A Tangy Insight
Before I checked out Under The Ivy, I wasn’t a huge fan of Kate Bush, per say---but she’s one of the artists whose work you look up as you’re listening along and go “Oh, she did THAT song? And THAT one too? I recognize this tune—oh, that’s her too?” Before you know it, you realize you were a pretty big fan of the artist, you just never put the name with their works very well. I’m a huge “process” person. I enjoy show’s like How It’s Made. But there’s a saying that goes something like “if you knew how sausage was made, you’d never eat that crap again”. (I’m sure I screwed that up.) The point is, once someone finds out the ins and outs of how something they enjoy is created, and the cruel ugliness of reality sets in, that thing loses its magic and overall appeal. I generally agree with that sentiment; after all, I remember googling the face of one of my favorite radio talk show hosts I’d listened to since childhood…and almost gagged. I couldn’t listen to that radio program ever again without experiencing major trauma and mental problems. Anyway, I don’t think that same mechanism rings true for musicians or creative people. Finding out where artists get their ideas or influence or song material---an inventory of their personal journey of evolution over time, can be inspiring and fascinating. And that’s where Under the Ivy really shines. Sometimes it’s not the songs or beats or lyrics themselves that sets the great ones apart but, perhaps, a work ethic, a hard-scrabble approach, a key relationship here or there as they swallow up life along the way. Under the Ivy explores this concept well. I found out a lot of what Kate Bush made, some of which I already knew. But I’d had no idea how Kate Bush herself was made…I find her work even more appetizing than before. Excellent stuff!