#my analysis

I was a living computer back then.

Ah thank you very much <3 I will start my travelling to Hévíz in hours so I won't have laptop (or maybe even internet) for days, so let's see what can I do now.

Disclaimer that I never listened to fully to: The Sensual World, The Red Shoes and 50 Words for Snow. I was not really vibing with them, but I plant to later. I also not yet fully read Under the Ivy by Graeme Thomson which I heard is the best (basically only...) biography (or any kind of "documentary") about her. I tried to watch that one BBC documentary about her, but I gotta be honest, all these OTHER people talking about her, without she being there was very annoying and seeing Gaiman totally threw me off and disgusted me, and I had to stop watching. I knew they were "friends" back then, and I don't fault her for it but ehh. Not in a mood to see that guy.

So this will be mostly about - let's just call it - classic era. Also, the fact the we knew so little about her is both a blessing and a curse. She is so talented, so no drama takes away from it - but there is also nothing aside music to enjoy about her, when you are not in a music mood. Two-edged sword, really. And let's just say she is one from a wealthy, comfortable family, and in this case I approve because she had time to hone this insane creativity. #sometimesrichpeoplehaverights

I really love early, art rock 70s Kate Bush. I understand she wanted complete creative control and wanted to move away from this style, but I find it so creative and different from - a generally male dominated - 70s art rock. She still feels so fresh to my ears; she obviously had a great vocal range which made the crazy jumps possible, but overall I find her melodies move in a very interesting ways. Like her voice truly moves around, and slides in a way that feels completely effortless. She is the answer for me to "what if a voice could truly shapeshift?" question. She was very dramatic and theatrical in the early years, and I like how she changed the way she sang but still sounded like herself; it's one thing that I don't like that much with PJ Harvey - when she completely changed the way she sang, her music lost some instantly recognizable character that Kate Bush never did.

The use of the multiple vocal track & backing vocals are my favourite part about her music - it feels atypical to most western rock music, they things they sang. I mean songs like Oh to be in love and The Infant Kiss backing vocals (ie. in Oh to be in love the: ohh-hhh to be-ee-ee-e in love background part). They don't sound like typical harmonies to me.

I love Andrew Powell and John Kelly production on the first 3 albums, I think they did a great job and probably helped in having a rock sound. I think it was good for Kate to have some restriction, at least on her early albums - although I'm sure she wouldn't agree with me lol.

Interestingly, I actually did not like the first 3 albums on first listens - I thought her voice was bothersome and strange - but they grew on me so much, I ended up preferring them my original favourites... which is just Typical Me Behaviour! Lmao.

My fave description of Kate is by Ben Myers who called her "prog's first pop star and pop's first prog star" whose "career history and collaborations are inextricably tied in with prog and her ever-evolving output has much more in common with the genre than the pop world in which she first found herself operating." I think this sums up her genre blending pretty well, and the fact that her music is sometimes not regarded as prog/art rock is only because of: sexism and how deeply - musically speaking - conservative the label "prog" is. You should never let stupid fans and journalist give meaning to labels; it shouldn't mean "clasically inspired 70s style rock music ft. flutes."

I love when she songs have gothic literature vibe or has medieval influence. I love it when music is capable to balance modernity with a feeling of it being something older, even a little otherwordly. (Also, I will never like overly modern lyrics of nowadays. I want some distance and fantasy!)

The Kick Inside is lovely album, with these striking, bold colours on the album, which represent this music fantastically to me. Eclectic music influences, piano driven mood, dramatic and theatrical vocal performances, the music throws you down then picks you up. It really has this fluid quality to it, that I connect with great dancers. Kate was obviously inspired by her love for dancing. I especially love Moving, The Saxophone song, Wuthering Heights, James and the cold gun and Oh to be in love. I know James and the cold gun is overall a "basic" Kate song but I to this day look a song that is like that. Reminds me of something I can't recall - but that's probably just due to it's rock vibe, which I'm all for!

Lionheart is an underrated album. Poor little album gets the beating from everybody and does not deserve it! It's a little short for my taste and maybe it has too many slow piano ballad, but I deeply love it. It continues in the vein of TKI, yet it feels unique from it. My absolute favourite ridicolous, macabre and eccentric Hammer Horror and Full House builds nicely from the previous albums weirdest, artiest moments. Coffee Homeground and Kashka from Bagdad seemlessly bring in other musical influences. It's a wonderful little album which is great for the ones who wanted more from the first album type of stuff! (Alias me.) Away with the haters!!

