It just might get some sort of mention on my best-of-the-year list, which will appear on TWAS soon after it stops being 2005...

glenn, did we ever hear your final thoughts on Aerial? I like it more every time I listen to it, but it (and the second CD especially) really commands your full attention, I think. Nocturn, oh my god.

No one else has said, but I think I agree. Wow. Thanks for posting this link, the spirit of glenn's music review column lives on. This is like modern-day James Joyce...

cookham.blogspot.com/2005_11_20_cookham_archive.html#113277255295540373  

Marcello Carlin goes quite indepth on Aerial - I'm not sure if any of you would agree with him, but it's a striking piece of writing.

No opinion on Kate Bush (she's just not someone that I've investigated enough--and no matter what everyone ends up thinking of Aerial, I gather that it is not the place to start--but I'm really, really liking Sarah Harmer's lovely new album I'm a Mountain. It's a straightforward old-timey country record and not at all the kind of thing that I expected to like, especially considering that the only thing that Sarah's done since Weeping Tile that I've wanted to play more than once is You Were Here. So where's the fanfare for this one?  

Cyndi's latest, much like Alanis' acousic reworking of Jagged Little Pill, struck me as too pointless to even buy, I'm afraid, even though I want to support both of them. Cyndi's album is at least nice, I suppose, and I'm happy that "All Through The Night" managed to survive Shaggy, but between this and At Last, I gotta wonder why she isn't making real records anymore (which, surprisingly, her Christmas album was).  

And glenn, did you order the new Emm off of her site yet?

Nice post, Scott.

After a pretty much indifferent initial spin, I had the visceral response – goosebumps, shivers, tears of joy, etc. – as well as 'THIS IS SO GOOD' – on the second listen. I think Aerial is the kind of record that seeps in over time, so this may change down the road, but right now I tend to favour the first disc over the suite of songs on the second, though I do enjoy "Nocturn" / "Aerial".

A couple quick notes of my own –  

Of course we’ve all internalized "King of the Mountain" at this point but I love "Pi", which is not only intensely beautiful but, I think, a little cheeky as well (i.e. a proverbial 'singing the phone book').  

Don’t have kids but I actually really like "Bertie". Though I can obviously see how it might come off as cloying to some...  

The washing machine song is pure, unadulterated Kate Bush genius.  

"How to Be Invisible" – still sounds a little second single conventional to me but I’m confident that its underlying 'hem of anorak' idiosyncrasies will eventually assert themselves.

After digging in for a long acclimation process before playing it the second time, I encountered none of the expected resistance. Very interesting. I'm not going to overreact the other way yet. Third time tomorrow, we'll see how it goes.

glenn, NEH: I think the truth is that in twelve years, we've forgotten how to listen to Kate. While I regard both Hounds of Love and The Dreaming as definate DIDs, I still remember my first reaction to them being one of puzzlement which then gave way to rapture after repeated listening. Contrast this with The Red Shoes, which, except for a few songs ("Moments of Pleasure", "You're the One", "The Song of Solomon"), Aerial blows off the map. With TRS, I could never stop myself from thinking "Dammit, this should be better!".  

Anyways, my _Aerial_ experience went like this:  

First time through: I had a totally visceral reaction to hearing Kate's voice: shivers, goosebumps, etc. The songs, however, went right by me. Nothing left an immediate impression.  

I put it away for a couple of hours, and tried again.  

Second time through: hmm, this sounds more interesting.  

Third time through, listening more intently: MY. GOD. THIS. IS. SO GOOD.  

Now, it's totally lodged in my head.  

That, and the entire second side is wonderfully put together. Kate sounds wonderfully happy to be alive, and I am happy that she is still making great music. And who else but Kate Bush could make doing the laundry sexy?  

A few notes:  

* "Pi" is missing 22 digits, which is annoying considering that Kate is such a perfectionist in other regards. I don't care, I like the cycling guitar + keyboards in this song, and, if nothing else, this song proves that I can listen to Kate singing just about anything and be in awe.  

