The Purple Pinup Guru Platform

When purple things are pulsating on your mind, I'm the one whose clock you want to clean. Aiding is Sparky, the Astral Plane Zen Pup Dog from his mountain stronghold on the Northernmost Island of the Happy Ninja Island chain, this blog will also act as a journal to my wacky antics at an entertainment company and the progress of my self published comic book, The Deposit Man which only appears when I damn well feel like it. Real Soon Now.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Sparky and this Friday's Femme Fatale — a fanciful followup to the Romeo poser --

Tomoko Kawase
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Profile
  • Name: Tomoko Kawase (???? Kawase Tomoko)
  • Alias: Tommy february6, Tommy heavenly6
  • Date of Birth: February 6, 1975
  • Place of Birth: Kyoto, Japan
  • Height: 161cm / 5'3" approx. (unconfirmed)
  • Favourite colour: Red
[[1]]
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the brilliant green

Tomoko Kawase is probably best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the J-Pop band the brilliant green. She was asked to join the band in 1995 after bassist Okuda Shunsaku and guitarist Matsui Ryo heard her sing in an amateur talent contest. As the band's lyricist, she writes and sings songs in both Japanese and English - an amazing feat considering she reportedly does not speak much English.
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The Brilliant Green is a Japanese rock (or J-Rock) band. Along with The Pillows and Dir en grey, they are one of the few Japanese rock bands, or indeed artists, to gain a following in America, mostly though filesharing programs and word-of-mouth. Tomoko Kawase is their vocalist; Ryo Matsui plays electric guitar; and Shunsaku Okuda is on bass as well as acoustic rhythm guitar. He also composes much of the band's music. Most of the band members have moved on to solo projects since the release of THE WINTER ALBUM, but the group has not officially broken up. Tomoko has started a new solo career as "Tommy february6" and "Tommy heavenly6". Ryo has also started a solo career under the name "Meister".
bg3


They take much of their influence from western-style music, with over half their songs including english lyrics. Their debut album, The Brilliant Green, sold over one million copies in just two days, and their first tour, 'There Will Be Love There', sold out across Japan in only three minutes. Following the release of their 2002 album THE WINTER ALBUM, the brilliant green have been on hiatus, and on November 22, 2003 Kawase announced her marriage to fellow band mate, bassist Okuda Shunsaku.

Solo Career

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In 2001, Tomoko launched her solo career under the name of Tommy february6, a character named from a combination of her nickname and birthdate. Vastly different from the J-Rock sound of the brilliant green, Tommy february6's persona and sound are that of a generic American 1980s pop icon. Her eponymous debut album was released on the day of her 27th birthday.
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Kawase's original intention with Tommy february6 was to create a character who was far from innocent, though she appeared that cute in both sound and appearance; Tommy february6 was designed to be someone who was true to her feelings despite the cutesy nature of her outward character, do as she wanted (and as such, Tommy february6 is seen repeatedly in music videos drinking alcohol from flasks, bars, etc.) Unfortunately, the original concept started to disappoint her, and Kawase began to feel that the character could no longer maintain its purity.

Meganeko
After a performance as Tommy february6 in 2003, Kawase took off her glasses and donned a much more alternative look to create Tommy heavenly6, a new character with an edgy, rock sound. Kawase would later explain that Tommy heavenly6 was born from a dream that Tommy february6 had, in which she embraces all the elements of her personality she had previously been repressing. This is reflected in the promotional video for Tommy heavenly6's first single, Wait Till I Can Dream, wherein Tommy february6 drinks from a hip flask and falls asleep, only to be woken by Tommy heavenly6. Musically, she's the polar opposite of Tommy february6, and possesses an image most people would consider more dangerous, but Kawase claims that Tommy heavenly6 is far more pure and true to her heart than Tommy february6 is.

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Kawase claims that Tommy heavenly6 sprung up because of a disappointment in Tommy february6's character, but far from being a replacement, Kawase chose to keep the two characters' careers seperate. During 2003 and 2004, Tommy heavenly6 released only two singles, whilst Tommy february6 went on to release her second full album, Tommy Airline. It would be in August 2005 (nearly exactly two years after her first single) that Tommy heavenly6 would finally release her third single, which was shortly followed by her own long awaited eponymous debut album.
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In addition to her own solo singing career, Kawase has produced and written songs for the idol group Tommy?angels, as well as making a protege of former soloist Hinoi Asuka.

tommy

Kawase has also made an appearance as the voice of Pikki in the anime series Piroppo, briefly modelled for Italian fashion house Fiorucci and for a period of time hosted Break Down, an MTV show.
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Her latest endeavor is as producer of Takashi Fujii's new single, entitled OH MY JULIET.

Discography

(For a discography of Kawase before 2001, visit the brilliant green's page.)

