FEATURE:
A New Podcast: Deeper Understanding
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in an outtake from the shoot for the Aspects of the Sensual World E.P. (1989)/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Examining Kate Bush’s Lesser-Known Tracks
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I realise that…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
I have proposed another Kate Bush podcast, All the Love, before. I am intent on doing that down the line, though I am eager to mark the tenth anniversary of my blog (in November) with a limited-run podcast. Also in November, Bush’s 50 Words for Snow turns ten. To sort of dovetail the two anniversaries, I thought it was time to explore her lesser-known songs. As I keep saying, radio stations normally play the hits and bigger singles. Occasionally, you might hear something a little rarer – though this is an occasional revelation one would like to experience more. It is a shame that radio playlists are so limited when it comes to Kate Bush, as her albums are crammed full of wonderful songs. The idea behind Deeper Understanding is the examination of the album tracks. I thought it was clever to name the podcast after one of her songs, though Deeper Understanding (originally released on 1989’s The Sensual World, it was re-versioned in 2011 on Director’s Cut) has been released as a single. The single was the 2011 version. Whilst the title does not elude to a deep cut from Kate Bush, it does tie us to an album where most of the songs have not been played. Aside from the first half of Hounds of Love (1985), I don’t think that a lot of people know much about Bush’s albums and the wonderful moments. Rather than examine and dissect her career and albums in detail, Deeper Understanding would be guests choosing tracks from her albums that are lesser-known but worth listening to.
In terms of format and concept, I figured it would be a case of choosing an album per episode. Whilst I say the podcast would be a limited run, it would be ten episodes. I would like to cover nine of her ten studio albums (excluding Director’s Cut), in addition to having an episode that covers non-album tracks and anything else. In the course of discussing an album and the deeper cuts, it also allows discussion of the B-sides. There is so much gold in the ether, one needs to know more about Kate Bush’s complete body of work. Even on Hounds of Love, there are tracks on the second side, The Ninth Wave, that one does not hear too much about – including the brilliant The Morning Fog and Hello Earth. Even Mother Stands for Comfort on the first side does not get a lot of love and spins. It is important to celebrate the singles and the songs that are better known. They are as much a part of her legacy and genius as anything else. I feel one gets a better understanding of an artist if we go beyond the obvious. Not to say that every deep cut from Bush is great. There are songs that have potential and glimmers of greatness, but they are still worth discussing and playing. My plan for each episode is for two-three guests to talk about the album and why it means so much. They then take a couple of tracks each and explain why it is so good and why people need to listen to it.
Sort of a song examiner podcast, Deeper Understanding is a chance to revel in the beauty, weirdness, wonder and esteem of those tracks that are wonderful and somewhat undiscovered. I am going to do it chronologically, so that we start with 1978’s The Kick Inside. There are tracks recorded pre-1978 that could also be included. As this is my favourite album, I know that there are a lot of deeper cuts here. Even though Moving, Them Heavy People (in Japan) and Strange Phenomena (Brazil) were released as singles, I think I should exclude U.K. singles only – as there are songs released internationally that are not played a lot here. Going to 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, I guess six of the seven tracks (excluding the single, Wild Man) are eligible for discussion. The songs on this album are quite long, so maybe two guests choose two songs each. Looking around, there are a couple of Kate Bush podcasts. The Kate Bush Fan Podcast is a U.K. podcast that does look at individual songs, in addition to events, anniversaries and so much more. There is a U.S. podcast, Strange Phenomena: The Music of Kate Bush. This is probably the closest in comparison. Each episode relates to a different song. The episodes are about thirty minutes. Not to repeat what they are saying, guests on Deeper Understanding would spend about five minutes discussing each track - then we would get to hear the song in full. I am aware it may be expensive to get permission to play her songs, but I will see how expensive it is. Although there are a lot of music podcasts around, there are very few dedicated to Kate Bush. I feel that Deeper Understanding would be a welcome addition where we get to know more…
ABOUT a hugely varied and astonishing artist.