from).

One thing that I feel makes Kate Bush very different from Madonna is the
sheer variety of instruments Kate experiments with.  In her music you can
hear Ullean (sp?) pipes (more melodic Irish relatives of the Scottish
bagpipes), didgeridoos (sp?) (deep droning Australian Aborigneal ceremonial
pipes), and some Southern and Eastern European relatives of the mandolin
and balaliaka (the exact names escape me now).  I find these experiments
fascinating and beautiful.

I'm also intrigued by the range of subjects Kate Bush writes about.  I've
heard songs about planning and executing a bank robbery, the fear and
excitement of love, a (short) biography of the death of Harry Houdini,
of the conflict between whites and Native Australians, of a woman who
plays a trick on her husband to see if he still loves her (and it back-
fires), an interpretation of Wuthering Heights, of what it is like to
be dying after falling overboard in a storm, of the emotions surrounding
a difficult birth . . . . Each song is unique.  Each is like a little
short story in that a whole universe is created in each.  I don't get
that from Madonna's music (the stuff that's played on MTV and the radio).
Madonna's musical universe appears to revolve around how Madonna has
created herself.  Kate's universe is recreated in every song, with Kate
playing a different part every time, but still putting her unique
personality into each part.  Madonna's pretty much type-casts herself
in her songs.

As a contrast, consider Sarah McLachlan.  "Universe"-wise, she's more like
Madonna -- Sarah's universe of lost love is fairly consistant from song
to song.  Her voice, however, is *incredible*.  She has a much greater
range than Madonna, and her voice is fuller and more melodic, too.  She
can hit the highs and lows of Kate Bush, but doesn't squeak in between.
So, while I find a varying "universe" more interesting, I feel Sarah's
voice more than compensates, and this is why I prefer Kate Bush and
Sarah McLachlan to Madonna.

Albums to try, albums to avoid:

	The best way to start with Kate Bush is with her compilation,
_The Whole Story_.  It's got a sprinkling of songs from all her albums.
As far as "real" albums go, the best to start with is _Hounds of Love_.
I wasn't too keen on _Never For Ever_, and don't have anything earlier
than that.  Her latest, _The Sensual World_, does not hit me right
between the ears like _Hounds of Love_ did, _Hounds of Love_ makes a
better first impression (or a better impression on first-time listeners).

	As for Sarah McLachlan, the only album I know of is _Touch_.  What
follows is a review I wrote when I first got _Touch_:

McLachlan's songs are beautiful, but the lyrics are painful.  Not as in
painfully bad, but as in showing pain.  Her pretty instrumentations hide
a lot of deep painful reflections on loneliness and lovelessness.  I don't
know if this is getting any airplay, but it seems "Vox" would be the ideal 
single to put on the radio (on the type of stations that would play Enya's 
"Orinoco Flow.")  Anyway, "Vox" has a bright bouncy sound, but the lyrics 
describe nightmares about a love relationship:                                                                   
        In the desert of my dreams I saw you there
        and I'm walking toward the water steaming body cold and bare
        but your words cut loose the fire and you left my soul to bleed
        and the pain that's in your truth deceiving me has got me scared

        Oh Why?
                                                                                My other favorite track is "Touch," which is an "instrumental" where
McLachlan really unwraps her voice singing clear soprano (?)  notes (not
real words).  She sounds positively angelic (she doesn't shriek when she hits
the high notes).  McLachlan plays 12-string guitar, and piano.  There are
some nice string arrangements, too.  Available in the US on Arista.

Laura


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Ed
ed@das.llnl.gov