FEATURE: A GIF to the Young Generation: The Reach and Power of the Internet in Bringing Kate Bush’s Music to New Listeners

FEATURE:

 

 

A GIF to the Young Generation

IMAGE CREDIT: OMG.BLOG 

The Reach and Power of the Internet in Bringing Kate Bush’s Music to New Listeners

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AFTER seeing an article…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Kennedy/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

published online by Rolling Stone last week, I wanted to follow up on my fairly recent article about Kate Bush’s music on TikTok. I have said often enough how Kate Bush’s music is not often played on the radio. More accurately, it is played a lot, though the range of songs is quite narrow! I do wonder how many younger listeners are discovering Bush’s music through this medium. The vast majority of the time, when her songs are played, you tend to get the hits the most people have heard. The logic behind this is that the less-known songs might cause people to turn over or not be popular. It seems strange, as I keep saying, how radio stations are reductive when it comes to her. I know that memes are bringing Bush’s music to new people. Through discovering these, they are watching interviews and discovering songs. A while back, when talking about TikTok, I wrote how this platform is seeing Bush’s music spread far and wide. By users scoring short videos with clips of her songs, it means that her brilliance and relevance continues strong. Even though a lot of her songs used on TikTok are the well-known ones, there are some deeper cuts that means her catalogue is being explored more thoroughly. It seems strange that other platforms other than radio are more influential regarding ensuring Kate Bush’s music is being discovered around the world. I know that radio stations are important, though the power of sites like TikTok means that her music can be heard by millions.

Whether soundtracking a video or used in a GIF, these short and punchy visuals and audio snippets are hugely effective. I personally feel Bush’s music needs to be listened in full. Unless you have an album and are willing to investigate it all, so many tracks will pass you by. One might assume that the rise of memes, GIFs and short-form videos would devalue her work or mean people are only listening to the bigger hits – and maybe are not listening too long or are less liable to deep-dive. In fact, I feel that there is something more varied and interesting about GIFs, memes etc. that you do not get from radio. Streaming sites are great regarding offering Bush’s music to all, though it is not advertised a lot and, once more, perhaps the bigger numbers are played a lot more than hidden gems that deserve more love. I have seen so many memes that quote interviews or song lyrics. In turn, that takes people to a song they may not have heard or an interview that opens their eyes to a new part of Kate Bush’s work. Some Kate Bush memes are humorous or are slightly piss-taking, though many use her lyrics, photos and idiosyncrasies in an inventive way. There are so many out there but, rather than write articles or generic tweets, people can share memes and start conversations about her work. The fact they are visually appealing and easy to read means that the impact is instant and huge.

Even if a meme is quite jokey, that can lead to people either discovering Kate Bush for the first time, or they might be compelled to spend a few hours with her music. GIFs are great, as you can animate a clip of a music video or an interview with some words. If, in decades past, music T.V. was the most important and go-to source for artists to get their music heard by the masses, social media has taken over a lot. I look through Twitter each day and see all the posts about Kate Bush. People share photos, GIFs, memes, music videos and song links. That starts conversations and can lead to discovery of minor Kate Bush songs or interviews that few have seen or heard. It is a shame that radio stations continue to be predictable when it comes to which Bush songs they spin. Whilst writing this, I have seen GIFs and memes that have quoted deeper cuts from albums such as The Dreaming (1982), The Red Shoes (1993) and The Sensual World (1989). Why did Rolling Stone write an article about Kate Bush memes? Why is she more popular now than ever? I think the two can be answered by the fact Bush is so magnetic and eye-catching. Such an innovative and striking artist, one cannot take their eyes off of her! Her hugely original music and loveable personality combines and wins the heart and inspires the mind. If some, years ago, felt Bush an acquired taste or two weird or experimental, the appetite people have for her music and words now shows that she was ahead of her time.

As we head into 2022, there might the flicker of new music or activity from Kate Bush. Social media means it is so easy to share GIFs and videos with people. Those who have loved Kate Bush for years ardently share her music and prove their loyalty. What is as pleasing is that people who have never heard of Kate Bush or know very little about her are picking up her music and being educated by something as simple as a meme or GIF. Whereas other artists from the 1970s and 1980s are declining in popularity or not as loved as they once were, Kate Bush is seemingly incapable of deterioration or entropy. I do wonder, in real-world terms, which songs and albums are being played when people see a GIF or meme. Certainly, people discuss Kate Bush and interact, though I would be interested to see statistics around the tracks people play on streaming platforms and sites like YouTube. As I said, deeper cuts are being unearthed and songs once left to collect dust are being represented through short video clips and photos with lyrics attached. Able to match photos, interview snippets, song lyrics and quotes with videos of Bush means that her work and world is more accessible and visible than ever before. This will only continue and grow stronger as the years go by. New generations are finding out about one of the music world’s most important and dazzling artists. Whether you feel the only way to get a true sense of her brilliance is to listen to the music itself, one cannot deny that formats like GIFs and memes are a vital source of connection, gateway and communicating. The fact that articles are being written about the thrill of Kate Bush memes and how they are reaching people in their twenties…

IS such a good thing.

Sam Liddicott