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Post by tannis on Mar 7, 2008 20:41:41 GMT
[green]"C'mon, baby, c'mon darling Let me steal this moment from you now C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling Let's exchange the experience, oh..."[/green]THE MAGICIAN[blue]Basic Card Symbols[/blue]Red & White coloring, the lemniscate (infinity symbol), a small wand, a table displaying a chalice, a pentacle, a staff (wand) and a sword. [purple]Basic Tarot Story[/purple]Traveling on his way, the Fool first encounters a Magician. Skillful, self-confident, a powerful magus with the infinite as a halo floating above his head, the Magician mesmerizes the Fool. When asked, the Fool gives over his bundled pack and stick to the Magician. Raising his wand to heaven, pointing his finger to Earth, the Magician calls on all powers; magically, the cloth of the pack unfolds upon the table, revealing its contents. And to the Fool's eyes it is as if the Magician has created the future with a word. There are all the possibilities laid out, all the directions he can take. The cool, airy Sword of intellect and communication, the fiery Wand of spirituality and ambition, the overflowing Chalice of Love and emotions, the solid Pentacle of work, possessions and body. With these tools, the Fool can create anything, make anything of his life. But here's the question, did the Magician create the tools, or were they already in the pack? Only the Magician knows - and on this mystery, our eloquent mage refuses to say a word. [blue]Basic Tarot Meaning[/blue] At #1, the Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud ("And God said 'Let there be Light!' and there was Light"). Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand (Mercury *was* the god of thieves!) and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil. The 4 suits laid out before him remind us of the 4 aces, which in the Tarot symbolize the raw, undeveloped, undirected power of each suit. When the Magician appears, he reveals these to you. The reader might well interpret this card as telling the querent that they will be given a vision, an idea, a magical, mental image of whatever it is they most want: the solution to a problem, an ambitious career, a love life, a job. [purple]Thirteen's Observations[/purple]If any card in the Tarot is the Tarot, it is the Magician. He's one of the most recognizable cards, always a favorite. He's also the only card in the Majors that refers to the minors with the "trumps" displayed upon his table. If the reader believes the Magician stands for the Querent, then the Querent either is, or is currently finding himself eloquent and charismatic at this time. Both verbally and in writing, he is clever, witty, inventive and persuasive. People listen and agree with him. He also has an interest in science. He might be, in fact, a doctor or scientist or inventor. Standing for someone other than the querent, the Magician could be a skillful doctor, scientist, inventor lecturer, salesman, or con-man. It's important to remember that the Magician can as easily be clever as skilful, a trickster as well as a magician. This is someone with a magnetic personality, someone who can convince people of almost anything. For better or worse, his words are magic. Most importantly, the Magician card stands for the "reveal" - as in a magic trick. The handkerchief is draped over an empty box, the Magician waves his wand, *presto!*--now there is a dove in the box. The Magician card does the same for the Querent--only what it reveals is not birds or rabbits but NEW ideas. Emphasis on NEW. When the Magician card appears, the Querent is likely to say: "Now there's an idea! Why didn't I think of that before?" Truth is, the Querent had that idea in his head all along. The Magician merely revealed it to him. But what will the Querent do with this idea? That's a question for the next card.... [green]see more... on Tarot:[/green] www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/magician.shtml----- [green] from Night of the Demon (1957)[/green] Intrigued by the power of the runic symbols, Miss Harrington and Dr Holden head off to Lufford Hall to meet with Mr Karswell. When they arrive, Karswell is dressed up as a circus magician (Dr Bobo the Magnificent) and is entertaining children with magic tricks at his "annual Halloween party for the village children". Karswell breaks from entertaining the children and greets Dr Holden and Miss Harrington. Karswell's Mother takes Miss Harrington away, leaving Karswell and Dr Holden to walk through the grounds of Lufford Hall. They discuss witchcraft and the powers of darkness. Dr Holden believes none of it. So to prove his point, Karswell casts a spell and conjures up a hurricane 'wind storm' which sweeps though the grounds, sending the children fleeing from the Tempest... "A magician doesn't like to expose his magic, black or white..." And so KB and The Magician conjure up TNW... It's in the trees! It's coming!
