AMA about Kate Bush

Fanatic since 1978. No matter how long I go without listening to he r albums (I know that all note for note) she remains the cente of my musical instruments verse. For decades the only people I knew who were aware of her, with a couple of notable exceptions (@equipoise), were people I had introduced her to.

Almost tearfully grateful to see her finally gaining some mainstream recognition in the U.S.

So why is the American Medical Association concerned with Kate Bush?

That’s a question about the American Medical Association, not about Kate Bush

Although I had a somewhat sheltered life, a co-worker of my mom’s introduced me to KT’s music in the early 80’s when I was a young teen. He had videos, and shared his albums as well.

Hipster cred :sunglasses:

I’m unfamiliar with Kate Bush. What songs is she known for?

I only knew about her as one of my best friends in the Navy was a big fan of her.

She didn’t get airplay on my rock stations.

I always liked her since then.

“Running Up That Hill” and “Babooshka” are probably her most well known. They get played on an alternative radio station here in Chicago from time to time. I’m a little surprised as to how obscure Kate Bush seems to be in the US, as she was reasonably known among the crowd I hung out with in Chicago. A bunch of Chicago musicians also put together a tribute album called “I Wanna Be Kate” back in 1998 with covers of her work. She was certainly well loved here if you were in the right crowd.

ETA: Smack my head. “Hounds of Love,” too.

ETA2: She’s also featured as the female voice in Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers.”

I used to hear “Hounds of Love” a lot on college radio.

Yes I was peripherally involved in “I Wanna Be Kate.”

She’s currently climbing global charts after “Running Up That Hill” was used on Stranger things.

And “Wuthering Heights”. Pat Benatar’s version was a cover.

Oh, very cool! A cafe coworker of mine (Eddie Carlson) played bass on the Aluminum Group and I think Mouse songs. (Mouse was formed at the cafe a few years previous to me working there.)

Pretty good article on how the Duffer Brothers picked the song to use for Max.

Spoilers if you watched the shows.

In addition to “Games Without Frontiers,” she sang a duet with Gabriel on his song “Don’t Give Up.”

I’ve only been aware of her since 2009 or so, though I had heard her sing with both Peter Garbiel on “Don’t Give Up” and with George Harrison on “Dream Away” from the soundtrack to Time Bandits without know it’s her. She’s something of an, uh, acquired taste for most Americans I think. The first song I saw from her was “Wuthering Heights” I think, and it led me down a rabbit hole to “Army Dreamers,” “Them Heavy People,” “Hammer Horror,” and “Babooshka,” and “Running Up that Hill.” She’s a bit weird, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen.

I’m flabbergasted that she’s rocketed up the charts because Stranger Things introduced her to a wider audience here.

I don’t know how much of a household name she has been in America, but she’s certainly been influential, as this list on Wikipedia suggests.

It still blows my mind that when she wrote “The Man with the Child in His Eyes,” she was all of 13 years old.

And recorded it at 15 if I remember right.

You may be thinking of the Meg Myers cover from 2019. Y’know, the better one.

The thing is, these “Billboard #1” type of ratings these days come from stream counts and Google searches. People aren’t looking her up because they like her suddenly. They’re doing it because they heard the song in Stranger Things, episode 4, and went “I didn’t know that 2019 alt-rock song was a cover! Who sang the original?” and presto, instantly to the top of the charts.

I’ve heard her being played on that station since at least the 90s, so I’m not thinking of that. (Though they also play the Myers version, as far as I remember.)

Not that I’m going to be able to dig deeply into their playlist, but here’s a playlist from 2020 where they played the Kate Bush version (though the cover was mentioned by the DJ):

Nobody mentioned “Love and Anger.”

Lyrics:

So you’re going to pin my arm behind my back and demand I name my favorite Kate Bush song? For the expressiveness of her voice…

And instead of demanding that I cry “Uncle” you want me to tell you which two albums you should begin with?

  1. Hounds of Love
  2. The Red Shoes

A friend of mine, who knew some about recording, said he couldn’t imagine how the engineers handled her.

“Give me a bonus track before I let go of your arm, you bastard!” OK I will.

Just being alive, it can really hurt…