  • 2001/07/25 - EVERYDAY AT THE BUS STOP
  • 2001/11/21 - KISS ONE MORE TIME
  • 2002/01/17 - Bloomin'!
  • 2002/02/06 - Tommy february6
  • 2003/02/06 - je t'aime ? je t'aime
  • 2003/07/16 - Love is Forever
  • 2003/07/16 - Wait Till I Can Dream (as Tommy heavenly6)
  • 2004/02/11 - MaGic in youR Eyes
  • 2004/03/17 - Tommy Airline
  • 2004/05/25 - Hey My Friend (as Tommy heavenly6)
  • 2004/07/14 - L?O?V?E?L?Y ????LOVELY BOY?
  • 2005/07/19 - Ready? (as Tommy heavenly6)
  • 2005/08/23 - Tommy heavenly6 (as Tommy heavenly6)
  • 2005/11/30 - Lonely in Gorgeous
Trivia
  • Tommy february6's mascot characters are Little Twin Stars, by Sanrio. They appear in numerous videos.
  • In October 2005, an exclusive Tommy february6 Blythe doll was release.
  • Tommy february6 released a photo and journal book on a trip to Hawaii.
  • Kawase is almost equally known to her fans for her music as she is infamous for her strange obsessions.
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  • During her time with the brilliant green, she was rarely seen without a plush toy (probably the Tickle Me version) of Elmo, one of the Sesame Street muppets. Kawase even went so far as to have one accompany her on stage as the band perfomed on numerous occasions.
  • Whilst in character as Tommy february6, Kawase seems to have a distinct pre-occupation with Pikachu from the anime/video game franchise Pokémon, so much so that her song L?O?V?E?L?Y ????LOVELY BOY? has been dedicated to the character. The single's cover features a picture of Tommy february6 lovingly embracing a giant plush Pikachu.
  • Less well known, but no less prominent obsessions of Kawase's include J.K. Rowling's adolescent wizard Harry Potter, to whom she has paid tribute by dressing in the Hogwarts uniform during a Tommy february6 show.
External links

You'll want me to rant about Bush and CheneyGate later? Maybe this Saturday night ... but it looks as if it will take me until Sunday. I hate how this major assclown wraps himself in the flag and religion and tries to defend his bad decisions ... Sparks

Thursday, November 10, 2005

SPARKY: It is thanks to Warren Ellis — We have another sighting of Religious Fundamentalist Loonie Pat Robertson as a gigantic asshat once more ... and a topic to develop ...
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Pat Robertson warns Pennsylvannia town of disaster because they refuse to teach bad science:


USA TODAY — “ For the uninitiated, intelligent design is the scientifically untestable theory that life forms and the universe are so complex that a higher being must have been involved in making them. Put another way, it's creationism with clever new packaging.

Dover schools were the first in the nation to require mention of intelligent design, putting Dover at the center of the national debate over whether the theory is science or religion. That prompted a legal challenge from those who believe intelligent design has no place in science class because it is a matter of faith, and so violates the constitutional separation of church and state. A federal judge is expected to rule by January.

But Dover residents decided they wanted no part of the fight. Upset by the cost of the lawsuit and the classroom distraction, they intelligently designed a new school board. As if to remove any doubt about the religious agenda of the theory's backers, the increasingly wacky Rev. Pat Robertson told viewers of his 700 Club program Thursday that God might well forsake Dover. ... ”



WikiNews: Teaching Intelligent Design: Dover PA school board election results



Megan Kitzmiller, Dover Area High School senior and daughter of Tammy Kitzmiller, holds a sign supporting the Dover Citizens Actively Reviewing Educational Strategies (Dover C.A.R.E.S.) to cars pulling into the Dover Township Community Center polling place in Dover, Pa., on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005. The debate over how evolution is taught in this rural school district could influence whether eight school board members will remain in office after Tuesday. The Dover Area School Board incumbents are defending a board policy adopted in October 2004 requiring ninth-graders to hear about "intelligent design"before learning about evolution in biology class. Eight Dover families, including Tammy Kitzmiller, are suing the school district, alleging that the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

November 9, 2005

The Dover, Pennsylvania school board became the first to mandate inclusion of Intelligent Design in a public school biology curriculum. For this year's November 8 election, Republicans fielded a pro-Intelligent Design slate of candidates including some returning candidates who had previously voted to include a statement about Intelligent Design in the biology curriculum. A mixed slate of Democrat and Republican candidates came forward as an alternative group of school board candidates, the Dover CARES coalition. They proposed to remove Intelligent Design from the biology curriculum but allow discussion of Intelligent Design in courses dealing with philosophy and comparative religion.
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All eight open school board seats were won by Dover CARES coalition candidates. Two candidates who had previously voted as school board members to include intelligent design in the public school science curriculum received the fewest votes in Tuesday's election. One of the newly elected board members is Bryan Rehm, a parent of a Dover school student. Rehm, along with ten other parents, initiated a law suit against the school board for its decision to insert Intelligent Design into the science curriculum.

In October 2004, the Dover school board decided that Intelligent Design is a scientific theory that should be mentioned in biology classes that include discussion of biological evolution as part of the course content. The board mandated that a statement should be read in those classes stating "Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life," and "The school leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families."

The school board's statement on Intelligent Design directs students to the book Of Pandas and People as a source of information "for students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves." This book is published by the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, a non-profit organization founded for the purpose of "promoting and publishing textbooks presenting a Christian perspective."

Parents of some Dover public school students filed a lawsuit against the school board, charging that including the school board's statement on Intelligent Design was an attempt to introduce religion into the science curriculum. The book Of Pandas and People says, "Intelligent design means that various forms of life began abruptly through an intelligent agency." The original complaint in the law suit against the school board claimed that "Intelligent design is a non-scientific argument or assertion."

