Kate Bush and Happy Rhodes news! (1 Viewer)

[Vickie_M]

First, for those who love Kate Bush, she's recorded a new song, "Lyra," for the ending credits of The Golden Compass. It'll be the first new Kate since 2005's Aerial. I was there opening day no matter what, but that's worth a midnight showing the night before. Fans are going a little nuts, wondering if the song might be nominated for an Oscar, even though no one's heard it yet. Kate was robbed, IMO, of a nomination (and win) for the heartbreakingly beautiful song "This Woman's Work" several years ago.

For anyone who's even slightly interested in Happy Rhodes (and if you love beyond gorgeous female vocals and original musicality, you really should give her a listen), she has an amazing new album out, called Find Me. It's her 11th album, but her first since 1998. She's unsigned so it's self-released, and available on CD Baby.

Here's a MySpace page with 5 full-length songs and snippets from the rest so you can hear for yourself (yes, all those different voices are her and her phenomenal range, no other singers are on the album).

Also for Kate and Happy fans, there's a new documentary about Kate (or rather, more how Kate affects and influences people) called "Come Back Kate" that will be showing at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam next week. This concerns Happy fans too because the filmmakers interviewed and filmed Happy at her farm in upstate New York. No word yet if the documentary will play anywhere else, or when a possible DVD will be released. No one's seen it yet either, so I hope it both plays fair with Kate fans, and features Happy singing.

Vickie

 

[Will_B]

I guess we'll never see reissues of Kate's albums or any of her videos on DVD in region 1 though, eh? Her last album got enough of a push that I thought both things would follow then if they ever would, but, nothing.

She's one of the true pioneers of the "music video" and yet none of her work is on dvd. Hugh Laurie ("House") and Donald Sutherland were in some of her videos, and even that is not enough fame to get onto dvd? Not right.

 

[Vickie_M]

I don't know whose fault it is, but Kate herself has to take some of the blame. She's become downright allergic to promotion. She barely did any in England for the release of Aerial, let alone anywhere else. Putting her videos on DVD would seem to be a very logical thing to do. It's not just region 1, there aren't even any DVDs in the UK! It's perplexing.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

For me, that's reason enough to see that film, or at least buy the DVD unseen
Thanks for the info, here's hoping to future Kate DVDs, guess I'll hold on to that Whole Story LD for a while longer...

 

[Mark_TS]

There was a full Japanese Laserdisc of KB: Live at Hammersmith Odeon,
why this isnt on DVD Ill never know..

 

[Vickie_M]

We own the laserdiscs of The Whole Story and Live at the Hammersmith Odeon too. I'd much rather have DVDs.

In other news, I've heard from someone who's heard the song "Lyra" and likens it to "And So Is Love" from The Red Shoes, and says that it fits the film perfectly. Good to know that it's Beautiful Ballad Kate, because she's brilliant at those (well, she's brilliant at everything, IMO), and it makes me even more optimistic that the song will be nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award. The HFPA might nominate her just to try and get her over here for a performance at the Globes. That would be a real coup. And if she performed at the Globes, then she'd just have to perform at the Oscars. [/wildly improbable daydream]

 

[Scott Kriefall]

New Happy Rhodes album? Sold! Thanks for the pointer...

 

[Vickie_M]

Wow, someone read (and understood!) the "Happy Rhodes" portion of that? I'm in heaven! If there were a "I bow to you sir" smiley, I'd use it.

 

[Scott Kriefall]

Found Happy Rhodes a few years ago, when searching for recommendations for 'unique' female vocalists. Found the "Ectophiles Guide to Good Music" web site, and with it Happy Rhodes. Anyone who likes Kate Bush would probably also like Happy...

 

[JohnRice]

And Vickie crawls out of the woodwork. Must be a thread about either Bliss or Kate Bush. We may have had severe disagreements about several things, but we are in complete agreement on those two topics. Of course, since I worship at the Altar of Peter Gabriel, I have been listening to Kate for decades.

A friend "introduced" me to Happy Rhodes probably at least two years ago, but this was in addition to dozens, if not hundreds of others over the last few years, and I have been a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't until fairly recently I really started listening to her and I am becoming a real fan. I have to say, even though I have been a fan of Kate for such a long time, I find her music bordering a bit too much on abstract prog for me to completely enjoy. I like Happy's musicality more, plus her dual vocalizations are wonderfully unique.

 

[Vickie_M]

*waves to John!* I would have come out of the woodwork soon anyway. It's almost time for my annual Guild awards thread in the Movies section.

Oh man, you guys know the way to this girl's heart, that's for sure. Kate's my main musical goddess (and I discovered from being a Gabriel fan), because I discovered her first and I'm quite loyal, but Happy is very near and dear to me, because she's a friend of mine. I've been a fan/friend for 19 years and love her music now just as much, if not even more, than I did when I first discovered her.

She's a sweetheart too, very nice, funny and down-to-earth. As I mentioned, she lives on a farm in upstate New York, and doesn't play the promotional game, which is one of the reasons she's still so obscure. She's a shy homebody who likes to stay with her husband and cats, so she doesn't tour like a lot of artists to get their name out there. She's played one-off shows and a couple of small mini-tours, mainly in the northeast US. It's kindof a shame, because she's great live. My husband and I have traveled from Chicago to the east coast to see her many times, and he usuallly videotapes the shows. There are something like 50 clips on YouTube, most of them live (she's never made an actual video for any song on her 11 albums), and most of them shot by my husband.

Here's a nice video (not ours though) of a live session:



Speaking of Peter, she's a huge fan too, and here's a phenomenal performance (ours) of Happy covering "Mercy Street" with Bon Lozaga on guitar:



There's also a cover of "Here Comes The Flood" (ours too):



I'm so glad you checked her out Scott and John! Warms my heart, it does!

Vickie

 

[Mark_TS]

hmmmm just watched the Temporary and eternal-she has the voice of Kate Bush!

Ive seen her albums and always wondered-but there are so many CDs out there by talentless cute chicks who come and go that I am always leary

 

[Cees Alons]

True. And I'm still waiting for "The Single File" which almost made it.

I know it doesn't really count, but here's little bits of Kate on DVD:
Kate Bush - Under Review on Amazon (beware: a negative Customer Review on that page is about another DVD: of The Smiths!).


Cees

 

[JohnRice]

Vickie, if you are still around monitoring thes thread, in the last several months I have become a serious Happy fan. I'm envious that you are friends. I rarely wish to personally meet people whose creativity I admire, because I am always afraid to shatter some kind of illusion, but Happy is definitely someone I think I would like to know. As a "creative" person who is constantly frustrated with the perception of originality among the general public, I find her intriguing.