Re: the 9th wave

[stephanie bush <sbush@mail.utexas.edu>]

fastslow@idt.net wrote:

>I went back and listened to it yet again after posting...just to make sure.
>And, yes, I can say quite confidently that I find "The Ninth Wave" to be
>the biggest load of pretentious nonsense since "Tales of Topographic
>Oceans" by Yes. I feel like someone is forcing me to listen to the audio
>portion of a bad art movie without at least letting me be distracted by the
>visuals. Obtuse dialogue and obscure production may impress the
>impressionable, but I find it to be hopelessly self-indulgent.
>
>Contrast this with the wonderfully well-realized combination of songwriting
>craft, production and performance in the five songs in "Hounds of Love"
>sequence. I love the insistence of "Cloudbusting," the self-revalation of
>"Hounds of Love", the forboding tenderness in "Mother Stands for Comfort",
>the celebration of "The Big Sky",  and the surrender in "Running Up That
>Hill."

i could argue that the 'hounds of love' side has a thematic quality to it
also, although this theme is based more on emotions (love, fear, loss) than
a '9th wave'-style narrative. certainly 'hounds of love' contains
spectacular pop songs & craftswomanship - the '9th wave' is something other
than this:  to malign it as 'pretentious', 'self-indulgent' in comparison
to 'hol' is to hold it to the standards of a genre to which it does not
belong.

thanks don, for posting your elaborations to your original message. anyone
else out there more partial to Kate's 'popcraft'?  i think i enjoy both:
'sat in your lap' is my favorite KB tune by a mile - it's certainly a
catchy little gem.

>- Don
>KB fan for 19 years

regards,
steph