The US District Court Judge John Jones, who heard the non-jury case, hopes to make his ruling by the end of the year. The evidence phase of the trial ended on November 4, 2005.

A local Dover newspaper, the York Daily Record, editorialized that Dover voters should take trial testimony into account during the general election when they could cast votes for school board members along with other elective offices.
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Biology teachers in the Dover schools have refused to read the school board's statement on Intelligent Design to students because the Pennsylvania state code for education states that "The professional educator may not knowingly and intentionally misrepresent subject matter." In a letter to their administrator, the teachers stated their view that "Intelligent design is not science." School administrators have been reading the school board's Intelligent Design statement to students in Dover public schools.

Related news
Previous related news
Sources

I despise fundys of all stripes - plan to revisit my 'Jesus is a cruel hoax' theme soon. - Sparks

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

SPARKY: WE RETURN TO ROVE RAGE AS THE GOP CRUMBLES A BIT -
karl-rove
Traitor hides on a plane ...

CBS NEWS: White House Staff Schooled On Ethics

“... The trips largely will keep Bush's focus overseas while problems are mounting at home. But the president does not get to escape his woes by traveling abroad, as was obvious in Latin America. Protesters in Argentina drew attention to anti-Bush sentiment in the region, and leading South American nations were reluctant to move ahead with Bush's call for opening trade.

Meanwhile, reporters traveling with Bush dogged him about the CIA leak case that is contributing to his all-time low approval rating.

While he was away, Bush ordered mandatory ethics briefings for all staff with security clearances. The sessions come in the wake of the indictment against Vice President Dick Cheney's now-resigned chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Top Bush political confidant Karl Rove also remains under investigation for his role in revealing the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, wife of an outspoken critic of the war against Iraq.

But while Libby has been charged with lying to investigators and a federal grand jury, Rove has not been charged with anything, and neither man has been accused of breaking the law against revealing the identity of an undercover officer.

On his trip, Bush would not respond to reporters' inquiries about whether he should apologize to Americans for his administration's assertion that Rove and Libby weren't involved or answer questions about whether Rove told him the truth or should remain in his job.

While there is an ongoing investigation, he will not comment, the president said.

Bush refused even to say whether he had lived up to his 2000 campaign promise that, "We will ask not only what is legal but what is right, not what the lawyers allow but what the public deserves." ... ”

  1. Rove resurfaces, Libby's defense trust set
  2. Unethical revenge by Rove would not surprise his poli-sci prof
  3. Karl Rove Still in Jeopardy Over CIA Leak

HUFFINGTON POST: Adriana Huffington: Judy is Out; Wants It Made Clear She Didn’t Screw Libby (Just the American Public)

“... Fine, Judy didn’t screw Libby. Just the American public. Good riddance. ”
judy-miller
Warmongering faux reporter gets out of Dodge ...

NY1
Reporter Judith Miller to leave New York Times
Reuters.uk, UK - 3 hours ago
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Times reporter Judith Miller, hailed by her editors as a champion of press freedom but later criticised in the pages of her own ...
Judith Miller leaves New York Times CBC News
Judith Miller Retires From the NY Times ABC News
Judith Miller retires from NY Times MarketWatch
Reuters - FOX News - all 384 related »

Radar Online
BREAKING (and finally, broken): Judith Miller and the NYT
mediabistro.com, NY - 5 hours ago
Judith Miller has officially "retired" from the NYT. Per Kit Seelye: The New York Times and Judith Miller, a veteran reporter for ...
Judith Miller's scoops the Times on her own "Farewell Letter" mediabistro.com
Judy Miller, how you'll be missed Jossip
The Education of Judy Miller Radar Online
Jossip - Editor & Publisher - all 6 related »


Judith Miller (journalist)
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Judith Miller (born 1948 in New York City) was a writer for The New York Times. She announced her retirement from The New York Times on November 9, 2005. Miller, based in Washington D.C., was a prominent journalist who had access to top U.S. government officials. Her coverage of these government officials made her a controversial figure. In particular, her involvement in the Plame Affair and her reporting on the Bush Administration’s conclusions about Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Program made her a conspicuous media personality.

In July of 2005, Miller was jailed for contempt of court by refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a leak naming Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent. Miller did not write about Plame, but is reportedly in possession of evidence relevant to the leak investigation. According to a subpoena, Miller met with an unnamed government official — later revealed to be "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff — on July 8, 2003, two days after former ambassador Joseph Wilson published an Op-Ed in the Times criticizing the Bush administration for "twisting" intelligence to justify war in Iraq. (Plame's CIA identity was revealed by political commentator Robert Novak on July 14, 2003.)

On July 16, 2005, The Washington Post reported that Miller could face criminal contempt charges, potentially extending her jail time well beyond the four months currently anticipated. The maximum sentence for criminal contempt is life imprisonment.[1] The Post also suggested that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was particularly interested in hearing Miller's version of her encounter with Libby. While Libby signed a waiver allowing journalists to testify about their conversations on this subject, Miller had reportedly refused to accept its validity on the grounds that it was "coerced."

Filings by Patrick Fitzgerald refer to Miller's defiance of the court as a "crime."[2] Some have speculated that Judith Miller may have already known about Valerie Plame before speaking with Libby on July 8, 2003 — and thus instead of protecting Libby she was protecting herself or others.