Never for Ever is an interesting leap. It's obviously more matured and realised then pevious stuff, and nicaly bridges the more overtly 80s stuff with the 70s - I'm overall on the opinion that early 80s music, done by 70s/prog artist, on the preciepe of change, are some of the coolest, most interest music ever. It's pop infused proggy stuff with other genre blending elements and nothing makes me happier than that! (ie. Face Value, Abacab, Duke, Drama, Melt etc.) Kate Bush blends wonderfully with that scene, I'm not surprised John Lennon was impressed by her album, and I wish we could have heard her influence in his 80s stuff :(

The drum machine on Delius brings Duchess from Genesis into my mind every time and that makes me happy. The album is full of melodic beauty, there is something wild and sandy in it, some darkness just lurking under the seams. It has the melodic piano drive-ness of Elton, the quirky ramshackledness of Ram, and the screaming, vocal pushing of POB era John Lennon, feated with a fever dream like quality. What else one could want? The Wedding List, The Breathing, Army Dreamers, Babooshka and The Infant Kiss are my favourite from the album, but basically everything is great.

The Dreaming is actually the first Bush album that I liked (after needlessly trying with Hounds of Love) but it lost it's shine. For me. I appreciate Kate being "insane" for this, doing her Fairlight experiments, and when she is successful I think she delivers fantastic songs like Sat In Your Lap, There goes A Tenner, Suspended in Gaffa, The Dreaming and Night of The Swallow, but other times I'm kinda bored. It's a more rhytmic album, feels deeply inspired by Melt, and feels like a sister to Security, but I think Peter was more successful in using the ugly elements together with the beauty. Kate is more quirky, but lost some of the melodic elements.

Hounds of Love has grown on me me quite considerably. I think it has a fantastic, dreamy sound, a really good, artsy use of 80s elements. I think it's a great album, especially the second half, but I don't like The Big Sky and find Waking the Witch boring, and that little brings it down in my eyes.

But it's a kind of late 80s pop rock masterpiece with nightly vibe, similarly to Tango in the Night. I find both spotty in it's tracklist but with incredibly creative and recongnisable sound.

Aerial is I think a really great later year album, definetly going back to the more proggy tendencies, albeit I think it's a bit too long - especially the first half. I somewhat gotta commend the fact that Kate originally put a 42 minutes track on the album. That would make any old progger die lol. But I prefer it being cut up while presented as a continuos piece - after all it's quite hard to just pay attention for 42 minutes, have no other distraction and it takes a lot if time to familiarize yourself with a song of that length. And it's good sometimes to just replay your favourite parts!

Anyway, it's a great and atmospheric work. The first half is unsurprisingly weaker, which tends to be the case any time half of the album is one, long and/or connected piece, but I really love King of the Mountain, Pi, How to be invisible and A Coral Room. I have not yet heard the second piece in cut up form, but I plan to soon! But it's a really great one.

The other albums... maybe one day I got to them, but I have to be honest, The Sensual World - The Red Shoes are exactly the type of late 80s -90s albums done by 70s/80s artist that I do not like - they have such washed out sound, these soft rock thing going on. And if I remember correctly, I didn't like the vocal on TRS...? But I will try later. I have no more time now.

PS: I have to say I don't like how we never get plus material. You cannot tell me this women doesn't have them?!

5th track on Plastic Ono Band (1970)

Isolation is a track where the trio of lyrics + emotion + music and the interpretation we can make concerning the actual John Lennon - not just the "narrator" - makes this one of John's most striking bridges and one of my favourite John Lennon songs.

The song starts purely with piano. The moment the vocal arrives (single tracked), together with the drum, are already have power and a great preparation for the bridge, which will build on the same three elements.

The song slowly builds, almost meanders. The fourth time the "Isolation" part arrives, is the moment that signals the change; the vocals are drawned out and the double track makes its appareance.

The bridge is a turn; both lyrically and musically. It's emotionally different; it's in its short moments full of anger yet laced with acceptance (you are just a human). It's a human song, and the human core of the album (and not just bc the word itself used! it's the admission itself.)

