|
Post by Lori on Sept 22, 2005 9:27:56 GMT
Could you see the aisles of women? Could you see them screaming and weeping? Could you see the storm rising? Could you see the guy who was driving? Could you climb higher and higher? Could you climb right over the top? Why does a multi-millionaire Fill up his home with priceless junk? The wind is whistling The wind is whistling Through the house
Elvis are you out there somewhere Looking like a happy man? In the snow with Rosebud And king of the mountain
Another Hollywood waitress Is telling us she's having your baby And there's a rumour that you're on ice And you will rise again someday And that there's a photograph Where you're dancing on your grave
The wind is whistling The wind is whistling Through the house
Elvis are you out there somewhere Looking like a happy man? In the snow with Rosebud And king of the mountain
The wind it blows The wind it blows the door closed
|
|
|
Post by Al Truest on Sept 24, 2005 0:59:26 GMT
Until you do, I'd like to initiate some discussion here. We've all gathered that a theme surrounding Elvis a.k.a. the King has been alluded to. It has also been observed in discussions on the main board that the quintessential "Rosebud" reference, apparently from Citizen Kane, is made in the song. How these are tied together and what the overall theme is would be, to me at least. interesting to discuss. When I first listened to KotM, I heard what seemed to be an incongruity. i.e. the lyric -"priceless junk". That, to me, sounded like an oxymoron. How can junk be priceless, I thought initially. But after a bit of contemplation, I think this choice of words almost coins a phrase to describe how we assign value as fans and how we are 'King Makers' - bestowing power on our idols. This power elevates their prestige and judgment to a level of economy that surpasses our mundane measure and reasonable scrutiny. The 'Jungle Room", for example, in Graceland (The Memphis Mansion in which Elvis lived - and that attracts throngs of tourists to this day) was/is full of tacky "Priceless Junk" It only has value because we say it does. If Elvis couldn't sing, his taste and style would have been mocked and rejected. If not for his bridging the black and white music gap for the youth of America, whilst awakening a seething sexual frontier for them to explore, he would just of been another white trash singing truck driver from Mississippi. Maybe Kate has gotten philosophically clever in reminding us that fame is more for the fan than for the famous - in her case at least. I am going to guess that this album will be very revealing about the truth Kate Bush would like to share regarding her life experience to this point. King of the Mountain may be the stepping stone for her revelations about what is important in finding peace and happiness. She has always seemed to reject the attention and demand placed on her as a star. As a mother, I bet the propensity to guard herself is heightened even more now. So, it would seem natural for her to write from this perspective. To make sense of her lot, by revealing the truth about what her world can be like, would seem to be therapeutic for her and hopefully enlightening to her fans. So she may be telling us that finding reminiscent joy (as in the "Rosebud" reference) - or by rising above the illusions created by the stardom in becoming King of the Mountain, a deeper understanding is possible.
|
|
|
Post by Adey on Sept 24, 2005 1:52:48 GMT
These are excellent observations - speculative of course, but the beginning of an understanding of the framework for Kate's Aerial creation.
Unbelievably, I've never seen Citizen Kane - so I'm slightly handicapped in an understanding of the Rosebud reference, that was so quickly picked up on by more than one member here.
Early days yet, so no doubt we will continue to refine this framework and others like it as we become familiar with her new material and achieve insight in respect of it.
Could Aerial in fact be KB's 2nd major concept piece? (or 3rd if you hold to some beliefs about The Dreaming.) Exploring simpler concepts rather closer to home and family? I certainly look forward to finding out, and suspect that this going to be a good debate..
|
|
genesismalachi23
Reaching Out
thank you atomjack for thee avatar! (visit thee site) http://www.fusionanomaly.net ye shan't regret!
Posts: 233
|
Post by genesismalachi23 on Sept 24, 2005 2:48:27 GMT
Aerial will mutate thee DNA ov thee human race
Maybe you'd better face it
|
|
|
Post by matanchik on Sept 24, 2005 9:05:15 GMT
i think the lyrics of the song resembles a lot of "leave it open" and "get out of my house" because of the theme of a certain figure haunting a house, also the last sentence "the wind blows, the door closed" is an exact reference to leave it open. the music also resembles a little bit of the dreaming album with it's strange sounds in the background. but the structure of the songs is more similar to "the sensual world". i also thinks like Adey, that Aerial is going to be some sort of conceptual piece
|
|
stev0
Moving
He's an utter creep and he drives me 'round the bend
Posts: 517
|
Post by stev0 on Sept 24, 2005 13:23:45 GMT
I assume you're talking about the latter Elvis here. Actually, if he wasn't so bloody rich and had such a devoted following his style would have been mocked and rejected (and indeed it is mocked by the type of people who mock leopard print everything and black velvet paintings).