On September 29, 2005, after spending 85 days in jail, Miller was released after a telephone call with Lewis Libby. He had reaffirmed a release of confidentiality that he had given her a year earlier that she had already known about. She testified at Fitzgerald's Plame Case hearings the following day, September 30th. BBC News Report.

On October 12, 2005 Miller testified, again, before a federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA agent's identity in the Plame affair. Miller spent more than an hour with the federal panel. The prior day, she turned over to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald notes from her June 23, 2003, contact with I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. In a memo to New York Times staff on October 11, 2005, Executive Editor Bill Keller said Miller would return for a second appearance to the grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's identity. ...

End of Her Career at The New York Times

Miller announced her retirement from the New York Times on November 9, 2005, citing among other reasons difficulty in performing her job effectively after having become an integral part of the stories she was sent to cover [3]. The announcement may not have been voluntary - her journalism had come under intense criticism with accusations that she had been made into a shill of the Bush administration. This criticism generally followed the line that her reporting of cherry-picked intelligence favorable to the administrations pro-war posistions prior to the Iraq war reflected an uncomfortable "entanglement" with administration officials.

External links
We got Skipper - but we need to root out the other traitors ... - Sparks

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

GURU: OH AERIAL, AERIAL, WHERE ART THOU AERIAL?


Does the PP Guru's eyes decieve him? Is it truly the blessed day which has the PP Guru's eyes and ears practically salivating for hi-definition stereo bliss of the most eagerily anticipated double disc arrival of the new KATE BUSH album?

When was the last time we heard from our favorite Cornwallish songbird siren? Records indicate it was in late 1993 - when she released the Red Shoes which featured a few collaborations with Prince. A short film followed soon after. But since then, nothing much has been heard from her. Some say she went in the studio with a case of Jim Bean to work on her follow-up and had never emerged since that day. Some say she went in hiding to pop out kids and become a soccer mom. Some say she went and got a sex operation and changed her name to Tori Amos. Whatever the reason, it's good to have back our Kate. Even at 47, she's still can turn heads on the streets of London.

The PP Guru has always had a major crush on Kate ever since he saw her first live American appearance on Saturday Night Live way back in 1979 (holy happy high school hormones, Batman!!) when she performed her first big U.K. hit " Wuthering Heights", followed by "The Man with the Child in Her Eyes" while straddling a piano in a leotard way before the day when Tori was first getting her menstral cramps.
Kate_Ivy-741247
It was from there, when the PP Guru had realized what a unbridled genius she was in all aspects of musical and lyrical composition right down to the gaffa tape that holds her unique wall of sound and production together, drawing influences from opera, third world, and old traditional Irish and Celtic folk songs. Once the PP Guru bought her The Dreaming album in his senior year of high school - he knew he was entangled in her seductive little web. Her rendition of "Houdini" still haunts the PP Guru to this very day. It just goes to show that there's equal opportunity in the sexes when exhibiting ecentric psychosis in lyric and verse other than
Peter Gabriel.


So, her first studio album in 12 years, "Aerial " is in stores today from Columbia Records. The PP Guru is on his way out to pick up his copy right now. Now everything is right with the world again!


Next: PP Guru and Rikki sitting in a tree. Does anyone have an axe that the PP Guru can borrow? Still alive and kicking- from the inside ... ~ Coat


WikiPedia: Kate Bush
Kate Bush - Publicity photograph issued October 2005

Kate Bush - Publicity photograph issued October 2005

Kate Bush (born Catherine Bush on 30 July 1958 in Bexleyheath, Kent, now part of Greater London) is a British singer-songwriter known for her expressive 3-octave voice, idiosyncratic and literary lyrics, and eclectic and meticulous musical and production style. She has acquired a large number of extremely devoted fans since her debut in 1978 with the surprise hit "Wuthering Heights", which was number one in the British music charts for four weeks.

Biography

Overview

While still attending St. Joseph's convent school in Welling, South East London where she studied the piano and violin, Kate Bush caught the attention of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who helped fund her first demo sessions. She signed a contract with EMI when she was 16. However, in the first two years of her contract, Bush did not release an album, but instead completed her time at school and had lessons in dancing, mime, and music. During this time, Bush wrote and made demos of close to 200 songs, which today can be found on bootleg recordings (often known as the Phoenix Recordings). She also performed at various small venues in and near London under the name KT Bush Band.

Her first album, The Kick Inside, was released in 1978, and featured songs she had written during the previous two years, including the single "Wuthering Heights", which topped the UK charts and became an international hit. A period of intense work followed. A second album, Lionheart was quickly recorded; Bush has often expressed disatisfaction with it, feeling she needed more time to get it right. Then there was the endless promotional work and an exhausting tour, the only one of her career. Kate disliked the exposure and the celebrity lifestyle, feeling it was taking her away from her main priority: making music. A slow and steady withdrawal from public life began as she moved into producing her own work with Never for Ever and developed a perfectionistic, painstaking approach to making music which would see her ensconced in the studio for long periods and only needing to face the glare of the press when the subsequent albums were released. Wild rumours would fly while she was engaged in her work - usually that she had ballooned in weight or had gone mad. Then she would re-emerge for a brief period, slim and seemingly sane, before retreating to the studio once more.

