Yes, okay, sometimes you can appreciate the intention of the art without actually liking the art itself. Sure, yes, we know this. But sometimes that's not good enough for me. Just because something is weird as fuck doesn't mean I can't try my best to meet the art where it's coming from. With Kate Bush, I have seen firsthand twice now, it is incredibly arduous to meet the art where it's coming from, because it's bizarre and strange in a few different ways, and anything but approachable. But as I've seen with The Dreaming, the effort is mostly worth it.
I am familiar with Hounds of Love. I have been since before A Year of Blind Spots was conceived, but it was definitely a glaring Blind Spot at one point in the mid-'10s. I will say that I have never had a problem with Kate Bush being certifiably "weird." I like weird. My issues with her most critically acclaimed album have nothing to do with its weirdness, but instead with a complete lack of hooks on Side 2 (the "Ninth Wave" suite that comprises the entire side, and doesn't do much for me in terms of their being any actual good songs). The Dreaming, which is the album that came out before Hounds of Love, manages to hold it together for the entire length of the album, with interesting songs with good (weird) hooks, and nothing that devolves into the type of artistry that affects the strength of the songwriting.
I was also familiar with Hounds of Love before its most famous song tripled its fame through its use in the dumb Netflix alien show. I hated that show, watched the first three seasons, was skeptical during the first season and fucking despised the second and third (my fandom of Maya Hawke notwithstanding). I didn't make it to the season that apparently features heavily "Running up That Hill," so we don't have to worry about shit-ass lazy-ass alien monster pastiches mucking up my appreciation for that song. For what it's worth, I think that this is the second-best song on Hounds of Love, after "The Big Sky." The Kate Bush heads seem to push for "Cloudbusting." All this just tells me that the true opinion within the comparison of these two albums is that Hounds of Love's peaks are higher, but the nadirs are lower, whereas The Dreaming is consistently stranger also strangely more consistent. Like, there's no song as big or as good as "Running up That Hill" on here, but I'd rather listen to The Dreaming in full over Hounds of Love in full every single time.
There's something appealing about Kate Bush's brand of weirdness too, and it's not something that I really thought about until I left the confines of Hounds of Love. I love the intense mix of weird futuristic shit and the sense of outdatedness that most of it has. It feels like the sounds weren't intended to age graceful but did so anyway. Listen to "Sat in Your Lap," and immediately be perplexed by the synths hits over top of the pounding drums. They seem out of place, but because everything feels out of place, it somehow works. There is so much, like, growling and yelling and weird disparate vocalizations all over this thing. Listen to "Houdini" as a good example. What the hell is even going on here? What's happening is Kate Bush going balls to the wall in making evocative art, even within the context of an otherwise dramatic love ballad.
You ever watch some of the videos for this thing? My iPod is still broken, so I've seen a few on YouTube, and they are absolutely wild. They are almost kitschy, but like I said, it feels like they almost immediately aged well. The title track is the craziest example. The song is all tribal beats and falsetto chanting, and the video is, uh, Bush dressed like an alien, dancing with other aliens? But it's not supposed to feel realistic, it's supposed to look like Kate Bush dressed like an alien on a soundstage. At one point, she finds an alien with a penis made of laser beams and jerks it off? That's my interpretation, anyway. I find it all very charming. I cannot imagine, especially after the whole "Running up That Hill" thing, that anyone could possibly feel any differently about Kate Bush. It's silly and funny and fun as fuck. She's a weirdo theater kid with a huge budget, that's all. I love this shit.
I wondered for a little bit if there was another Kate Bush album out there that had perhaps an even better balance of weirdo art energy and sharp songwriting. Then I realized two things. First, that if there was, then it would already be more popular than Hounds of Love, so I think we can safely rule the possibility out. Second, that if there was, I don't know if I would necessarily have the energy to seek it out just yet. The Dreaming was deep and intense and it took a lot out of me. This isn't easy breezy pop music. I'm not saying it's better and I'm not saying it's worse, just a different experience. And if there was a chance that, for example, her debut album The Kick Inside was less weird and way catchier, then in all likelihood, I'd listen to it and be tempted to say something like "this is my favorite Kate Bush album so far." And maybe that's true. However, I also think that this would be me playing into my worst impulses, i.e. laziness.
It's easier to like some albums and harder to like other albums. The Dreaming was hard to like, but I listened, and listened, and I have found a way to love it. And the fact that Kate Bush made it hard for me is the part that's important, and interesting. My appreciation for this album feels earned. I saw an article of the author's Top Ten Kate Bush Songs, and someone in the comments said "I would nominate for this list every song from The Dreaming," and someone else responded, "I just listened to The Dreaming for the first time, and I'm never taking a recommendation from you again." This is the whole of that classic music conversation, in miniature. You can either listen a lot and love it, or listen once and hate it. The longer it takes you to love something, the more frustrating it becomes, but the more worthy becomes the reward at the end.
It's easier to like some albums and harder to like other albums. The Dreaming was hard to like, but I listened, and listened, and I have found a way to love it. And the fact that Kate Bush made it hard for me is the part that's important, and interesting. My appreciation for this album feels earned. I saw an article of the author's Top Ten Kate Bush Songs, and someone in the comments said "I would nominate for this list every song from The Dreaming," and someone else responded, "I just listened to The Dreaming for the first time, and I'm never taking a recommendation from you again." This is the whole of that classic music conversation, in miniature. You can either listen a lot and love it, or listen once and hate it. The longer it takes you to love something, the more frustrating it becomes, but the more worthy becomes the reward at the end.
I would not blame you if you don't like this album. But it feels pretty good to like it. Only because it's fucking WEIRD.
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