The Borg and Gaffa

[Douglas Alan <nessus@space.mit.edu>]

> From: Richard Bensam <rabensam@earthlink.net>

> I'm still trying to get my head around the concept of a cross between Kate
> Bush and the Borg...

Zia is good.  She's an Industrial musician, who makes decent music, if
you like Industrial music.  I wouldn't get too hung up on the Kate
Bush analogy--Zia certainly doesn't have that kind of song writing
ability, but she's pretty and dresses somewhat like a Borg for her
performances, if that's supposed to be what the comparison is about.

> From: jon@csa.bu.edu (Liquid Fire)

> JDC> Since then, I've never understood what gaffa was.
> JDC> Would someone please give me a hint? Thanks!

> There has been much debate on this subject - here is the definitive
> word:

>    Suddenly my feet are feet of mud
>    It all goes slo-mo
>    I don't know why I'm crying
>    Am I suspended in Gaffa?

Hey, why didn't I think of that before?  A functionalist definition of
Gaffa.  Just as a "mousetrap" refers to anything that might catch a
mouse, "Gaffa" refers to anything that might make your feet feel like
mud, makes everything go slow-mo, and makes you cry.

For some reason, being stuck in duct tape seems to immediately come to
mind.

> From: ah401@detroit.freenet.org (William Crawford)

> Something I've been trying to get answered definitively for most of
> the last decade...has Kate Bush ever been, let alone toured, in the
> U.S.?

Yes, she's been in the U.S. on a number of occasions.  In addition to
her SNL performance, she was in New York to promote *Hounds of Love* and
*The Red Shoes*.  On both occassions, she did in-store appearances at
Tower Records to sign autographs.

> I've been told (albeit not by even remotely reputable sources) that
> she did ONE tour shortly after _Hounds of Love_ was released, but I
> doubt it...

Your doubts are well-founded.  She did appear on some TV shows and
performed a song or two at some charity gigs.  That's about it.

> I remember reading somewhere that she was afraid of flying.  ^_^ Can
> someone please, please clear up this fog?

I think we can safely say that she doesn't like flying very much.
Whether than translates to "fear" is hard to say.  She has claimed
that it hurts her ears.

> From: CHR.CS-KF@a.chr.ab.ca

> Apparently, Kate has said in an interview (perhaps more than one) that Gaffa
> is indeed gaffer's tape.  This, however, has not prevented some of us (a
> minority, to be sure) from believing she was pulling our legs.  If someone
> would kindly point me to an interpretation of the *song* that makes sense
> in that light, as opposed to the countless interpretations of the *one line*
> I would be happy to revise my opinion.

The idea is that being stuck in gaffer's tape is a metaphor.  Gaffer's
tape is a tool that Kate needs to achieve her goals, but often in life
one's tools for achieving their goals often become obstacles as much
as tools.  It is this ironic nature of human experience that Kate is
pointing to, and this is far deeper and resonant than any
crypto-reference explanations.

Furthermore, the best poetry usually involves the senses and describes
very specific experiences.  If you can tell a story that involves the
eyes, skin, nose, tongue, and ears, and has some deeper meaning
without specifically mentioning the deeper meaning, then you have told
a much better story, or written a much better poem than if you just
wrote about the abstract concept.

Let's now posit that Kate Bush is a great lyricist.  From the
discussion above we can easily see that the meaning of Gaffa as
gaffer's tape, which is a tactile object with a texture, smell, and
color, is a much better component in a poem or story than some
abstract cryptic concept.  The conclusion that naturally follows is
that Kate intended Gaffa to mean gaffer's tape.

Of course, the fact that she also told us that she meant gaffer's
tape brings this theory into perfect harmony.

|>oug