Kate and depression (was Re: Alannis)

[chrisw@wwa.com (Chris Williams)]

>I don't happen to think Kate & Alannis are very similar.  An 
>interesting aside about AM, though, the first three or four times I 
>heard "Isn't it Ironic" or whatever the actual title is, I thought she 
>was singing "a death-throw hard-on two minutes too late" and then 
>later on realized that it was "death row pardon".

   Yeah. Of course every critic with slightly more than half a brain
pointed out that *none* of the things she was singing about were
even slightly ironic. Bummers, yes...but not "irony".

   This is rec.music.gaffa...we know from irony.

>Another tangent here, but someone recently commented on the fact that 
>"Lily" was the first recorded instance of Kate singing directly to an 
>individual, and how disturbing that might seem in light of almost 20 
>years of her career.  I have just realized that The Red Shoes is the 
>first album not to feature a likeness of Kate on the cover!  (Okay, 
>Never Forever had that fantasy artwork, but the female figure is 
>obviously a representation of Kate.  There are several different 
>covers for the Kick Inside in several countries, but the "official" 
>one from the Uk and every one I've personally seen has had a picture 
>or depiction of Her Kateness).

   That was me. It was actually the first part of something I've been
thinking about since the album came out. The fact that she's
not featured on the album cover is another indication (to me) of
Kate suffering from depression. 

   It seems obvious to me, but I've been afraid to bring the
subject up. I first really began to believe this at the last
convention. There were two t-shirts offered, and neither 
featured Kate's picture or even her name. One had the graphic
of the album cover on the front (but no words) and "It's Really
Happening To Ya!" on the back. The second was a square
picture of fruit from the _Eat The Music_ photo session.
No Kate, or even mention of her.

   No offense intended, but from what I've seen the English
don't appear to take depression very seriously. I get the impression
that a depressed person gets advice to "cheer up" and "muddle
through". This may be a gross generalization, but I've been
told this is the situation from friends who used to live there.

   Kate has been through enough to trigger a severe depression - 
the loss of several close friends topped off by the death of her
mother. The reported trouble in her relationship with her long
time companion Del is also (to me) due to her depression.

   "Life is sad, and so is love" -- can you imagine anything
more indicitive of severe depression?

   "Just being alive, it can really hurt."

   "The Song of Solomon, the song of everyone who walks the path
  of the solitary heart...the soul cries out..."

   This is just my opinion, but it seems obvious to me.


Chris Williams of
   Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
      chrisw@wwa.com
"How perfectly goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" - C. Crumb