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Post by tannis on Apr 3, 2008 0:57:46 GMT
Running Up That Hill (Placebo)Written by Rachel Baker | Wednesday, April 2, 2008 www.the-dish.co.uk/2008/04/02/running-up-that-hill-placeboKate Bush’s Running Up That Hill arguably has the most beautiful and lustful lyrics of any song of the last 30 years. It is a classic and it’s impossible for any good band to go wrong when covering this song. This is witnessed in Within Temptation’s version in which Sharon den Adel does her best Kate Bush impression to great effect. However, den Adel loses all the illicit lust and sexuality conveyed by Molko and Bush and it’s really just a showcase of her impressive vocal range with a gorgeous video. An excellent cover version, needs to be a journey, identifying how it has developed from the original. Brian Molko is responsible for some of the best, most perceptive and intelligent lyrics in music. It is interesting that he has covered such a pure song about female desire and made it into a lustful and desperate plea of eroticism by using exactly the same lyrics. Bush’s original encompasses the whole performance, it is full of musicality as she sings every note in a heartfelt manner. Her video is a body to body balletic expression of attraction. Molko doesn’t so much sing the lyrics, but annunciate them staccato and at times makes them sound like a threat. He then breaks down half way through with a begging crescendo: “If only I could make a deal with god, I’d get him to swap our places.” He fills that line with more angst and passion than Bush ever manages. Male vocals give this song more impact and sincerity [ ]. The gendered versions emphasise the differences between men and women’s desire for lust. Molko is loved for his ambiguous sexuality and androgynous looks and Placebo are known for their seedy sound which oozes sex. Placebo bring this song to life in a way that Bush didn‘t manage. When Placebo play this song live, they leave the stage before the encore with the intro to this song playing, like teasing foreplay! They then end the song with the most cacophonous climax of feedback and distortion. The build up of Placebo’s version is so climactic you need a post coital cigarette afterwards to come down from that intense, melancholic yet euphoric high. It is 7 minutes and 43 seconds of pure, self indulgent, eroticism, sexuality, desire, lust and bliss! Which version is best? You decide.Kate Bush - Running up that Hillwww.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZsXVf6INcPlacebo - Running up that hill - video versionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=zKkaLM9NcSoPlacebo's running up that hill - live versionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=M66xAPy7El8Within Temptation - Running Up That Hill Coverwww.youtube.com/watch?v=4HsgjpbBPnQ----- Obviously the KB version is the best... But I do like the Placebo video treatment. WIKI: "Placebo's take on the song is more downbeat and contemplative than the original, and focuses more on instrumentation. It has been described by Q Magazine as 'sound[ing] more like a pact with the Devil' than the original 'deal with God'... Placebo also ran a contest among its fans, in which they uploaded a film of themselves singing the song to Motionbox. Around 50 fans were chosen to appear in the official video."
The video makes me think of John Fowles' The Collector; but it's like Global Corporate Capitalism, with its "modern western pressures", is the Collector. IMHO, the individual fans in the video seem oppressed by youth-culture, politics, fame, body-consciousness, etc. etc. [And is the "Tell me, we both matter, don't we?" line shot in the Middle East?] They seem shut away in their private cells, alienated, misunderstood, and contemplating an illusion of freedom. IMHO, KB's version is about A and B and (the defense mechanism/opiate?) GOD, to the exclusion of all else. But the Placebo video version has lots of I's, individual cells, given it a kinda Anthem for Today's Youth poetic edge; a depressing social commentary on the pressures of growing up for young people today. Placebo Interview by Daniel Robert Epstein (UnderGroundOnline)UGO: What made you guys want to cover Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill?" Stefan: We cover songs that we like. For us it is something that we do for fun in B-side sessions. We've covered a variety of bands, usually from the '80s. We did a Depeche Mode cover and Robert Palmer even. We're fans of Kate Bush so, when it came to this track, we thought that the lyrics had a real depth and you can't really get that in the original because she's singing it so fast. We wanted to slow it down and it felt really good, and we're really proud of it. UGO: Have you heard whether or not she likes it? Stefan: Yes we did, actually. We met and she does like it and we're relieved by that fact because we're big fans. Full interview here:www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17087§ionId=2
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Apr 3, 2008 1:09:52 GMT
I'd never heard the Placebo cover before. Thank you for pointing that out. It is pretty good... but it doesn't hold a candle to Kate's, IMHO.
