John Doran has a bad night with his new child and tries not to fall asleep interviewing Kate over at The Quietus.
KB: … Are you knackered?
Yeah.
KB: Have you been up all night?
Yeah, I have.
KB: [laughs uproariously and good naturedly]
But these journalists are made of tough stuff, so he manages to keep his eyes open:
“Bush is without comparison and to compare others (whatever their gender) to her is simply facile … Kate Bush’s abilities as a songwriter just get better and better with age. The keen eye that saw a couple’s sex life writ large in their entwining clothes drying on a line in the breeze … is at evidently hard at work on every song here. She sees the erotic poetic potential in places other song writers wouldn’t dare look for it.
For most of the interview anyway …
KB: [laughing uproariously] Oh John! I’m so sorry! Are you OK? I have this image that you just want to go to sleep and not listen to me! Are you sure you’re OK?
Yeah! Yeah! I’m fine… this is just the way I sound. [flapping] I’m going to treat myself to a very large cup of coffee as soon as I put the phone down.
John
Wow, what a great interview – Kate interviews are usually so predictable – ‘you only toured once I gather?’ or ‘tell us about Wuthering Heights’ or ‘wasn’t The Dreaming a bit weird’. For someone whose songwriting is so unlike any other she lacks spark in interviews. It’s not entirely her fault; Kate isn’t a personality (Thank God!) and I guess she’s only as good as the person interviewing her.
John Doran actually appears to be having a conversation with Kate as opposed to merely interviewing her. And his interview totally is about her latest album and life now! There’s a nice informal quality about the conversation and the bouncing back and forth of ideas is entertaining to read.
It makes me think the ideal medium for Kate to be interviewed would be something similar to The Sensual World VHS where it’s just Kate talking to the camera (or a modern version would be over images of snow). That way she could truly talk about the album and how it has come about and what has inspired her. That said I guess Kate likes mystery. Being interviewed by dullards focusing on the events of twenty years ago helps to keep these later albums mysterious – they become the property of us, the listener, and up to us to interpret in any way we see fit.