Kate
Bush: Aerial
Kate
Bush: Aerial  Posted
Feb-16-2006
The Long-Awaited 2005 Kate
Bush CD
Dear Kate,
I first heard your voice on Peter Gabriel's song "Don't
Give Up" (So, 1986 ) as a teenager. Your voice
was so beautiful
— and I bought a copy of Sensual World (1989)
on account of that — but I was not quite ready to embrace
your world at the time.
A few years later I rediscovered you on an alternative
rock station in
my car on the way work one morning. I remember sitting stunned
at a stop light after listening to "Running up that Hill
(Deal with God)" wondering how I missed out on what seemed
to be the biggest deal in the UK a decade earlier (as
I worked my way up through elementary and junior high school).
It seemed like the top 40 stations in the US didn't mirror
UK pop when it came to your music. Who was Kate Bush?
Like me, so many others almost
missed out on the 'two birds in the bush' unless they paid
close attention to the MTV videos in the late 80s (The
Sensual World). I can still mention your name among
peers and face blank stares until I say "the soothing female
voice on Peter Gabriel's Don't
Give Up." (Ha, I've since discovered you also appearing
on his earlier song "No Self Control.")
To this day I can't watch or read any form of Wuthering
Heights without
your song playing in the background of my mind. In fact, your
song inspired me to read the classic book by Emily Bronte.
And a lump always appears in my throat in the chorus dialog
of your song. I am so moved by your emotional rendering of
that story.
Through my 20s I collected all of your CDs I could
get ahold of: The Kick
Inside (1977), Lionheart (1978), Never
for Ever (1980), The
Dreaming (1982), The Whole Story (1986), and The
Red Shoes (1993). Your music became my
constant companion as I navigated through my 'roaring 20s'
and processed personal and worldly triumphs and tragedies through
the years. "Running
up that Hill" comforted me after
the loss of a sibling. "Moving" and "The Saxophone
Song" helped
me honor the lost life of John F. Kennedy Jr. "Babooshka" was
the humble joy over my quiet, Polish
grandmother. "This
Woman's Work" allowed
me silent breakdowns as I adjusted to my balancing roles as
a working woman and wife. The entire Dreaming album
befriended me as I contemplated leaving Corporate America.
And Red Shoes gave me
the permissive nudge to look beyond my religious upbringing
for spiritual nourishment. I've been holding on tight since
Red Shoes wondering what would come next from the
context of your own life. That is how you create your art —
and why we've all patiently waited so long for Aerial (2005).
Your music has impacted my life, my creative vision, in ways
that I can only acknowledge in words on a surface level. The
intertwining of your expressive energy into my soul I can't
quantify. But I know it's there. It weighs on my mind as I
backtrack through the years and inspires me even now as I plunge
forward in my creative pursuits. When asked what music I want
to accompany me on a deserted island, your name is always at
the top of the list.
Yesterday I remembered your new release as I wandered through
the music section of a local
store. I quickly spotted Aerial filed under the "B" category
and knew as soon as I picked it up that I was once again on
the verge of a new connection with you. I wouldn't have put
it back if ten people stood behind me with critical reviews.
To soulfully connect with your music — with anyone's music
— is a very personal thing that I wouldn't trust to another
person to decide for me. Art in any form is such a subjective
experience.
After two days of playing the two CDs that make up this new
creation you've named Aerial,
I know I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase of getting
acquainted with your mature work. I will play
these CDs at least 25 more times before knowing which song
comes next and knowing which pieces resonate with me the most.
I have yet to read the lyric sheet. I've peeked, though. Bertie
is a fine artist :-).
The graphic artist in me loves the CD artwork. The
colors, the laundry line morphing into flying birds. The birds
in the music. Your laughter. The ways the CDs fit into the
case to complete the pictures. I am drawn to Disc 2: "A
Sky of Honey"
and have looped songs 5 through 9 three times today. Yesterday
I realized that Sunset was the song that grabbed me
the most. After
the final arrangements Nocturn and Aerial play,
the steady beat and melody is firmly fixed into my creative
mind and I find myself so inspired to create ... to write ...
to be.
Thank you, Kate. Your music is an enduring
gift to the world. Aerial was well worth the wait. (© 2006
Chris Dunmire) •
|
