Kate Bush article in Mojo
Coinciding nicely with my blethering on about the joys of Kate Bush last week, thereâs an article in this monthâs Mojo about her. Itâs a very interesting analysis of Kateâs talent and appeal, but unusually for a profile like this, there is practically no input from the artist herself.
This is because Kate Bush shuns publicity. Not in the usual âI donât want to be interviewed. Hey! Why donât you want to interview me?â, âmethinks the artist doth protest too muchâ kind of way, either. She practically never tours, practically never makes appearances to plug her work, and almost never does interviews. Mr. Butshesagirl thinks that this is very frustrating, but Iâm not so sure. Thatâs not to say that I donât burn to know what the songs are about. You only have to visit Gaffaweb to see how common that feeling is. Endless hours have been devoted deconstructing single songs. Take â for example â âSuspended in Gaffaâ from âThe Dreamingâ: there are so many different ways to interpret this song. It seems obvious â to me, at least â that itâs about a woman involved in her loverâs divorce proceedings. In Britain until the end of the 19th century, you had to prove adultery to get a divorce â by deliberately getting caught in flagrante by a witness who would be willing to testify in court.
But theyâve told us unless we can prove That weâre doing it We canât have it all
But then thereâs the âGaffaâ puzzle: what does âAm I suspended in Gaffaâ mean? It could be derived from the word gaffe (a lapse in discretion), or a reference to gaffer tape, or a reference to The Gaffer (the boss). Alternatively, it could just be a nonsense word that Kate made up to infuriate her fans. No one knows for sure, and the artist herself has never enlightened us. Come to think of it, these days âSuspended in Gaffaâ could be slang for to the current state of fearfulness of some US citizens.
Do we have any right to an explanation, or should we just accept the music as it is, and draw our own conclusions? Do we have a right to know anything about the artist? Iâm a scientist, and I generally like nice neat explanations, with all the loose ends tied up. But surely art is supposed to be in the eyes (or the ears) of the beholder. If you try to deconstruct it too much, you just end up with a pile of meaningless bits. So Iâm content to just wonder (in both senses of the word), and not to know. I respect Kate Bush a great deal for not bowing to what must be relentless pressure to reveal. Besides, not knowing is great exercise for the imagination.
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Desperately trying to contact Kate Bush. Or, get this msg passed to her. I work for Thamesmead Youth Awareness Programme. This year we are organising an event for Black History Month to be held at Bexley College, Woolwich Road, Abbey Wood. I was informed that Kate used to attend this college/school by the principal now. Things have changed since she was around, and im sure there was no BHM events then. The college is quite excited and I felt that it would be nice for Kate to be involved some how. It would be nice to recieve something with your signature on it, or just a letter (signed) that would encourage other students that they can achieve loads..... you know, something nice. IT WOULD BE OUT OF THIS WORLD IF YOU COULD ATTEND..... We were looking forward to hearing something from you.
Thanks Kate, I hear your living in France now, thats about a couple of hours from your old school. You could make it in time for lunch.
What ever you can manage, we would appreciate your support. The Students would be honoured.
Thanks in advance
Norma.
by Norma Mthethwa @ 06/10/2003 3:11 pm • Permalink •
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