A pattern began to form in the eighties where Kate would disappear for up to four years while she honed her new material until it was ready for release. After the release of The Red Shoes in 1993 there was no reason to suppose that she wouldn't reappear in three or four years with another set of songs. But the period of silence that followed her seventh studio album was much longer than anyone had anticipated.

Bush dropped out of the public eye for many years, although her name occasionally cropped up in the media in connection with rumours of a new album release. The press continued to speculate wildly about what she was up to. The press viewed Kate as an eccentric recluse, sometimes drawing a comparison with Miss Havisham, from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. There were even unfounded reports that she had suffered a nervous breakdown. In reality she was simply trying to give her young son a normal, happy childhood, away from the world of show business. Bush gave birth to Albert, known as Bertie, fathered by her guitarist and current partner Danny MacIntosh, in 1999. She didn't release the news of his birth to the press and it was over two years before the story broke. On the few occasions she has spoken to the press since Kate has made it clear how happy motherhood has made her.

Kate's eighth studio album Aerial was released on double CD and vinyl on 7 November 2005 internationally (8th November in the USA), after a single release "King of the Mountain" on 24 October.

The Studio Albums

The Kick Inside

 U.K. Cover of 1978's The Kick Inside

U.K. Cover of 1978's The Kick Inside

The Kick Inside was Kate's debut album, released when she was 19 years old; she had written some of the songs when she was only 15. The album opens with whale song which leads into the first track, "Moving", inspired by her dance teacher, Lindsey Kemp. The album contains Kate's biggest hit to date, "Wuthering Heights", which went to number one in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere and a Top 10 hit in many other territories.

Kate's work would mature and develop but The Kick Inside remains a startlingly precocious debut and many of her trademark qualities were already firmly in place. Her cinematic and literary influences were most obvious in "Wuthering Heights". The song wasn't initially inspired by Emily Brontë's novel, but by a tv adaptation, although she did read the novel later to, in her own words, 'get the research right'. She namechecks Gurdjieff in "Them Heavy People," while the title song is based on the ballad of Lizzie Wan, the story of a girl who kills herself after being impregnanated by her brother. The album is also very open about sexual matters, particularly on the erotic "Feel It" and "L'Amour Looks Like You" and the male musicians later admitted to being embarrassed by the honesty of some of the lyrics.

As part of her preparation for entering the studio, Kate had toured pubs with the KT Bush Band, supported by her brother Paddy and close friends, but for the album she was persuaded to use established session musicians, some of whom she would retain even after she had brought her bandmates back on board. Paddy was the only member of the KT Bush Band to play on The Kick Inside. Unlike on later albums where he would play more exotic instruments such as Balalaika and Didgeridoo, here he played the more standard Harmonica and Mandolin. Stuart Elliot played some of the drums and would become her main percussionist on subsequent albums.

The album was produced by Kate's mentor David Gilmour and Andrew Powell.

The Kick Inside is Kate's only album to have a different cover in the U.K., the U.S., Canada and Japan.

Lionheart

 Cover of 1978's Lionheart

Cover of 1978's Lionheart

Lionheart was rushed out of the studio (in Nice on the French Riviera, making this Kate's only album to be recorded outside the UK, the occasional session in Ireland excepted) after the initial success of The Kick Inside. While it has its share of hits, most notably "Wow", it did not receive the same reception as Kate's first album, reaching only number six in the U.K. album charts.

The album takes its title from the track, "Oh, England, My Lionheart", in which a pilot who has been shot down contemplates his homeland as his plane hurtles towards the ground, and to his death. It is a song that Kate has disowned in later years despite it being a firm favourite with many listeners. Literary references include J. M. Barrie's classic play Peter Pan And Wendy in In Search of Peter Pan (a song which also quotes When You Wish Upon A Star from the classic Disney film, Pinocchio), as well as a nod towards Arsenic and Old Lace in the song "Coffee Homeground" (which pretty much has the same plot as the play, although Kate has said it was inspired by a particularly creepy taxi driver). Film references include "Hammer Horror", inspired by the Hammer Film studio, known for their gothic horror films. The British television show The Sweeney, a popular police drama, was mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Wow".

Kate's brother Paddy plays many more instruments on this album, including pan flute and Mandocello. Making his first appearance is Del Palmer, who would subsequently become Kate's regular bass player.

Lionheart was produced by Andrew Powell, assisted for the first time by Kate, who was keen to implement more of her own ideas.

Never For Ever

 Cover of 1980's Never for Ever

Cover of 1980's Never for Ever

Never for Ever saw Kate's first foray into production, aided by the engineer of her first two albums, Jon Kelly. Andrew Powell's production of the first two albums had resulted in a definite sound which was evident in every track, with lush orchestral arrangements supporting the live band sound. The range of styles on Never for Ever is much more diverse, veering from the straightforward rocker, "The Wedding List", to the sad, wistful waltz of hit single, "Army Dreamers". Never for Ever was the first Kate Bush album to be composed on synthesizers and drum machines (in particular, the Fairlight_CMI), her earlier albums being composed on the piano.

With Never for Ever, Kate watched her album rise to number one on the British album charts for the first time in her career. At the same time, she became the first woman in history to have an album ranked so high in the UK.

