Back for a L-H tour and talking as much as ever . . .

[violet@slip.net]

Well, I've not written anything here in AGES.  Gosh, how the heck ARE all
you guys these days?  I've gotten so sidetracked with other things that I
just haven't been able to keep up.  I'm hoping there are still a couple of
people here who remember who I am.  :)

Since I'm  here and have your attention, I may as well mention one of the
things that sidetracked me: I've been putting out a short story list
(called "Story Time") since last August and I've gotten a lot of good
feedback on it from members.  I'll tack on the info at the end of this post
in case any of you like to read and want to join.  Maybe some of you
Love-Hounds who already receive it will vouch for it here?  Remember, even
if you don't have a lot of spare time you can always print the stories out
and keep them on your bookshelf for a rainy day. :)  (I usually say that
many of the stories have Tori-like themes to them, but there are just as
many Kate themes to be noticed -- although I actually have several people
on the list who don't know who either performer is, so love of Kate and/or
Tori is certainly not required.)

Anyways, if I cover old stuff or answer things warmed over, forgive (but
then again, it IS pretty challenging to dredge up NEW stuff when discussing
Kate, anyhow, right?).  Like I said, I'm a million miles behind in
everything, including digest reading, but since the format has changed, odd
bits of L-H are popping into weird file folders in my mail program, so I
couldn't help but read and comment on some of them. :)

Tom Tuerff wrote:
>How long have you been a Kate fan? The wait is part of the territory,
>Bucko. I would rather she took TEN years and gave us something incredible,
>rather than take two and give us drivel. (Look at Lionheart. Don't listen
>to it,just look at it. But there's my point.)

This always seems weird to me, because Lionheart is one of my top three
favorite Kate albums.  The Red Shoes is the one I like least (with The
Sensual World coming in a close second), and those are two of those that
took her the longest to finish (although I LOVE the RS film).  I know that
Kate fans seem to be neatly divided in two groups:  those who think the
wait produces better stuff, and those who think she does so much better
when she goes with her gut and doesn't tweak [read: over-produce]
everything so much.  I'm definitely in the latter group.  But I will love
her and be inspired by her no matter what, so . . . like the rest, I WILL
wait until the end of the world for the next album to be released, if I
absolutely HAVE to. ;)

>Consider--if you made your pile before you were 40 and you didn't have to
>worry about money, wouldn't you spend a lot of time pursuing other
>interests?

See, now I've never been exactly clear on this -- IS Kate pursuing other
interests?  Or is she sitting in the studio day after day eating Cadbury
bars and redoing the same musical sections over and over (and over) the way
she's said to have done all the other times between albums?

Mike Wade wrote:
>If it's the bit I'm thinking of it's in German, not Latin. Something
>like "Tiefer, Tiefer, irgendwohin tiefer/ Gibt es ein Licht" -  which
>from my college german translates as "Deeper, deeper, somewhere deeper
>>down here/ there is a light". Best to get a german native speaker to
>check it though 'cos mine's pretty ropey.

I read a translation of this once (somewhere "Kate", but I can't recall
where).  I wrote the translation down.  It was "Deeper, deeper, you must go
deeper.  In the darkness there is light."

>Interesting that Kate writes on a gay threme in some of her very earliest
>music. Gay friends?

Well, yes.  At least ONE of the people mentioned in "Moments of Pleasure"
was openly gay and died of AIDS.  (That person was one of the dancers from
the Tour of Life and who appeared in many of her videos.)  And no one can
be certain of sexuality that has not been stated openly, but if you think
of influential people in Kate's early life and career, you would probably
notice several that are apparently gay (but I won't mention names, because
there is no "proof," although these people may be "out" and I just don't
know it, living my sheltered little life here in California miles from the
Kate hub in England).

Shandra wrote:
>I always
>>wondered how Kate  stood on the "issue", as the reference in Wow doesn't
>>seem very positive,

Well, it's not that the line isn't positive towards gay people;  it's that
the line is a reference to a not-very-nice human being who just happens to
be gay.  I don't see that line as being anti-gay any more than somebody
making a comment about a casting director "screwing every gal who hits the
couch" is anti-straight.  People in show business ARE known for using their
positions to abuse people sexually, and the gay fellow in "Wow" is no
exception.  It's sort of odd to me that people would question this when the
tables are turned and it's a gay man, yet they probably wouldn't question
it if it were a reference to a straight guy taking advantage of women.  Now
*there's* a double standard for ya.  Anyways, never fear, because I'm
certain Kate has nothing against gays. :)

Mike Wade wrote:
>Lindsay Kemp is still around - I saw him performing in Oxford a couple of
>months ago, and he's as brilliant as ever.

And don't forget that he was in The Line, The Cross, and The Curve.  And by
the way, remember up there (yes, just back up there a bit) where I was
talking about "early influences?..."  Well, wink-wink. ;)  Lindsay (and
"Flowers") also HUGELY influenced David Bowie and inspired him to come up
with Ziggy Stardust.  I also remember reading (I think it was Bowie who
mentioned this) that in "Flowers," there was a long segment devoted to
masturbation (and mimed in detail).

There are other things I'd like to talk about, but I've taken up enough
room.  There's just no way I can make up for months of absence in five
minutes, no matter how hard I seem to be trying.  Below is my story list
info that I promised up top.

In Kate,
Violet
xoxox

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   *  "I am not asking you to live in sin, just visit for a while."  *
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STORY TIME -- Could your life use some fun?  Join Story Time and read some
of the best twisted/magical/dark/bloody/sad/comical short fiction and
non-fiction ever published.  To receive this periodic distribution list of
my own personal favorites, please send requests or questions to
<violet@slip.net> with the words "Story Time" as the subject.  (I'm a live
human being, so you may say hello if you like, since I read all the subs.)
;)