My friend, Tracey, posted an article about Kate Bush on Facebook a few day ago. I knew Kate Bush only as a name and had no idea what her music is like. The article and discussion thread was very intriguing, so I decided to listen to some of her songs, starting with the earliest release, Wuthering Heights. My first impression was her voice was strange and child-like. I have notes on the song I sent to Tracey via Messenger that I will copy and post here. I also watched a 2014 BBC documentary about her that was fascinating to me for the numerous musicians who idolized her. Clips of her performing her songs were remarkable for her use of exaggerated mime movements (she studied with a mime master after getting a recording contract) that remind me of silent movie acting. Elton John gave her credit for saving his life and Big Boi was very emotional discussing how much her music meant to him. Kate Bush is clearly a genius-level inspired talent who is not constrained by convention and who is creating music purely because she loves it and aspires to express herself to her fullest potential.
I'm now listening to Army Dreamers, another early recording. I played it twice through my studio PA system without viewing the accompanying official video except for brief glimpses showing Kate in military field gear carrying a rifle. The song has a nostalgic melody in a fast waltz time with what sounds like harpsichord, accordion and guitar accompaniment. The third time I listened with headphones and eyes closed, as recommended by Tracey, and noted a loud and simple bass line. I couldn't hear the words very well other than enough to grasp that the song is about a soldier dying at an early age in war because he had no other options in his life. Listening the fourth time with headphones watching the video was a very different experience. It struck me the songs are intended to be heard while viewing the videos. To illustrate this point, Kate blinks her eyes simultaneously with the sound of a camera clicking (or a gun cocking), something the listener can't get without the video. I could understand the words much better, too, which helped me engage with the song. The loud bass didn't dominate my experience this time. The images and words about wasted lives resonates, of course, with my years of working with combat veterans. I'm going to listen with the video one more time before wrapping up this live blogging session.
