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ALN Kate Bush Essay
ALN Kate Bush Essay
Kate Bush was a British artist whose original creations countered the
pre-fabricated, standardised pop songs of the mid-1980s. Her individuality
stems from the 1970s Prog Rock of her teenage years, her experimentations
as a self-taught musician, and her artistic background as a dancer and mime-
artist. Bush took her inspiration from literature and historical sources,
elevating her lyrics to a higher poetic level than the commercial songs of the
time
The use of music technology was developed by Prog Rock bands: King
Crimson set the trend with the mellotron, and Pink Floyd added sounds from
everyday life (cash-machine, clocks) in their ground-breaking concept-album
Dark Side of the Moon. During the 1980s music technology progressed with
the universal MIDI, sampling and the falling price of synthesisers. In
'Cloudbusting' Bush uses a Fairlight CMI sampler for steam engine sounds, a
treated vocal sample and sampled tracks for the instrumental section. The
song is based on a maverick psychoanalyst/inventor's doomed inventions
(including the cloudbusting which was supposed to create rain) and the
relationship with his son, Peter; who is the lyrics narrator. The more robotic,
reverberating effect of the treated vocals during the instrumental section
create a dark and ominous mood, as Peter is unable to protect his father
when taken away by the police in the video. Bushs use of music technology
ALN essay Kate Bush
minutes (in the video it is extended to 7); And Dream of Sheep is relatively
short, but is part of a seven-song cycle. Neither songs have an introduction:
they immerse the listener straight into their themes, highlighting once again
the prime importance of the lyrics. In Cloudbusting there are two short
verses and a longer chorus. The striking structural element of this song are
the extensive instrumental passages in the bridge sections and even longer
outro; during which there is more action in the video (Peters childhood and
admiration for his father, and the latters subsequent arrest). Hence, Bush
uses structure not only as a song-form, but as a cinematic vehicle for her
holistic vision as an artist. And Dream of Sheep, being on the b side, is even
more experimental as it has no chorus, but two verses and two instrumental,
lengthier bridges with a substantial outro for dramatic effect as the
protagonist gives up slowly on her fight for life. Bush uses structure to
amalgam the musical, visual and literary components of her songs, which
has some parallel with Wagners music dramas in which he aimed to
synthesise all arts: poetry, musical, dramatic and visual.
Kate Bush shows in Cloudbusting and And Dream of Sheep that she
had vision. She used melody and structure as expressive vehicles for her
lyrics; such as Baroque vocal word-painting, Romantic Lied use of
instrumental melody to highlight the text, and the subservience of structure
to the musical, visual and literary drama. In complete contrast to the factory-
made SAW songs for bands/singers of the mid-1980s (Bananarama or Kylie
Minogue) that were engineered for commercial success; Bushs songs were
exceptional and unique in their creativity and experimentation. There were
indeed other female artists at the time who aimed to be innovative with
technology: Annie Lennox with Eurthymics embraced synth-pop, and
Madonna was likewise at the cutting edge of music technology. However,
their inventiveness was more in terms of image and marketing than it was
musical: Lennox with her androgynous style and Madonna with her
provocative videos and performances. Bush, on the other hand, explored,
created and fashioned a distinctive, unique and musically avant-garde
approach to song-writing through her use of music technology, melody and
structure; which inspired and influenced a younger generation of
experimental female artists; such as Bjrk and Florence and the Machine.