Isolation is also the midpoint of the album, it's essentially the center song, and I would call it the emotional center of the album. An idea that probably can be supported by the trio of Mother-Isolation-God, essentially the first, the middle and the last songs. They make up the emotional spine of the album, on which the rest of the songs hangs. All features piano, a slow, almost dragging tempo; they are all devastating in a different way. They also progressively operate with more lyrics and melody. (Although maybe it could be argued that the self being rejected (Mother) - self expresses acceptance (Isolation) - self rejects other things and figures in return (God) disturbs the forward moving flow that the music brings... I think it works just fine and I'm complicating it.)

The lyrics almost has an apocalyptic feel to it; the way it mentions the possible end of the world. ("We're afraid of everyone/Afraid of the sun" "The sun will never disappear/But the world may not have many years").

Our "little boy and girl" trying to change this world. Either because little people are capable of changing the world, or because these two particular one feel imbued with mission (and self-importance). They cling to each other in a lonely word, where people are afraid of everything. Our narrator - and everybody, he says - is full of paranoia, is surrounded by enemies ("Everybody trying to put us down"). But herein lies something the narrator doesn't recognizes - these enemies are very convenient in nurturing this connection between the "little boy and girl". Alias: how John and Yoko cling to each other in the early years in their all obsessed glory; how John Lennon tended to pour all his energy, ideas and feelings into one person - and how it had given the false safety of the two of them clinging to this lonely raft in the turbulent sea of the world; how they were together in their safe house in the little town.

The bridge's lyrics are interesting to me as a kind of interpretation of John Lennon himself. Because it has the typical John Lennon sentiment: You hurt me. I am in pain and it was done by others. They are the ones who are responsible! They should take the blame! But also offers something that John - because he was a sensitive person who, in my reading, was capable of empathy - recognized. He saw, he knew - in abstract ways! - that other people have humanity. That they can be the victims - partly because he can be. (John reminds me so much of Roger Waters and thesis of the Pink Floyd song Echoes: And I am you and what I see is me.)

The song, the whole album is stripped down, but the bridge goes even further, and it stand out because it takes away; no bass guitar, no snares. Just the bass drum (?), thumping away. Ringo only starts playing the snare (i'm just saying things, i don't actually recognize parts of the drum kit by sound) and doing more on the victim of the insane part, helping to bring up the intensity - together with the powerful vocal delivery from John and some piano hammering. The bridge also has double tracked vocals (equally panned to left and right), making the whole thing feel bigger, more monumental and surrounded.

It ends with Ringo doing a little drum fill (when there is no vocal, bc he doesn't intrude on the vocals!), and the song continues with the next verse.

my analysis

That's why in 6.4 she commissioned Alice to create a virtual reality game for people to experience the 1.0 events.

That's why she enjoyed taking part in it herself.

That's why her fav book is Vera's Melancholy.

That's why she takes winning in TCG so seriously.

That's why she suggested to Klee to go fishblasting together during the 1.6 GAA event because she knew (and explicitly expressed) it didn't cause any harm here.

That's why when Noelle yeeted a sword in the ceiling of Jean's office, Jean wasn't mad. Instead she made a joke to cheer Noelle up and helped her train.

That's why she accompanied Diona who wanted to play in Dragon Spine out of all places.

That's why she appreciated Kaeya's entertainment during the 6.4 event.

That's why it's so important to her that the events she plans for her people (Weinlesefest, return of the expedition) are fun and exciting (including significant amounts of alcohol).

That's why she turned it into a little Kaeya-style tease when she surprised Klee she'd take her to lunch at Good Hunter (no really, it felt like she channeled her inner Kaeya there lol).

Seriously, what a stuck-up loser, man.

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Jean's only crime is that she doesn't like it when people blow up Mondstadt for fun or put it and its people in danger.

She accepts Klee's bombs when she knows they won't be a danger to others.

But no, this is clearly proof that she is an unreasonable, neurotic killjoy.

Shame on her. Who needs wildlife or functioning city walls anyway.

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Hoyo will constantly slander and often down-right mischaracterise her by making false meta claims about how she "lacks a fun side" and so forth, so that they can uplift other characters at her expense.