Kate Bush: Aerial.
Nov. 10th, 2005 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
logansrogueI finally got it in my hot little hands today. I was grinning like an idiot when I bought it, could barely stop myself from bouncing, and fangirled with my lecturer Tracey about KB for a while after we'd discussed my course options. I can sum up my reaction and feelings of Aerial in one sentence:
Aerial made me cry.
That's saying something. The last time I cried listening to a CD was when I listened to Jeff Buckley's "Sketches of My Sweetheart the Drunk" and that was because he's dead. These tears were totally different. These were tears for the beauty and marvel of life, all captured with incomprehensible ability and vision in these two CDs.
Where do I start? What do I say? How can you write down in a simple post what ten years of hard, labourous, obviously passionate work sounds like? It sounds like life. Pretty, painful, sweet, warm life.
Kate's piano work is as gorgeous and masterful as ever. Her vocals are heart-squeezingly restrained yet emotional. She lulls you into a trance and you float along each track as though some wonderful magical person was telling you the most marvellous bed-time story you've ever heard in your life. The kind of bed-time story that makes you wake the next day with a feeling that life is wonderful and anything is possible. Some of my current favourites:
King of the Mountain:
Many of you have no doubt heard this song by now. It's a wonderful beginning to the album. It's just a taste of what's to come. The vocals are ... she takes vocals to a whole new level. She uses her own voice to make sounds like the wind, but it's singing! Amazing harmonies that blow the mind that emulate the very wind. I shit you not. The lyrics give you a smile and make you want to watch Bubba Hotep.
Pi:
What a marvellous song. She actually sings the numbers of pi... and it's a spiritual experience. If you said to me, "The singer can sing a string of numbers that don't rhyme and make it sound not only perfectly natural - but beautiful and meaningful", I would have laughed, but been intrigued. Kate did it. With skill and something totally other. Another reason why I like this song? Reminds me of Charlie from Numb3rs. The percussion is amazing and the keys are fucking awesome, too.
Joanni:
A breathtakingly beautiful song about Joan of Arc. You can see the gold of Joan's armour in the sparkle of Kate's voice. Just gorgeous.
A Sky of Honey:
Yeah, that's the entire second disc but you can't cut that one up. It's an odyssey of a day. A celebration of the very existence of life. I don't want to say too much but here are some parts that are awesome:
- Rolf Harris is in one song. And no, it's not what you think. I heard that Aussie accent and I felt the feeling you get when you hear the voice of a favourite uncle. I felt so warm and happy and it wasn't until I checked the back of the CD that I was even certain it was him.
- Bertie has a couple of speaking parts. He has the voice of a little angel.
- Nocturn and Aerial - wow. Wow. Wow. Unbelievable! It's not just music - it's art too. It's amazing harmonies and soaring music that is the climax of a building emotion through-out the songs on this disc.
- There's this thing Indian drummers do. They speak along with their drumming patterns - that's how they learn it. Kate Bush did this - with blackbird song. And she didn't just do flat speaking - she did happy, crazy lilting voice-work. She emulated that bird to a millisecond. Perfectly. A fucking BIRD PEOPLE! A BIRD!!
- Why did I cry? When did I cry? Kate Bush laughing with bird-song, bright happy laughter at the dawn of a new day. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
I was mentally exhausted after listening to this album, and not in a bad way. It was the sort of tired you have after having the greatest, funnest day of your life. The kind of exhaustion you get after a really good shag. I felt aglow.
Thank you, Ms. Kate Bush. Thank you so very much.
Aerial made me cry.
That's saying something. The last time I cried listening to a CD was when I listened to Jeff Buckley's "Sketches of My Sweetheart the Drunk" and that was because he's dead. These tears were totally different. These were tears for the beauty and marvel of life, all captured with incomprehensible ability and vision in these two CDs.
Where do I start? What do I say? How can you write down in a simple post what ten years of hard, labourous, obviously passionate work sounds like? It sounds like life. Pretty, painful, sweet, warm life.
Kate's piano work is as gorgeous and masterful as ever. Her vocals are heart-squeezingly restrained yet emotional. She lulls you into a trance and you float along each track as though some wonderful magical person was telling you the most marvellous bed-time story you've ever heard in your life. The kind of bed-time story that makes you wake the next day with a feeling that life is wonderful and anything is possible. Some of my current favourites:
King of the Mountain:
Many of you have no doubt heard this song by now. It's a wonderful beginning to the album. It's just a taste of what's to come. The vocals are ... she takes vocals to a whole new level. She uses her own voice to make sounds like the wind, but it's singing! Amazing harmonies that blow the mind that emulate the very wind. I shit you not. The lyrics give you a smile and make you want to watch Bubba Hotep.
Pi:
What a marvellous song. She actually sings the numbers of pi... and it's a spiritual experience. If you said to me, "The singer can sing a string of numbers that don't rhyme and make it sound not only perfectly natural - but beautiful and meaningful", I would have laughed, but been intrigued. Kate did it. With skill and something totally other. Another reason why I like this song? Reminds me of Charlie from Numb3rs. The percussion is amazing and the keys are fucking awesome, too.
Joanni:
A breathtakingly beautiful song about Joan of Arc. You can see the gold of Joan's armour in the sparkle of Kate's voice. Just gorgeous.
A Sky of Honey:
Yeah, that's the entire second disc but you can't cut that one up. It's an odyssey of a day. A celebration of the very existence of life. I don't want to say too much but here are some parts that are awesome:
- Rolf Harris is in one song. And no, it's not what you think. I heard that Aussie accent and I felt the feeling you get when you hear the voice of a favourite uncle. I felt so warm and happy and it wasn't until I checked the back of the CD that I was even certain it was him.
- Bertie has a couple of speaking parts. He has the voice of a little angel.
- Nocturn and Aerial - wow. Wow. Wow. Unbelievable! It's not just music - it's art too. It's amazing harmonies and soaring music that is the climax of a building emotion through-out the songs on this disc.
- There's this thing Indian drummers do. They speak along with their drumming patterns - that's how they learn it. Kate Bush did this - with blackbird song. And she didn't just do flat speaking - she did happy, crazy lilting voice-work. She emulated that bird to a millisecond. Perfectly. A fucking BIRD PEOPLE! A BIRD!!
- Why did I cry? When did I cry? Kate Bush laughing with bird-song, bright happy laughter at the dawn of a new day. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
I was mentally exhausted after listening to this album, and not in a bad way. It was the sort of tired you have after having the greatest, funnest day of your life. The kind of exhaustion you get after a really good shag. I felt aglow.
Thank you, Ms. Kate Bush. Thank you so very much.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-10 03:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-10 03:37 pm (UTC)clicked your link in gaffa
Date: 2005-11-10 08:51 pm (UTC)Re: clicked your link in gaffa
Date: 2005-11-11 01:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-15 12:46 am (UTC)THAT is when the entire album came together and wrapped itself around me, I couldnt help but laugh along...then cry a little...then listen to the entire second disc two more times.
I have now begun to adore Sea, but Sky had me from the moment Sunset began. What a beautiful sonic tapestry this woman has woven...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-15 02:29 am (UTC)