Happy 50th Birthday Kate Bush

I should’ve been paying more attention to this landmark since Kate is one of the few musical artists I would grant the title of “genius,” a label too easily thrown about on flash-in-the-pan acts too numerous to name…OK, one, Kurt Cobain. I have my own list but today this article is about the more famous Kate.

My “discovering” her has always been memorable since it didn’t happen in college which is how most people of my generation learn about her. In 1985 for some mysterious reason Kate’s label (EMI) made a huge push to promote her fifth album Hounds of Love; it’s my personal favorite. When Top 40 stations in Central Illinois and North Dakota played “Running Up That Hill” at least for a couple weeks, then I think they succeeded because those formats are the most intransigent on playing something “weird,” if it lacks novelty value. I was hooked for sure when MTV’s 120 Minutes would show Kate’s video for “Big Sky” and “Cloudbusting.” However, I was probably only a fair-weathered fan as I was distracted from collecting her entire catalog by so many other bands I was introduced to at Marquette. I did have a greatest hits collection courtesy of a trade with Jose for New Order’s disappointing 1989 release Technique.

Carrie then bought me a special UK only boxed set of Kate’s complete catalog in 1991 called This Woman’s Work; named after a song she did for the movie She’s Having a Baby. It included all six studio albums plus two CDs of B-sides, remixes and other rarities. I still have the box, its stickers and the booklet. Due to a water leak at an apartment 10 years ago, I had to replace the disc of The Kick Inside which was a quest in itself. The media played, I just wanted to retain the booklet/artwork because the UK printing has the album cover Kate wanted. I loved it. There’s the reference to her single “Kite” and it shows her artsy, dramatic side. EMI’s American surrogate probably thought what the UK parent approved was too freaky for the States so to this day, all US printings still have this cheesy and dated cover. Thankfully my friend Chip at Waterloo found an imported version to reform my collection.

As for her music, it’s certainly an acquired taste. Somara’s dislike of Kate Bush’s quirky style wasn’t known to me until after we were married! I guess Kate is more of a songwriter’s songwriter due to her colloborations with Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour and Prince. Her material has been covered by a variety of artists too: Pat Benatar, Placebo and Mike Scott & the Waterboys (fellow Irishmen). I couldn’t find an Essential series on her via iTunes yet I think her fans can link up anyone curious enough to listen.

Now it is my hope she complete a new record sooner than last time, there’s a 12-year gap between 1993’s The Red Shoes and 2005’s rather disappointing Aerial which I could blame on my unrealistic expectations.

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