Fillin' me up with shivers...

[MTARR@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU]

Hi!

Angelos replies:
 
> Here we go again. Now, Meredith, was the Dreaming something you 'expected'
> right after NfE, or TSW something you 'expected' after HoL? 

Here's the order in which I first heard Kate's albums: 

		The Whole Story
		The Kick Inside		
		Hounds of Love
		The Dreaming
		Lionheart
		Never For Ever
		The Sensual World

Hearing them in that order, I wasn't expecting anything more than something
wonderful every time, which is of course what I got. :)  _TD_ freaked me out
the first time I heard it, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it until about a
year ago, when I came to the conclusion that as I see it it's her masterpiece.
(IMO, natch)	
		
> And what is a KaTe-Bush-y song anyway? 

A song that leaves you (or, in this case, me :) trembling and going, Wow.  
Examples: "Moving" and "The Saxophone Song", "In Search of Peter Pan", 
"Delius", "Pull Out The Pin", "The Morning Fog", and "Never Be Mine", to pull 
one from each album.  And other artists have songs that do that too, such as 
Midge Ure's "Sister and Brother"  (yes, I know Kate sings this too :), Peter 
Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill", The Innocence Mission's "I Remember Me", Cocteau 
Twins' "Carolyn's Fingers", just to name a few...

> Sorry, but IMHO when you 'expect' something 
> from an artist half of the fun of listening to the music is gone. Creativity
> is about doing things differently, and that's what separates mediocre artists
> from GREAT artists. The day I hear a KaTe Bush-y song is the day KaTe will
> have ran out of ideas and will be rehashing her left-overs for her 'loyal'
> fans.

Ah, but can you deny that there is a certain "feel" that Katesongs have?  A
certain way of affecting you that always affects you, no matter from which time
period the song comes?  Kate hasn't run out of ideas, not yet anyway, but there
is a definite sensation I get whenever I hear something of hers that is
undeniably Kate, through and through.

> Risks taken can turn out to be either brilliant
> moves or total flops or standard. Dismissing somethinmg because it's 
> unexpected is not good. Dismissing it because you think it's crap is OK :-)

Ok, then.  As a cover of "Rocket Man", IMO it's crap.  :)  But after listening
to it a few more times, I now think that as a song in and of itself, it's quite
fun- but if it doesn't stop rastafahring through my head soon, I'm gonna go
nuts!!!  :)  I guess I never thought Kate would do the reggae thang. 
Obviously, I was mistaken- goddess, I'm nibbling on that post already!  :) 

I've decided that if I stop thinking of it as Elton John's "Rocket Man", I
enjoy it a lot more.  So I'll brainwash myself into that mindset and all will
be well.  :) :) :)  Seriously, though, it is indeed growing on me.

The evolution of an opinion.  What a concept.  :)



    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Meredith Tarr           		"We let the weirdness in..."
    mtarr@eagle.wesleyan.edu                               -Kate Bush
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++