As for the Citizen Kane reference, Kane is based on William Randolph Hearst who built Hearst Castle (which you can visit nowadays) which he filled, indeed, with "priceless junk". I mean, it is beautiful artwork, but Kane (and I assume Hearst, for that matter) was such a cold-hearted bastard he couldn't really appreciate it. He may as well have hung up black velvet paintings instead of Rembrandts for all the joy he got from them.
|
|
|
Post by Sto on Sept 24, 2005 20:57:04 GMT
I'm totally with Mat: to me, "KOTM" is very "The Dreaming"-esque (but obviously for the 21st century). I can see the potential for discussion of lots of ambiguous lines in the song, and then there's the sounds representing the wind, the heavy drums at the end....It just reminds me of "The Dreaming" era (which I'm delighted about!), esp. "LIO" and "GOOMH". Even the cover of "Aerial" has that ambiguity which Kate does so well.
To follow on from what Al' said, I also think "KOTM" is a stepping stone. The lyrics are disguised and she sounds so very distant in the song. She's not letting us in yet ("The door blows the wind closed"). But I think it's a lead-in to the album: she can tell her story through Elvis first to prepare us, so we'll be ready to learn more about her through her music on "Aerial". The sound wave on the cover of "Aerial", to me, means that she doesn't mind sharing herself with us - but through music, not through interviews.
|
|
|
Post by Al Truest on Sept 24, 2005 23:22:21 GMT
Good points all Sto'. It's not as though she hasn't had plenty of time to structure this project to her liking. This may be the most well prepared album in history. I truly hope it is in the same vein as "The Dreaming" (my favorite) However it could still be Ninth Wave-ish in conceptual unfolding as well.
|
|
|
Post by Lori on Sept 25, 2005 18:56:36 GMT
A really random comment here, but everytime I listen to "The wind is whistling Through the house" it remind me of The Song of Solomon's... "I'll do it for you A wop bam boom" Just me Probably, LoL ;D
|
|
|
Post by craigle on Sept 27, 2005 11:39:41 GMT
A journalist in the Sun newspaper said today that KOTM sounded like Massive Attack
|
|
robdestiny
Under Ice
"Diving off a rock, into another moment"-KB
Posts: 24
|
Post by robdestiny on Oct 4, 2005 2:34:53 GMT
Today is the first day I heard it and I agree with the comparisons to "The Dreaming" era with its sort of tribal background. It made me think of a mellow version of "The Dreaming" track. Nice guitar hook also. It also has a feel of nature to me. I did see Citizen Kane once and I agree with Al Truest about "finding reminiscent joy" with the reference of Rosebud. I found that movie to be not only of an achiever but also about someone who had a lot of courage and ultimately desired to recapture a childhood lost.
|
|
Sheila
Moving
Life is a minestrone served up with parmesan cheese.
Posts: 701
|
Post by Sheila on Oct 5, 2005 2:18:55 GMT
Rosebud thought: It's been a while since I've seen CK but as I recall "Rosebud" was a piece of junk to everyone but Mr. Kane, who I also recall being very wealthy. Maybe the comparison is that all the stuff in Elvis' house was valuable to him but he can't go back there even if he is still alive. Even if the stuff seems like junk, maybe he misses it (the wind blows the door closed). Al, when did you become the oxymoron police chief? ;D The first verse I think is about his funeral. "Can you see the guy who's driving" I believe refers to the hearse driver. This song reeks of an inspiration of a trip to Graceland. I thought Kate only went to NY in the states...? Maybe based on a documentary she saw? Yeah, that's it. As her mince pies were cooking!
|
|
|
Post by Kevin2 on Oct 7, 2005 13:00:44 GMT
In the snow with Rosebud And king of the mountain
Does it sound like it's
"I'm king of the mountain"
to anyone else?
|
|
Sheila
Moving
Life is a minestrone served up with parmesan cheese.
Posts: 701
|
Post by Sheila on Oct 8, 2005 5:50:52 GMT
It doesn't the first time, but it does the 2nd time.
And what is being said at the end???
Here's a thought I had about why Kate is better than the rest----As she sings "The wind is whistling" you do not hear the wind whistling until AFTER she says that, avoiding a musical cliche. SHE IS SO BRILLIANT!
|
|
|
Post by Al Truest on Oct 8, 2005 16:58:48 GMT
Rosebud thought: It's been a while since I've seen CK but as I recall "Rosebud" was a piece of junk to everyone but Mr. Kane, who I also recall being very wealthy. Maybe the comparison is that all the stuff in Elvis' house was valuable to him but he can't go back there even if he is still alive. Even if the stuff seems like junk, maybe he misses it (the wind blows the door closed). No, Elvis has left the building. He is on a higher (than dilaudid even) plane now, I believe she is saying. And Mr Kane was wealthy, but in the end, his childhood happiness as represented by his sled 'rosebud' had more value than all his possessions and accolades. Yesterday you couldn't even spell oxymoron, now you R1. A virtual tour of Graceland is quite possible.You know that another famous song 'Graceland' by Paul Simon, was strangely changed from "Wasteland" as he was working of his hook. Songs can take a sharp turn for various reasons. And the artists are, after all, just human beings. Not necessarily infallible or as deeply complex as we would like to elevate them. That being said, Kate seems to rise above the ordinary status that most artists seem to achieve for less than inspirational song writing. For example, as I was changing stations today I heard this country hook that used a 'drinking' analogy to describe the unforgettable memory of a lost love. It was something like "I guess you'd say I have a thinking problem" Clever - yet hideously cringe worthy.
|
|