Saturday, September 24, 2011

New Kate On The Way!

I am absolutely ecstatic over the news that Kate Bush will be releasing a new album, her first all-new material since "Aerial" was released in 2005 (I wrote extensively about "Aerial" here) . The album entitled "50 Words For Snow" is coming out on November 21, 2011 and I can't wait to hear it.

On Kate's website, this double album (one song clocks in at over thirteen minutes long!) is described as featuring "seven brand new tracks set against a background of falling snow." It appears by that bit of information, along with the cover art and the track listing:
SNOWFLAKE
LAKE TAHOE
MISTY
WILD MAN
SNOWED IN AT WHEELER STREET
50 WORDS FOR SNOW
AMONG ANGELS
that Kate has made another concept album, something she does extremely well. "The Ninth Wave" from "Hounds of Love" is one of the most holy and sublime pieces of secular music ever written and the second half of "Aerial" is luminous, filled with sky and birdsong. And now we have a meditation on winter and snow, released just in time for winter and snow. I am counting the days until November 21st!

Kate Bush is magic. Kate Bush taught me how to fly.

I was just explaining to a friend why, every time I post anything about Kate Bush, I have to add the above phrase... I have had many flying dreams over the years in which I know that I am flying because Kate Bush gave me lessons or pointers on how to fly. And now take a look at the amazing, soaring video for "The Big Sky" from her "Hounds of Love" release. It is about the sky as metaphor (for freedom), and in the video we see all the things that the sky can host: sun, rain, moon, birds, stars, chimneys, paper airplanes, airmen, pilots, aviators, jets, Superman, flags, lightning, astronauts and yes, snow. The song is SO HUGE--anthemic and epic--that I just cry with joy and a bittersweet sense whenever I hear it... the song can be literally overwhelming to me... the way it builds, the unbridled rapture, the wildness of it, and the uninhibited wildness of her screaming at the end. It is truly like a Maslowian peak experience for me; I literally get dizzy...

And that is why, whenever I write about Kate here, I always say "Kate Bush is magic. Kate Bush taught me how to fly."


http://www.katebush.com/

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