Kate's literary and cinematic influences were at work once more. "The Infant Kiss" was inspired by the 1961 film The Innocents, starring Deborah Kerr and Michael Redgrave, which in turn had been inspired by The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, while "The Wedding List" drew from François Truffaut's 1968 film La Mariée était En Noir.

Never for Ever is, to date, the only album by Kate Bush not to share a title with one of its own tracks (Lionheart is a truncated version of "Oh, England, My Lionheart").

The Dreaming

 Cover of 1982's The Dreaming

Cover of 1982's The Dreaming

The Dreaming was the first album Bush produced herself. With her newfound freedom, Kate Bush experimented with production techniques creating an album that features a very diverse blend of musical styles.

The Dreaming met with a mixed critical reception at first. Many were baffled by the dense soundscapes she had created. The album was not considered to be a financial success, although it still reached number three in the album charts, and with the exception of the first track to be released, "Sat In Your Lap", which predated the album by several months, the singles taken from it flopped. Over time, however, many music fans have come to regard it as a masterpiece. More than twenty years after it was made, it is still common to hear people remark that the album sounds fresh, intriguing and like nothing else.

Kate was only in her early twenties when making the album and tended to look outside herself for sources of inspiration. She drew on old crime films ("There Goes A Tenner"), a documentary about the war in Vietnam ("Pull Out The Pin"), the plight of Indigenous Australians ("The Dreaming"), the life of Houdini ("Houdini") and Stanley Kubrick's film of Stephen King's novel The Shining ("Get Out Of My House"). There are a few more personal tracks, though: the lead single, "Sat In Your Lap", examines feelings of self-doubt versus burning self-confidence and the search for a balance between the two, while "Leave It Open" speaks of the need to acknowledge and express the darker sides of one's personality.

Hounds of Love

 Cover of 1985's Hounds of Love

Cover of 1985's Hounds of Love

Hounds of Love is no less experimental from a production standpoint. Not only did she produce it herself, but for this album, stung by the huge costs she had run up hiring studio space for The Dreaming, she built a private 48 track studio near her home where she could work at her own pace, unhurried by thoughts of cost. Kate has admitted that this was a very happy period in her life and this is reflected by a newfound maturity and confidence to her lyrics, which were often more personal. She writes about the challenges of communication ("Running Up That Hill"), which musically is one of her masterpieces: a passionate, evocative song. "Hounds of Love" concerns the fear of being overwhelmed by love, while "The Big Sky" deals with the frustration of an artist continually questioned by critics with no understanding of the creative process. There was yet another song with a clear literary source: the hit single "Cloudbusting" was based on A Book Of Dreams by Peter Reich, son of Freudian Marxist Wilhelm Reich.

The album is split into two parts which, on its original vinyl release, formed the two sides of the record. The first side, 'Hounds of Love', features the four singles, "Running Up That Hill", "Hounds of Love", "The Big Sky" and "Cloudbusting" as well as "Mother Stands For Comfort", a darkly haunting track about a murderer who seeks refuge with their mother, knowing she will always protect them, come what may. The second side is entitled 'The Ninth Wave', whose title is taken from a poem by Tennyson although the suite of songs it describes has no real connection to his verse. They tell of a woman who is lost at sea, facing death by drowning, and the tortured night she spends in the water.

The Sensual World

The increasingly personal tone of her writing continued on The Sensual World, with songs about unrequited love ("Love And Anger", "Never Be Mine"), the pressures on modern relationships ("Between A Man And A Woman"), and self-doubt ("The Fog"). "Deeper Understanding" showed a remarkable prescience in its portrait of a lonely person who finds solace in the company of a computer. "Rocket's Tail" (dedicated to her pet cat, Rocket) invoked the joys of indulging in another's fantasy. The quirkiest track on the album, touched by Kate's trademark black humour, was "Heads We're Dancing", about a woman who dances all night with a charming stranger only to find out that he is Adolf Hitler. The title track drew its inspiration from Ulysses by James Joyce. Kate realised that the closing passage of the novel, a monologue by Molly Bloom, fitted the music she had created. When the Joyce estate refused to release the text, Kate wrote original lyrics that echo the original passage, as Molly steps from the pages of the book and revels in the real world. Bush also alluded to Jerusalem by William Blake in a cheeky reference to the song's gestation ("And my arrows of desire rewrite the speech"). The Sensual World went on to become her biggest-selling album in the US, receiving a Gold award for 500,000 copies sold, four years after its release.

The Red Shoes

 Cover of 1993's The Red Shoes

Cover of 1993's The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes takes its title from the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; the story of the film, and the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen which in turn inspired it, concerns a dancer possessed by her art who cannot shake off the eponymous shoes and find peace.

The musical style was far more simple and direct than on any album since Never For Ever. The initial plan had been to take the songs out on the road and so Bush deliberately aimed for a live band feel, with less of the studio trickery that had typified her last three albums and which would be difficult to recreate on stage. The result alienated some of her fan base who enjoyed the intricacy of her later compositions, but others found a new complexity in the lyrics and the emotions they expressed. Gone were the stories and character pieces of her earlier work to be replaced by a set of songs that are almost like a diary. This was a troubled time for Bush. She had suffered a series of bereavements, including the loss of her favoured guitarist, Alan Murphy, and, most painfully, her mother, Hannah. Many of the people she lost are honoured on the ballad, "Moments Of Pleasure". Her long-term relationship with Del Palmer had also broken down, although the pair continued to work together and many of the songs on the album are about the break-up, most searingly "You're The One". Despite the fact that Kate's pain and grief are obvious throughout the album, her trademark sense of humour was still in place, notably on the quirky disco-shanty "Constellation Of The Heart" and the lead single "Rubberband Girl"; comedian Lenny Henry even provided guest vocals on "Why Should I Love You?", a track that featured significant contributions from Prince.

