A Buncha Stuff

[Mike_Jennings@Radius.COM (Mike Jennings)]

Hello--
First posting here.  It's a bit overwhelming, this... I'm expecting a bunch
of good Kate Bush discussion, and find all this great stuff on Tori,
Kristin and Sarah, too... Pretty soon, some of you will find a copy of Bel
Canto's Shimmering, Warm and Bright, and THEN we'll watch the fun...

Anyway, I have a few things to ask or mention:

I'm very interested in bootlegs, but not live performances or interviews.
I'd like digital versions of the B-sides, particularly -- many of them are
among her best songs (Under the Ivy, Burning Bridge, Dreamtime).  The boxed
set is too damned expensive and difficult to find in the U.S. for those two
discs...especially when I already _have_ the other 6...
Unreleased tracks and collaborations are a big item with me as well.  I
used to have a tape with B-Sides, a duet with P. Gabriel (Roy Harper's
"Another Day"--some of you also may have heard a stellar perfomance of this
song by the Cocteau Twins' Liz Frazier with This Mortal Coil), the Do Bears
duet with Rowan Atkinson, and some other nice stuff.  The tape is gone, and
I really miss it.  Any suggestions?

When in London a couple weeks ago (about three months too early, apparently
X-P ), I picked up a boot, tastelessly called "Backsides", containing
(surprise!) B-Sides.  Inexplicably, it also has "Fullhouse", my least
favorite KB tune.  It has December Will Be Magic Again (boy, THAT really
needed to be included), Under the Ivy, Burning Bridge, Not this Time, Ran
Tan Waltz, Warm and Soothing, the Handsome Cabin Boy, the Meteorological
mix of the Big Sky, Ken (I think--I don't have it in front of me), and
maybe one or two others.
I can't say I recommend it -- lots of pops and clicks, and the high-end
tops out at like 12KHz.  And not long enough.

So, once again, the search for more Kate goes on...

I also have some equipment to convert PAL VHS to NTSC and back, with
pleasing results (stereo, too).  'Nuff said.

Been listening to the Red Shoes a bit.  I can back up the earlier
statements that every time one picks up a new KB album it sounds weird and
uneven, and you don't expect to ever like it, and within a few months, you
sort of "get it" and it becomes essential (this was certainly the case for
me with both the Dreaming and the Sensual World, which are now fighting it
out for dominance in my CD changer, and have been for like two years).

That said, I really DO think that TRS is uneven.  You've got brilliant
songs like the title track, Lily, Top of the City and Eat the Music (yes,
it IS a brilliant song -- the more you hear it the more you realize how
well-put-together and sophisticated it really is), and you've got And So Is
Love, which is really kind of a dumb song... And I've never been able to
swallow the swear word (!) in Song of Solomon; by making it so staccato,
she really makes it stick out harshly, against the beautiful lyric flow of
the rest of that song.  I don't really care if it's deliberate.  It's
driving me nuts.
I'm kind of biased toward Rubberband Girl; it's my 2-yr-old daughter's
favorite song (and her first CD), and we have a fun wobbly dance for it...

And I really miss the Irish guys.  :(  The Trio's in fine form, though.  Is
it just me getting used to them or has Kate really gotten the hang of using
them?

Anyway, I hope to meet a few of you in Berkeley on the 25th.  How will we
know each other?  Please don't tell me "We'll all wear Kate Bush shirts!" 
I think I'll wear an Iggy Pop or Einsturzende Neubauten shirt or
something...

Finally, I didn't catch how to subscribe to the Sarah McLachlan newsgroup
-- could someone fill me in?  (Christine L.? BTW -- "Fondest Valedictions"
-- What a great closing!)

Bleah.  4:30AM.  Guess I'll go home...

--Silliest Ossifications,
--Mike.

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QuickTime is HERE                                                Mike
Jennings
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