* A person's reaction to "Bertie" is going to be totally dependent on how they view children. I have a 21-month-old daughter, and this song makes me nearly tear up. However, subscribers to alt.childfree may want to claw their eyes out.  

* "How to Be Invisible" is better than any spell that Harry Potter ever cast. "Hem of anorak!"  

* The ending of "Joanni" is up there with my favorite little funny Kate moments. The little hummy thing, mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm, etc. Yeah, that. Ha.  

* "The Coral Room" is about her deceased mother, and, based on interviews, was one of the most difficult songs for her to sing.  

* This album cannot truly be appreciated unless heard in headphones (c.f. glenn's review of Happy Rhodes' Many Worlds are Born Tonight).  

BTW: I am not a Kate Bush freak. I can stop anytime. In the meantime, I'm going to press Play again.

What's your take on The Coral Room? I found that one interesting but I have no clue as to what it's about.  

(As opposed to How to Be Invisible of which I also had no clue as to what it's about but didn't find it interesting.)

I've played it once, and will have to play it several more times before I know what I think of it. That doesn't mean I won't decide it's fantastic, but it's definitely not the instant rapture one might hope for after twelve years of waiting. But I got over my initial aversion to Tori's "The Power of Orange Knickers" and "Hoochie Woman", so I believe the double-inanity of "Pi" and that washing-machine thing can be absorbed somehow.  

Contrast Cyndi Lauper's The Body Acoustic, which also came out yesterday, and despite seeming egregiously pointless on paper had me in love with it by the end of the first minute.

Well d@rn it all, it's disappointing.  

It's absolutely for Kate freaks only. (And frankly at this time who else but Kate freaks even know about her or care.) King of the Mountain is the high light. Probably nothing else will be heard with the exception of Pi which will probably appear on Numb3rs. (But someone who watches Numb3rs will have to verify that.)  

I'll probably play Disk 2 a few times because her song cycles usually reveal nuances with repeated listening. But it's no The Ninth Wave.  

Her voice is wonderful. And don't think I've ever enjoyed the sound of her voice as much as on this album. But I'm not going to be playing any of these song on my mental jukebox in years to come.

Belated:  

A video.

Track listing for Aerial  

[from Pitchfork]  

Aerial:  

Disc One: A Sea of Honey  

01 King of the Mountain
02 ð (sic it's a symbol)
03 Bertie
04 Mrs. Bartolozzi
05 How to be Invisible
06 Joanni
07 A Coral Room  

Disc Two: A Sky of Honey  

01 Prelude
02 Prologue
03 An Architect's Dream
04 The Painter's Link
05 Sunset
06 Aerial Tal
07 Somewhere in Between
08 Nocturn
09 Aerial

Yeah, my expectations just went up a notch. On the one hand, I didn't like The Red Shoes as much as I would have anticipated if I'd heard "Moments of Pleasure" first. On the other hand, I liked it better than I thought I would after actually hearing "Eat the Music" and "Rubberband Girl" first. So "King of the Mountain" can't prove anything, but it definitely increases my happiness and my anticipation.

*listens*  

This *is* going to be awesome.

"For all those interested in hearing Kate's new single, click on the link below and use the 'Listen Again' facility".  

www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/bruce/  
 

Took the above message and link directly from the Big Country site...  

You want to listen to Bruce's Wednesday show,9/21/05, about 37 and one half minutes into it. "King of the Mountain", the first single off the new album and the first air time it has received (BBC exclusive).  

Regards

Who wants to bet that the art work is by Bertie?

katebush.com/flash_positive.htm  

The above link I found via the Big Country website. For now, only release dates listed. After 11/07/2005, it will, apparently, be a functional website.  

Regards to all...

This is going to be awesome and rock my world.

It's a double album. So it will be double-awesome.  

A single is out in late October.

It is going to be awesome.  

Awesome.  

And until November 7, anybody who says otherwise is a terrorist.

This is going to be awesome.  
 
 
 

...  
 
 
 
 

Right? It is going to be awesome, right?

And suddenly I am officially 17 again.

Pitchfork has just announced November 8th as the US release date of her new album. (Yes, it's November 8th of this year.) It's a double album titled Aerial.