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Post by Al Truest on Apr 3, 2008 1:33:07 GMT
I'd never heard the Placebo cover before. Thank you for pointing that out. It is pretty good... but it doesn't hold a candle to Kate's, IMHO. I had heard it and did not care for it. However the worst Kate cover, albeit hilarious, is this version of Wuthering Heights" (repost); video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6257103660252623340
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Apr 3, 2008 1:57:13 GMT
Running Up That Hill (Placebo)Written by Rachel Baker | Wednesday, April 2, 2008 www.the-dish.co.uk/2008/04/02/running-up-that-hill-placebo Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill arguably has the most beautiful and lustful lyrics of any song of the last 30 years. It is a classic and it’s impossible for any good band to go wrong when covering this song. This is witnessed in Within Temptation’s version in which Sharon den Adel does her best Kate Bush impression to great effect. Thank you for posing that tannis! It's interesting to read different interpretations of Kate's stuff. However... Doing a "Kate Bush impression" over uninspired heavy rock is just awful, IMHO. She also sings the song like she was auditioning for American Idol or one of those other dreadful pantomime TV shows. (You can tell I'm broadly not in favour of it). The video looks like a bad imitation of Buffy The Vampire Slayer or something of that ilk. The bit where Sharon den Adel merges with ... herself ... seems to somewhat miss the point of the lyric. The Placebo version is certainly a lot better. I wouldn't trade it for Kate's version, but it's not bad. However, I do not agree with the article's statement that the song makes more sense (or has more impact) sung by a man. In fact, it actually makes less sense to me. Yes. Although the song isn't just about sexuality. I'm a little perplexed by Rachel Baker's insistence on this issue. The desire Kate speaks of covers many aspects, not just the sexual. (Of course, given the opportunity to "swap places" with one's lover no doubt one might be tempted to "give it a whirl" sexually speaking, as it were, but I digress). Yes I agree very much. I could hardly agree more, tannis. It is a little sad seeing that video. When the Placebo fans sing that line about "get him to swap our places", whom exactly are they thinking of swapping places with? Some of them look they haven't left the house in years, and they're all so young anyway. It's like they've picked up existential angst just from being young and on the internet. Still, I guess it's just all part of this Flash Gordon age in which we live... --Paul--
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Apr 3, 2008 2:07:39 GMT
I'd never heard the Placebo cover before. Thank you for pointing that out. It is pretty good... but it doesn't hold a candle to Kate's, IMHO. I had heard it and did not care for it. However the worst Kate cover, albeit hilarious, is this version of Wuthering Heights" (repost); video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6257103660252623340Al, that's the funniest KB cover I've seen since Steve Coogan did that Kate Bush medley (as Alan Partridge). --Paul--
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Apr 3, 2008 10:58:34 GMT
One thing I particularly like about Kate's version of the song is that after the "let's exchange the experience" line there's a great harmony vocal and then when Kate's lead vocal comes back it's mixed in with a digital effect which has her vocal being sped up and slowed down wildly - there's a also a similar effect on the lead guitar in the left channel. I've never really heard anyone else try to use this in a pop song, although I know exactly how the effect was achieved. To me it sounds like the fabric of reality is being torn apart as the song reaches its climax. A very nice touch. Very fitting.
Then of course at the very end of the song the voices singing "If I only could be running up that hill" are very obviously digitally changed - it reminds of something similar from a Peter Gabriel record like "Sledgehammer" where there's a moment where you hear the world "sledge" being repeated and it's been digitally slowed down or (pitch shifted down) so that it sounds a bit robotic and/or otherwordly.
--Paul--
(edited for clarity's sake)
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Apr 3, 2008 17:00:08 GMT
To me it sounds like the fabric of reality is being torn apart as the song reaches its climax. A very nice touch. Very fitting. What a great way to desribe that part of the song. It is a wonderful effect, isn't it?
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Adena
Moving
This time around we dance - we're chosen ones
Posts: 611
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Post by Adena on Apr 5, 2008 23:28:13 GMT
I only just heard this song for the first time about two weeks ago. It's admittedly pretty good, but I don't think it can even touch the fingertips of some of her other songs. It has too much of a pumping beat to fit with the lyrics, I think it needed a softer background.
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Post by Al Truest on Apr 6, 2008 14:29:36 GMT
I only just heard this song for the first time about two weeks ago. It's admittedly pretty good, but I don't think it can even touch the fingertips of some of her other songs. It has too much of a pumping beat to fit with the lyrics, I think it needed a softer background. You're kidding aren't you. It is among the top five favorites from most of the fan polls at several sites... It is her highest charting U.S. hit. The lyrics are as profound as in any of her work. And how many females do you know that have accomplished that kind of strong - bordering on masculine - fairlight performance? But of course you're entitled to your opinion in case you're serious.