Aerial

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Cover of 2005's Aerial

Kate Bush's eighth studio album, Aerial, is a two-disc set released in November 2005. The first single from the album is "King of the Mountain". The song makes references to Elvis Presley and the film Citizen Kane. Fans have already started analysing the lyrical contents. The track was played for the first time on BBC Radio 2 on 21st September 2005, and was made available for download as of 27 September.

Musically, the album is a dense and multi-layered work, incorporating elements of folk, classical, reggae, and samba into an adventurous pop style. As on 1985's Hounds of Love, the double album is split into two sections. The first disc, subtitled A Sea of Honey, features a set of thematically unrelated songs including the first single "King of the Mountain," the medieval-style ode to her son "Bertie," and the Latin-influenced "Joanni," based on the story of Joan of Arc. The second disc, subtitled A Sky of Honey, features thematically related songs linked by the presence of birdsong (the album's cover art, which seems to show a mountain range at sunset is in fact a waveform which represents birdsong). The second disc features Rolf Harris' vocals on two tracks. Other artists guesting on the album include Lol Creme and Procol Harum's Gary Brooker.

On 17 October, 2005, "King of the Mountain" entered the UK Downloads Chart at #6 and by 30 October, it became her third highest charting single ever in the UK, peaking at number 4 on the full chart.

Musical Style

Even in her earliest works where the piano was a primary instrument, she wove together many diverse influences, melding classical music, rock, and a wide range of ethnic and folk sources, to produce a uniquely impressive amalgam, and this has continued throughout her career. More than one reviewer has used the term "surreal" to describe much of her music, for many of the songs have a melodramatic emotional and musical surrealism that defies easy categorization. It has been observed that even the more joyous of the pieces is often tinged with traces of melancholy, and even the most sorrowful have elements of a unique vitality struggling against all that would oppress it. The unapologetic use of her voice as an instrument to convey a broad range of emotional intensity and subtlety is one thing that characterizes nearly all that she does.

Kate Bush has tackled sensitive and taboo subjects long before it has become fashionable to do so; "Kashka From Baghdad" is a song about a gay male couple; "Breathing" explores the results of nuclear fallout. Her lyrics are highly literate and reference a wide array of subject matter, often relatively obscure, such as Wilhelm Reich in "Cloudbusting", or G. I. Gurdjieff in "Them Heavy People".

The lush arrangements, complex production and intelligent, thoughtful lyrics can sometimes mask the fact that Kate Bush is a peculiarly witty writer and that comedy is not only a big influence on her - she has cited Monty Python, Woody Allen, Fawlty Towers and The Young Ones as particular favourites - but also a significant component of her work.

Live Performances

Bush's only tour took place in early 1979 (3 April - 10 May see details below), after which she gave only the occasional live performance. A number of reasons have been suggested as to why she abandoned touring, among them her reputed need to be in total control of the final product, which is incompatible with live stage performance, a rumour of a crippling fear of flying, and the suggestion that the death of 21 year old Bill Duffield, severely affected her. Duffield, her lighting director, was killed in an accident during her 20 April concert at The London Palladium when he fell twenty feet through an open trap door on the stage. Bush held a benefit concert on 12 May, with Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley at London's Hammersmith Odeon for his family. Bill would be honoured in two later songs: "Blow Away" on Never for Ever and "Moments Of Pleasure" on The Red Shoes.

During the same period as her tour, she made numerous television appearances around the world. She appeared in Germany: Bio's Bahnhof on 9 February 1978; in the United Kingdom: Top of the Pops on 16 February, 1978; in the United States: Saturday Night Live on 9th December, 1978. She also made appearances on Japanese Television.


Video Projects

Kate Bush appeared in many innovative music videos, designed to accompany her singles releases. Among the best known are those for "Cloudbusting", "Running Up That Hill", "Babooshka", "Breathing", and "Wuthering Heights".

In 1993, Bush directed and starred in the short film, The Line, The Cross and The Curve, a musical co-starring Miranda Richardson featuring music from Bush's album The Red Shoes which was inspired by the classic movie of the same name.

In 1994, Kate Bush provided the music used in series of psychedelic-themed television commercials for the soft drink Fruitopia that appeared in the United States. The same company aired the ads in the United Kingdom, but the British version featured Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins instead of Bush.

Movie Projects

Kate starred in a movie called Les Dogs, produced by Comic Strip for BBC television. Kate also wrote the original music score for another Comic Strip production, called GLC.

Comic Strip was a series of comedy movies broadcast on BBC and Channel 4, featuring comedians including Rick Mayall, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Robbie Coltrane, and others. The movies are usually written and produced by Peter Richardson, who also usually stars.

In Les Dogs, Kate plays the bride Angela, at a wedding set in a post-apocalyptic version of 1990's Britain. Whilst Kate is a silent presence in a wedding dress throughout most of the film, she does have several lines of dialogue with Peter Richardson in two dream sequences.

