mOTted: ied caughT a glimpSe of a god, all shining and brIght...

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

 to: love-Hounds
 from: andrew marvick (ied)
 subject: mOOted: ied caughT a glimpSe of a god, all shining and brIght..

   IED finished catching up on the last four days' Love-Hounds Digests,
and fascinating reading it made, too. Vickie's lengthy but compellingly
honest postings about the "magic" of Kate Bush (and others) was a very
worthwhile read for IED. At one point Vickie wrote:

 >If anyone dares to question *MY* "credential" as a Katefan, just
 >because I push Happy so hard, I'll sic IED on 'em!!!!

   Alas! Vickie, IED has turned over a new leaf, and seldom bares his
fangs, except when personally provoked.  But for the record, IED can
attest to your bona fides as a full-fledged Katefan! (Not that such
a testimonial should be necessary after the release of your own
extensive writings on the subject of Kate's magic.)
   IED considered your arguments very carefully, Vickie, and he personally
shares your conviKTion that Kate's music contains a "magic" which defies
verbal description but which is nonetheless real for that.  Yet he cannot
help but see a problem in your repeated assertion that the magic definitely
exists within the music itself.  To IED (and to you and to Ed Suranyi
and to Larry Hernandez, and to many hundreds, thousands, of others)
that magic is quite real.  But so to many hundreds (thousands) of four-
teen-year-old girls is the music of New Kids on the Block "truly" magical.
And so to many other people is the music of Mozart. IED suspects, as you
do, that the fourteen-year-olds may be suffering from a delusion, whereas
Mozart-lovers and Katefans are on a surer path. But he cannot prove
that such is the case, nor is he truly certain that there is no magic--
of a kind which only fourteen-year-old girls can sense, but which is no
less real in its way--in the artistic achievement of New Kids on the Block.
   What IED thinks this "magic" really boils down to is a quality in
some--even all--art to stimulate some--sometimes many--people's
capacity for the experience of the "magic" (for want of a better word)
which exists in all aspects of reality.  IED's idea (though not his
relatively vaguer explanation of it) is similar, he thinks, to that
shared by Love-Hound Peter Manchester in a great article which Peter
posted to Love-Hounds a few months ago.  In that posting Peter explained
eloquently the distinction between the false (or inaccurate, at least)
concept of Kate Bush as God (and here God can be understood equally well
as "magic") and the more precise notion that Kate Bush may act upon some
listeners as a reminder to them of the possible existence of God (or
of "magic")--that she may be a catalyst for belief in "magic", or a
stimulus of the realization of the possibility of "magic", where belief
as it has been traditionally understood no longer exists.  This means,
for example, that New Kids on the Block, in their capacity to evoke
some dim or nascent consciousness of "magic" in fourteen-year-olds, are
in some measure "magical" artists. That they generally evoke such
consciousness only in fourteen-year-olds is evidence that their "magic"
is "weaker", or at least narrower in its scope and power, than the
"magic" of Mozart, which has reached people of many age groups, in many
cultures, over many years; or than the "magic" of Kate Bush, which seems
to be on its way to reaching a very broad group of people, as well.
   Unfortunately this way of defining the "magic" inherent in art doesn't
address the intensity of the experience which different "magical"
artistic forces induce in their receivers.  Although more people
respond to the "magic" of Elvis Presley than to that of Kate Bush,
most Elvis enthusiasts probably respond in a relatively weaker way than
do the people who respond to the "magic" of Kate; and, it can be argued,
their response is limited by a relatively weaker capacity for the experience
of the "magic" in music.  Obviously, the issue is very complex,
and the formula for the definition of "magic" in music--if one exists--
eludes IED.  Insofar as such a quality in Kate Bush's music
exists, it can only be perceived and measured through the vehicle of
the people who experience it; and because this is true, it may never
be clear to what extent that quality is inherent in the music itself
and to what extent Kate's listeners must bring their own capacity for
the experience of "magic" to the listening experience.

   There have been several remarks in Love-Hounds recently to the effect
that Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" video is "muddled" and vague. IED disagrees.
The story that Kate tells in her self-directed video for "Hounds of
Love" is, superficially at least, simple.  Referring to several early
(British-made) movies by Alfred Hitchcock, as well as to the movie
"Night of the Demon" (aka "Curse of the Demon"), a British-made horror
film of the '50s starring Dana Andrews, Kate depicts the romantic
adventure of a demure, spinsterish and scholarly young woman who, while
visiting some sort of museum in England during the 1930s, is swept off
her feet by a mysterious, dramatic adventurer who is in the custody of
undercover police agents.  The man clamps one end of his handcuffs over
the woman's wrist, escapes the clutches of the police and whisks the
woman away with him into the wilds at night.  On the run in the woods
she begins to perceive the man's generous inner nature, and she
accompanies him even after her wrist is freed from the handcuffs.  (All
of this is lifted from Hitchcock's "The Thirty-nine Steps"--look very
carefully at the first few seconds of the video and you'll even spot
Hitch's trademark cameo walk-on appearance.)
   The couple seek anonymity in a public-house crowd, where they
dance. The woman struggles with the two sides of her nature during this
scene: watch her expression shift between aloof, passive acquiescence in
the dance to sheer joy in the moment.  When the authorities catch up
with them, they begin to take the mysterious outlaw with them, but
this time it is the woman who snaps the handcuffs on the stranger, and
off they go into the night together again.
   The story is told without dialogue in three and a half minutes, yet
(in IED's opinion) with great clarity and power.  All the details that
are needed to follow the story are there to be found, if you look for
them.  But as with virtually all of Kate's stories (both in the songs'
lyrics themselves and in their video illustrations), the narrative
events are not exaggerated--they can be missed unless watched for
closely. There are some other wonderful details in this video, which
IED will let viewers discover for themselves.  But remember that, as is
true of most of Kate's works, the video of "Hounds of Love" tells a
second and perhaps larger story than meets the eye...

   The face in the sand at the end of "The Dreaming" is Paddy's. The
words he is speaking are Aborigine, though their meaning is not known
to this fan.  IED has read in Love-Hounds that the words come from
an Australian film called "Airplane, Airplane", or something like that.

   IED has been warned by a representative of the AATHP that he
will be expected to impress one and all as a "scholar" when Love-Hound
Karen shows up at Larry Hernandez's Katemas party in San Jose on July
27.  He will do his best!  It's comforting to know that, just as Kate
can forever be admired for her academic achievements in having received
10 O-Levels despite the public's ignorance of her specific scores, so
IED may pass muster as a Kate Bushological scholar since there are no
standardized examinations in the discipline (as yet). Ed, do you or does
Larry have a copy of the Convention quiz questions? Perhaps they could
be offered to Katemas-party attendees.

   Judi McKernan--IED is sorry, but the deadline for contributions to
The White Rose Fund for this year has passed.  IED greatly appreciates
your offer, and urges you to save your money until next year, when
the projeKT will be renewed. IED also hopes you feel better soon.

   Dave Neff--the Japanese laser-disk of "Kate Bush Live at Hammersmith
Odeon" now features digital sound.  You are warned, however, that early
laser-disk editions of this Japanese product did not have a digital
mix, so be careful to specify that you want the latest, digital-sound
issue if you plan to order a copy.

   IED is sincerely flattered by Jon Drukman's request that he
provide the John Carder Bush narration from "Jig of Life" at Larry's
party.  He's rushing off to practise for the big performance now.

-- Andrew Marvick (IED), who'll never make the Sweeney...