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Apr 6, 2008 21:10:12 GMT
Adena, I'd say give it some time- this one actually took a little while to grow on me. The lyrics, IMO, are very profound, and I think the pumping beat fits the desperation and emotional intensity of the words. I do have to say, though, it's not really among my absolute favorites of Kate's songs- there are just so many other incredibly good ones.
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Adena
Moving
This time around we dance - we're chosen ones
Posts: 611
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Post by Adena on Apr 7, 2008 0:36:18 GMT
You're kidding aren't you. It is among the top five favorites from most of the fan polls at several sites... It is her highest charting U.S. hit. The lyrics are as profound as in any of her work. And how many females do you know that have accomplished that kind of strong - bordering on masculine - fairlight performance? But of course you're entitled to your opinion in case you're serious. I would like to verify that I am quite serious when I say this song is not one of her best. The lyrics are haunting, sharp, scary in nature. The song needed a haunting, sharp and scary backbeat, not a pumping, upbeat one. Adena, I'd say give it some time- this one actually took a little while to grow on me. The lyrics, IMO, are very profound, and I think the pumping beat fits the desperation and emotional intensity of the words. I do have to say, though, it's not really among my absolute favorites of Kate's songs- there are just so many other incredibly good ones. I disagree, I think the pumping backbeat makes it too upbeat in comparison to the lyrics, which sound like the ramblings of someone who fears greatly.
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Post by Al Truest on Apr 7, 2008 1:10:09 GMT
You're kidding aren't you. It is among the top five favorites from most of the fan polls at several sites... It is her highest charting U.S. hit. The lyrics are as profound as in any of her work. And how many females do you know that have accomplished that kind of strong - bordering on masculine - fairlight performance? But of course you're entitled to your opinion in case you're serious. I would like to verify that I am quite serious when I say this song is not one of her best. The lyrics are haunting, sharp, scary in nature. The song needed a haunting, sharp and scary back-beat, not a pumping, upbeat one. Then we shall just have to disagree. The keyboards, to me, are a driving force that accentuates the power of the female in spite of the bias of gender. Moreover the vocals punch in a deeply sharp and effective manner. "But see how deep the bullet lies" is one of my favorite moments in Kate's music. A pumping and upbeat backbone provides confidence and equality. Timidity would be perceived with an angst driven somber downbeat. Anything less than bold and beautiful would convey weakness and fear as the tone - IMHO She is wanting to portray women as equal. And her secondary statement of how both sexes are baffled by the other is strengthened by her ambiguously genderless keyboard performance. . I trust Kate's musical sensibilities - and my own opinion - as one that has lived with the song for quite a while now as well. By every measure it has been a success. It is indeed her calling card. It was played as her signature song when she was honored with the 'Q' songwriter's award ceremony. Adena, I'd say give it some time- this one actually took a little while to grow on me. The lyrics, IMO, are very profound, and I think the pumping beat fits the desperation and emotional intensity of the words. I do have to say, though, it's not really among my absolute favorites of Kate's songs- there are just so many other incredibly good ones. Well I guess one of us is wrong. ;D
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Apr 7, 2008 2:09:49 GMT
^ Or it could be subjective...
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Apr 7, 2008 2:15:31 GMT
The beat is quite martial, like something you'd hear at a military tattoo, but because it's really pumped up (probably played either on the Fairlight or some kind of drum machine) it doesn't immediately sound exactly like those crisp military drums I think that's part of what Kate means about this kind of music having masculine elements. You don't often hear march time (2/4) used in pop music these days - it's very evident on Cloudbusting too. Nowadays everyone is either funky and loose (most pop and dance music), or else all wound up (eg, heavy metal and its many variants) or perhaps just generally angsty (neo-punk, emo etc etc). Which isn't to say that there isn't some good stuff out, but I digress. Of course, there are times when Running Up That Hill comes on and I think ... "Oh, there's those bloody drums. It's soooo 1985", but then I get caught up in it and you know ... it works, because this song is operating on different levels, so yes we have a dark, dangerous element in the song but we also have positive energy as well. Of course, an ominous question arises as we listen to the vocals at the end of the song. What if Kate really could make her deal? What if she really did get everything she wanted? Would she be like Galadriel in The Lord Of The Rings having taken the Ring for herself (and thus gaining supreme power): "And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!" - JRR Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring 1954So yeah, be careful of what you wish for, in other words. Although if I had to be ruled over by a Dark, Beautiful and Terrible Queen it's clear who'd be getting my vote. Assuming that one gets to vote for who gets to be the Dark, Beautiful and Terrible Queen... --Paul--
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