FEATURE:
The Infant Kiss
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
Introducing Kate Bush to the Younger Listener
___________
I am going to nod back…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush with Lindsay Kemp in The Line, the Cross and the Curve in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
to another feature I wrote regarding Kate Bush, and where to start regarding her albums and books written about her. It is hard to know where to start if you are a fan, but for those who are new to her work, the task is that much harder. One of my biggest gripes concerns the specificity of Bush’s material on the radio. Rather than take from all of her studio albums and dig deep, stations tend to just select the big singles and do not delve too far beyond that. I know there is a lot of love – as always – circulating online for Kate Bush; she seems to receive this wave of affection every day, just because of what she has already put out in the world. My introduction to her music would have been in the late-1980s and seeing the video for Wuthering Heights on her The Whole Story VHS. I think I saw the video for Them Heavy People around the same sort of time, and I sort of discovered her albums through radio and my parents. Most of my passionate investigation arrived later in life, and I have made up for a lot of lost time. That first bloom, as a young child, was what opened my eyes and set me off on this path. I do feel that, now, there is less exposure to Kate Bush’s music in a visual form. We have YouTube and other platforms, yet the algorithms in place would not necessarily direct a younger person to the music of Kate Bush were they not listening to something similar at the time.
The scene is very different now to how it was when I was young, in terms of how we find new music. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, music T.V. played a bigger role, and there were classic album series where you could discover artists like Kate Bush more easily. We have Spotify and streaming services, but I get a feeling there are a lot of curious young ears out there who might not come into contact with Kate Bush’s music. Parents are still passing down vinyl, but it is less common than it used to be. A younger person (someone who is not yet a teenager) might not listen to radio that much, so they will rely more heavily on streaming services regarding their next fix. Maybe it extends beyond Kate Bush: many legendary acts will not be picked up by the younger generation and a lot of great music will be lost. Most of the people I see commenting on social media about Kate Bush are in their twenties or older – there are some younger people talking about her music, but it is quite rare. How does one open younger eyes to the beauty of Kate Bush’s musical legacy? Radio stations are sadly rigid when it comes to demographic and the type of music played. There are some more varied station but, as I said, the Kate Bush songs played are quite familiar and over-played.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for her 2011 album, Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
I do worry there are a lot of young people out there discovering music in all its forms who will not have the same luck as me when it comes to upbringing and access to a huge range of artists. Kate Bush has not released a studio album since 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, and a lack of brand-new music limits her scope a little, I feel. I think it is important that Kate Bush’s music is not only played on more radio stations – how often does BBC Radio 1, Kiss or Capital FM spin her stuff?! – but parents today are getting their kids hooked. Radio stations have their remits and target a particular audience, but I do feel like there is a place and a lot of space for her music on stations that might otherwise play more current and youth-orientated artists. In terms of exposure away from radio, I feel parents need to do as much as they can to get Kate Bush’s music to their children. It is not just me being a huge fan and wanting to impose my tastes on other people. Bush’s music is so deep, diverse and compelling; her lyrics are so immersive and stunning, and I don’t think her music is reserved for certain people. When it comes to the best albums to first play to children, I would recommend Hounds of Love (1985), The Kick Inside (1978) and Lionheart (1978).
The Kick Inside and Lionheart are her first two albums, and they are quite accessible, and I think the beauty and higher-pitched vocals from Bush would appeal more to younger listeners – or that might just be my viewpoint. I feel Hounds of Love’s first side – with a few hug singles – is as memorable as any modern Pop, and the second side, The Ninth Wave, is almost storytelling; it would provide a different and imaginative stimulus. The rest of Bush’s music is perfectly accessible in its way, but I would advise that trio of albums first before moving on to something more experimental like Aerial (2005) and The Dreaming (1982). I have kept this feature relatively short (until now) so that, rather than provide a list of all the albums worth seeking out, I write something more general. You can buy Bush’s music at her website, and check her out through Spotify. I do think there are a lot of children either discovering Kate Bush through their parents or by their own steam. The problem is that this demographic is pretty small, and I (like many people) discovered Bush when very young. I do worry whether the traditional practice of handing records down and sharing music within the family happens as much as it perhaps should. I do think that, if radio stations were a bit more open regarding Bush’s music and there was this wider spread, it would introduce her music to a whole other demographic – though that might be easier said than done. Her music exists on vinyl, C.D. and streaming so, for parents out there: share the beautiful and wonderful world of Kate Bush and gift her music to…
A whole new army of fans.