FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts
Pi (π)
_________
A track that I have…
mentioned before but not expanded on, Pi (or π) is included on the first disc of Kate Bush’s double album, Aerial. Released on 7th November, 2005, it is one of her most astonishing albums. Split into two distinct discs the first, A Sea of Honey has more traditional and conventional album tracks. Like the first side of 1985’s Hounds of Love which, in many ways, is similar to Aerial. The second disc of Aerial, A Sky of Honey, is a song suite featuring nine short songs. They are set over the course of a single summer’s day. The second track on Aerial, following King of the Mountain, it is bold placing from Kate Bush. As producer, she would have wanted that track there for a reason. King of the Mountain was the single and a relatively straightforward track. Leading into an odder and more oblique song like Pi is quite brave. It pays off. From there, we go into Berite. One of the lesser-loved tracks on Aerial, it is a paen to her then-young son. The fourth track is Mrs. Bartolozzi. Some would argue that the sequencing on the first disc is not great or doesn’t create a good flow and balance. I think Kate Bush got it right. Pi is high up but, as it is a long song (6:09) and quite unusual, it needs to be high up. There is a whole other feature and conversation to be had when it comes to Aerial and its tracklisting and order. Twelve years after she released The Red Shoes, Bush put out a double album. She had to make sure, in addition to making sure the quality was high, putting the tracks in the right order for the best listening experience. I think that she did that. I am going to come to a feature that tackles Bush’s reading of pi. This mathematical constant is probably one that few people know in full. When Bush recites pi/π, there is a different version to the real one. First, the Kate Bush Encyclopedia gives details about one of Kate Bush’s most unconventional track. As this is her, that is quite a claim! A track that I never hear people talk about. They should:
“π’ is a song written by Kate Bush. Originally released on her eighth studio album Aerial in 2005. The song described a man who has “a complete infatuation with the calculation of π”. She actually sings the number to its 78th decimal place, then from its 101st to its 137th decimal place. The difference between the two works out like this:
Real Pi: 3.
1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510
5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679
8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128
Kate Bush Pi: 3.
1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510
5820974944 5923078164 06286208
8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223
Cover versions
‘Pi’ was covered by Anne Sofie Von Otter and Brooklyn Rider and Göteborgs Symfoniker.
Kate about ‘Pi’
I really like the challenge of singing numbers, as opposed to words because numbers are so unemotional as a lyric to sing and it was really fascinating singing that. Trying to sort of, put an emotional element into singing about…a seven…you know and you really care about that nine. I find numbers fascinating, the idea that nearly everything can be broken down into numbers, it is a fascinating thing; and i think also that we are completely surrounded by numbers now, in a way that we weren’t you know even 20, 30 years ago we’re all walking around with mobile phones and numbers on our foreheads almost; and it’s like you know computers…
I suppose, um, I find it fascinating that there are people who actually spend their lives trying to formulate pi; so the idea of this number, that, in a way is possibly something that will go on to infinity and yet people are trying to pin it down and put their mark on and make it theirs in a way I guess also i think you know you get a bit a lot of connection with mathematism and music because of patterns and shapes…
I do love how there is a bit of an error – whether intentional or not – in Pi. Where she sings the constant mostly correct and in sequence, though there is this difference. It is a reason (among several) why the song is so interesting. This feature takes us inside a really intriguing and hugely original song. One that I feel should not be relegated as a deep cut that does not get played or examined:
“I have been listening to Aerial, the new album from Kate Bush, and it just gets better with every hearing.
One of my favourite tracks is "Pi":
"a sentimental ode to a mathematician, audacious in both subject matter and treatment. The chorus is the number sung to many, many decimal places." - Observer Review
But something kept nagging me about the song. Was Kate really singing Pi to 150 decimal places?
I got hold of the lyrics and checked them against an online version of Pi. All was well for the first 53 decimal places but then Kate sang "threeeeee oneeeee" when she should have sang "zeeeeeeerooo" instead. She recovered for the next 24 digits but then it went to hell in a handbasket when she missed out the next 22 digits completely before finishing with a precise rendition of her final 37 digits.
PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
It may seem a bit pedantic to make a fuss but if you are going to sing Pi then you should make an effort to get it right.
"Sweet and gentle and sensitive man
With an obsessive nature and deep fascination for numbers
And a complete infatuation with the calculation of PI
Oh he love, he love, he love
He does love his numbers
And they run, they run, they run him
In a great big circle
In a circle of infinity"
If Simon Singh can get Katie Melua to re-record her song because of a error about the age of the universe then maybe I can get Kate to re-record Pi.
Real Pi: 3.
1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510
5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679
8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128
Kate Bush Pi: 3.
1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510
58231974944 5923078164 06286208
8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223
In case anyone is worried about the accuracy of the published lyrics I did check the audio against the published lyrics and can confirm that they are the same”.
In spite of the fact that it is quite a rare and under-known song, Pi (π) was featured on The Simpsons' twenty-sixth-season finale, Mathlete's Feat. I want to bring in some press and words about Pi. In 2005, The Guardian reviewed Aerial. They discussed the merits of songs like Pi, and how the tracks are positioned well. They have their place and purpose:
“But Aerial succeeds because it's all there for a reason. And because the good stuff is just so sublime. 'King of the Mountain', Bush's Elvis-inspired single, is both a fine opener and a total red herring. Bush's juices really get going on 'Pi', a sentimental ode to a mathematician, audacious in both subject matter and treatment. The chorus is the number sung to many, many decimal places. It's closely followed by a gushing ode to Bush's son, Bertie, that's stark and medieval-sounding. The rest of disc one (aka A Sea of Honey) sets a very high bar for disc two, with the Joan of Arc-themed 'Joanni' and the downright poppy 'How to Be Invisible' raising the hair on your arms into a Mexican wave”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in an alternate publicity shot for Aerial/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
I wanted to highlight Aerial’s Pi and include it in this Deep Cuts feature. It is a song that I have hardly hear played on the radio. It is one of those songs that would have passed many people by. If you have not heard the track, then I would suggest that you check it out. Then go and listen to the entirety of Aerial and see how it fits in. A song that builds up with this beautiful and quite spacey introduction - that reminds me of Pink Floyd - and then turns into this gorgeous and tender song. Some intriguing and wonderful lyrics (“Oh he/love, he love, he love/He does love his numbers/And they run, they run, they run him/In a great big circle/In a circle of infinity"). Some exceptional bass work from Eberhard Weber and great additional vocal work from Lol Creme. Such an arresting and interesting song. It switches mood and direction. Elongating some numbers and skipping over others. Giving the song a rare and unusual energy and sense of consideration. Almost mystical and sermon-like. Even if Kate Bush does not quite recite pi perfectly, I think that her strange, magical and fascinating song is…
A perfect ten.