In GLC Kate produced a theme song which includes a vocal performance by Kate, as well as producing all the incidental music, which is synth based.

Collaborations

She has worked with Peter Gabriel on two of his albums, most notably on the hits "Games Without Frontiers" and "Don't Give Up" (the latter a duet); and his appearance on her 1979 television special. Their duet of Roy Harper's "Another Day" was discussed for release as a single, but this never came to pass. Harper is another frequent collaborator, appearing on her song "Breathing" and she on his albums HQ, Once (both also featuring Gilmour) and The Unknown Soldier.

She has appeared in duets with Midge Ure, Big Country and others on their albums. A wide diversity of respected artists have worked with her on some of her more recent albums ranging from the legendary rock guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour and Ian Bairnson, bassists Mick Karn and John Giblin, jazz/rock drummer Stuart Elliot, violinist Nigel Kennedy, the classical guitarist John Williams, folk artists The Trio Bulgarka, and Prince.

Influence On Other Musicians

Bush has been noted as an influence and inspiration by artists as diverse as Kele Okereke, Placebo, Liv Kristine, Jewel, Tori Amos, Björk, Sarah McLachlan, Suede, Paula Cole, Sinéad O'Connor, Pat Benatar, Happy Rhodes, Maxwell (who covered "This Woman's Work"), The Utah Saints, Big Boi of OutKast, The Futureheads (who have covered "Hounds of Love"), Goldfrapp, The Decemberists and others. In fact, in the 1980s and 1990s it became almost standard for individualistic female singer-songwriters to be compared to Bush by the media. The trip hop artist Tricky has stated her work has been a significant influence on him and that she should be treasured more than the Beatles. Though many outside of Europe remain unfamiliar with her work and its profound intensity, others in her profession are willing to declare her works as those of great genius. Even the iconoclastic punk rocker John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) has declared her work to be "fucking brilliant" and has labelled her "a true original." Suede front-man Brett Anderson has stated that "Wuthering Heights" was the first single he ever bought. Brazilian Power metal group Angra covered "Wuthering Heights" on their first album, Angels Cry. Daniel Johns of Silverchair was turned onto Bush while recording the band's "Neon Ballroom".

In 1998, a tribute album was released called I Wanna Be Kate, featuring Chicago-area musicians.

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumUKUSAdditional Information
1978The Kick Inside3-debut album
1979Lionheart6--
1980Never for Ever1--
1982The Dreaming3148-
1984The Single File--vinyl-only box set of 7-inch singles released up to that point
1983Kate Bush--live recording
1985Hounds of Love130-
1986The Whole Story178hits compilation album, includes a new rendition of "Wuthering Heights"
1989The Sensual World243-
1990This Woman's Work 1978-1990--box set of her six albums to date, also including two discs of rare b-sides,
re-released in 1998
1993The Red Shoes228-
1994Live at the Hammersmith Odeon--live recording
2005AerialTBDTBDdouble album

Singles

YearSongUK singlesUS Hot 100US Modern RockAlbum
1978"Wuthering Heights"1--The Kick Inside
1978"The Man With The Child In His Eyes"685-The Kick Inside
1979"Hammer Horror"44--Lionheart
1979"Wow"14--Lionheart
1979"Live On Stage" EP10--recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon
1980"Breathing"16--Never For Ever
1980"Babooshka"5--Never For Ever
1980"Army Dreamers"12--Never For Ever
1980"December Will Be Magic Again"29--non-album Christmas song
1981"Sat In Your Lap"11--The Dreaming
1982"The Dreaming"48--The Dreaming
1982"There Goes a Tenner"---The Dreaming
1985"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)"330-Hounds Of Love
1985"Cloudbusting"20--Hounds Of Love
1985"Hounds Of Love"18--Hounds Of Love
1985"The Big Sky"37--Hounds Of Love
1986"Experiment IV"20--The Whole Story
1989"The Sensual World"12-6The Sensual World
1989"Love and Anger"38-1The Sensual World
1990"This Woman's Work"25--The Sensual World
1991"Rocket Man"12-11Two Rooms (Elton John tribute album)
1993"Rubberband Girl"12887The Red Shoes
1993"Eat the Music"--10The Red Shoes
1993"Moments Of Pleasure"26--The Red Shoes
1993"The Red Shoes"21--The Red Shoes
1993"And So Is Love"22--The Red Shoes
1994"The Man I Love"26--The Glory of Gershwin (George Gershwin tribute album)
2005"King Of the Mountain"4--Aerial

Videos

The Tour of Life 1979

External links

Kate Bush - Publicity photograph issued October 2005

Kate Bush - Publicity photograph issued October 2005
Reviews of Aerial:
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References
  • Kate Bush: A Visual Documentary by Kevin Cann, Sean Mayes
  • Kate Bush (Rock n' roll comics)by Jay Allen Sanford
  • The Illustrated Collector's Guide to Kate Bush: Fully Comprehensive Discography by Robert Godwin



Sparky believes that privacy and manners are important ... I'm exactly one day older than little Kate! As to those who are semi-private people - no last names even if they are imaginary ones. Here's a nugget of info for out beamish boy Guru when he doesn't listen to advice from his elders ... there's a better link there. -Sparks