Monday, November 28, 2005


Currently I am most informed by one Ms Kate Bush and her exquisite album ‘Aerial’. Ah, Kate, Kate, we go back such a long way.

When I was a student I stuck a huge Hounds of Love poster on the ceiling directly above my bed. That’s the one with Kate Bush bathed in purple hue, her hair a galaxy of constellations, flanked by two beautiful sleeping hounds nuzzling into her, protecting her and being protected by her. As it was student accommodation I was living in at the time I was only allowed white tac (inferior blue tac, but it doesn’t leave as much of a mark on the walls) so the poster would sometimes lose its grip and gravity would bring Kate falling down on me. I would wake in the morning and find Kate there on top of me.

And another time when I came across a postcard of Kate. Quite a natural photograph like she’d just arrived in an airport or something and someone had just took a snap of her. I stuck it onto our flat’s message board and informed any visitor that it was a photo of my mother. For a few priceless minutes they looked at our Kate and then back at me and wondered if it could be possible. That a goddess could spawn a monster. Ah, memories, memories.

Now I have ‘Aerial’. The haunting voice and hypnotic hooks reach out and stay with me, an old friend revisited. I could wax lyrically on the virtues of King of the Mountain; An Architect’s Dream, and the title track. I really could. But let’s be practical for a change. The track that stays with me longest is pi

‘Sweet and gentle and sensitive man
With an obsessive nature and deep fascination
For numbers’

The chorus goes 3.14159… Enabling you to answer the pub question 'what numbers make up pi?' while singing on the karaoke at the very same time. Welcome back, Kate, you’ll find the world an older, maybe a little wiser, certainly a much more cynical place than the last time you came our way. But not all of the time.

4 comments:

brenda dallaway said...

I've got the first 200 decimal counts taped around my computer monitor in the hopes of one day being able to recite to at least 100. Because one day aliens will invade our planet and only those who know the first 100 digits of pi will be saved. Or something. ;) I have no idea why I'm obsessed with learning unnecessary things.

My favourite song off this album has been "Aerial". At first I thought the bird thing was silly but now I just LOVE IT. I mean, if we could really hold conversations with sparrows, wouldn't our words be laughter? Birds totally crack me up.

Jim Alexander said...

Bird thing...? And there was me thinking Kate was just clearing her throat.

(Only joking. I'm only joking.)

Melissa said...

I love Kate Bush.
My favourite song on this album is Sunset.
Read my blog woo!

Jim Alexander said...

Interestingly enough I received a couple of comments offblog (so to speak) expressing disappointment at Kate's latest. That's the rich profundity of life fer ye.

Anyway please read MMM's 'blog woo', which is just like a blog but a little more excitable.