No Subject

[Stephen Thomas <spt1@ukc.ac.uk>]

To: rec-music-gaffa@kestrel
Path: harrier.ukc.ac.uk!spt1
From: spt1@ukc.ac.uk (Stephen Thomas)
Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Subject: Observations
Message-ID: <7192@harrier.ukc.ac.uk>
Date: 25 Mar 91 20:15:06 GMT
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Lines: 99


In many articles, many people say something like:
>"_The Dreaming_ is, of course, *the* best album."
>"Rubbish!  _Hounds of Love_ is the only choice."
>"No, _TD_ is *definitely* it!"
>"It is not!"
>"It is!"
> <thump> "Ow!"
> <bash> "Oh, you bounder!"
>...

Well, perhaps I exaggerate a little, and may attract a few flames
for my little bit of whimsy above, but I really couldn't resist it :-).

You see, in my own mind I can't place either _TD_ of _HoL_ above the
others (although I do agree with the almost universal unspoken
concurrence that these two albums are the most outstanding of Kate's
work).  In fact, I don't like giving supremacy to any of her albums.

Now I'll explain why, in a roundabout way.  In my room on campus I have
some Kate posters (naturally).  I have a 5 foot tall "Sensual World"
album poster, which constantly tries to peel itself off the wall.  I also
have the "sand through the fingers" TSW single poster.  And I have
the obligatory poster of Kate in a leotard (also known as "Oh England My
Leotard" to some people :-)).  I don't have a _The Dreaming_ poster
yet :-(, but I keep looking.  But my favourite poster is one I find
difficult to describe.  Kate is looking very, well, manic is the word,
I suppose.  Her eyes are widened (a lovely shade of brown!), her lips
an intense red, parted to reveal white teeth (surprise!).  Drawn on the
left side of her face in dark make-up are several lightning-like
zig-zagging strokes.

I like this poster because of all my Kate Bush posters, this is the
Kate Bushiest.  What do I mean by this?  We all our own internalised
views of Kate, formed as we got to know her work.  This is why it
is so interesting reading everyone's initial Kate experiences, because
they are describing their own views.  What I like about Kate is
formed from my experiences of her, over the years.  This is where
I tell you about my Kate experiences, folks.

I first heard her when she exploded onto the scene with "Wuthering
Heights" all those years ago.  I was a tender lad of 12 at the time,
and as such was a far, far different person to who I am now.  I can't
remember what I thought of her at the time, although I don't recall
disliking her, but I had other interests and responsibilities, so
I didn't follow her career avidly.  Occasionally, I would notice
that she had something new out, but often I just thought she was
just getting wierder, which was not something I liked, at the time.
The next time I really sat up and took notice was when I saw the
video for "Cloudbusting" on The Old Grey Whistle Test (or it may have
been just Whistle Test by then), when she was being interviewed by
Andy Kershaw (I think).  I recall *really* liking that, and it is
still one of my favourite tracks to this very day.  Nevertheless, I
was busy with my Bachelor's degree and she got pushed to the back
of my mind, again.

That situation lasted until about September '89, when I heard, and liked,
"The Sensual World", the single.  So much that I went out and bought it.
Soon after I arrived at Kent to start my PhD and started reading
rec.music.gaffa, and was hooked.  I got _TSW_ first, and then over the
next four or five months I got the remaining albums.  The rest, as they
say, is history.

Most of my views of Kate, I think, stem from two sources.  Firstly the
videos of "Cloudbusting" and "Hounds of Love", which also coincide
with memories of pivotal points in my life, and secondly from the
"wierdness" I initially shied away from, and which I now think is
utterly excellent.  That poster I mentioned, if you are still with me,
encapsulates my view of Kate.  An original person doing original work.

As far as the albums are concerned, the one I want to listen to depends
upon how I am feeling at the time, so I don't really have a favourite,
although it so happens that _HoL_ and _TD_ get played more often than
the others.  But, if I am in the mood for off-the-wall strangeness, my
hand reaches unerringly for _Never For Ever_.  I find that _Lionheart_
is a great album to work to.  _The Kick Inside_ and _TSW_ are good
albums if I am in a general sort of mood, whatever that means.

There are few tracks I dislike - few, not none.  Until a few days ago,
literally, I didn't like "Violin".  Then I found myself really getting
into it as I was playing _NfE_.  I just have to be ready for it.  I
still cannot get into "Walk Straight Down the Middle".

Well, I've rambled on and on, and I'm not sure I have come to anything
remotely resembling a conclusion.  I suppose I take Kate how I
find her on a day-by-day basis, and try not have any absolute opinions
about her.  How does that sound?

Anyway, thanks for staying this far :-).

Keep well,

Stephen

P.S.  All the above has an implicit IMHO wherever appropriate, of course.
-- 
| "You've been having a nightmare.  | Stephen Thomas -------------------------|
|  And it's not over yet."          | Email: spt1@ukc.ac.uk; Smail: Computing |
|   -- Roger Waters, "The Pros and  | Lab, University of Kent, CT2 7NZ, UK;   |
|      Cons of Hitchhiking"         | Tel: +44 (0)227 764000 x 3824           |