With the recent release of Stranger Things Season 4, Kate Bush's epic song, Running Up That Hill has skyrocketed in popularity. Though the song was first released in 1985, last month it hit number 1 in the UK charts, outshining even it's original popularity.
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| The emotional scene. |
Firstly, let me say that if you haven't seen the original music video for Running Up That Hill, do yourself a favor and watch it now. Beginning with a close up of her own hand reaching out to another dancer, followed by some truly unique dance moves, and ending with her desperately reaching out for connection, carried away in the impersonal sea of other people wearing crude paper masks of her own face, the video compliments the song perfectly. Personally, I think this song was a great choice to represent Max's struggle in Stranger Things season 4, since my interpretation of it has a lot to do with people trying and failing to connect with one another.
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| A scene from the Running Up That Hill music video. |
Kate Bush really does whatever she wants to do no matter how weird it is, and it's a beautiful thing. She never lost that childlike creativity that seems to be unrestricted by expectations. In fact, she wrote the initial versions of some of her most popular songs when she was only 13 years old.
So, let's get to it and take a look at Kate Bush's top 10 weirdest songs and music videos.
10
Them Heavy People
This one is beautiful, but almost tame by Kate Bush's standards. "They arrived at an inconvenient time. I was hiding in a room in my mind... Rolling the Ball..." I can't quite put into words what this means, but still: Same, Kate. Same. Really good art communicates a feeling that can't be as purely or truly communicated in any other way, and Kate Bush does this with every song.
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| Kate Bush staring you down, Them Heavy People music video. |
9
Sat In Your Lap
This one really makes us ask that all important question, "What the f***." It features demons, jesters, and (unless I'm seeing things) two guys who seem to be mixing the dunce cap and klansmen looks. Though I suppose that last part might be me mapping my American sensibilities onto things. Oh, and most of them are roller skating. But that's only number nine, so let's proceed.
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| KB staring us down again. |
8
The Dreaming
An otherworldly reflection on our treatment of indigenous people, this song includes the bleating of a sheep, sounds of a car crashing, and Kate Bush literally breathing really hard instead of singing. "...erase the race that claim the place and say we dig for ore!" Way to go anti colonialist Kate Bush!
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| There's an otherworldly vibe to the music and the video. |
7
Wuthering Heights
That's right, like the book. Apparently, a young Kate Bush became aware of the ghost story and obsession themes in the classic Bronte novel and just thought to herself, yeah, that's good. I could make something out of that, as if it's normal for professional musicians to just write fan songs about stories they like. Again, she really does whatever she feels like doing, and honestly it's an inspiration. This song and the strange dancing that accompanies it inspired her fans so much that huge flash mobs around the world gathered, dressed in red, to recreate the music video. This was in, like, 2018 by the way, though the song first came out in 1978.
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| The iconic red dress |
6
Under Ice
I don't want to say much about this one. I just want you to discover it for yourself. All I'll say is it seems to work well as a reflection on the detachment people might start to feel from themselves when dealing with depression.
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| Skating fast... |
5
Waking The Witch
For those of you who know Kate Bush, yes... I'm falling into the trap of listing some of the songs from Hounds of Love in order. They're just really good, okay? This song connects with lots of different themes, and certainly one of them is the fear of women's power. She uses the history of witch trials to emphasize her point, and it gets pretty creepy. Take a listen, witches.
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| We have a history of fearing feminine power. |
4
Cloudbusting
Here's where she starts to get funky with her choice in perspective. We'll see more of that later in this list. This song's story is told from the perspective of a young boy reminiscing about the father he's lost. She acts as the young boy in the music video. Things get even stranger with the addition of a fantastical element. Watch, listen, and see and hear for yourself.
This one always makes me feel unapologetically optimistic and dreamy. It reminds me how unimportant the small stuff is when I manage to focus on the big picture. "What was the question? I was looking at the big sky." Very repetitive, but somehow never getting old, The Big Sky helps put things into perspective.
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| Looking at the Big Sky |
2
Experiment IV
Did anyone have 'science fiction story' on their Kate Bush bingo card? We often listen to music to help us work through certain feelings, or to help us feel a certain way. We listen to happy music at a party and we listen to sad music for the catharsis of fully grasping and understanding our more difficult feelings. Music often gets to the heart of us in a way that other forms of communication just can't. It does make some sense for Kate Bush, who's strength is in the music she makes, to reflect on this power. The music video also includes a surprise appearance from an actor I know you'll all recognize! Can you spot them?
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| It was music we were making here until... |
Prepare yourself. This one is number one for a good reason. Remember how we talked about Kate Bush writing songs from different perspectives? Well, this is one of those songs.. She's telling the story of the effects of radiation poisoning after a nuclear blast. Can you guess which point of view she chose to take? It's the point of view of an unborn fetus, obviously. The music video reflects this, with Kate as the fetus and mother. Enjoy...?
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| Kate Bush on the dangers of nuclear war. |
Kate Bush's work has always been unique. I'm inspired by her to make the types of things I feel like making, not just the types of things other people have been successful with. She is unapologetically herself, and I will be too. A quick thank you to my mom for introducing me to Kate Bush after I read Wuthering Heights.
I'd also like to note that though I chose lots of songs from decades ago, Kate Bush is still actively creating amazing art today. As I've been writing this, I've listened to Kate Bush songs for inspiration. This made the writing process take about twice as long as it should have, because I kept getting emotional and obsessed over songs that weren't even going in the post.
Which music have you found yourself connecting with or obsessing over? If I get recommendations in the comments, I'll be excited to check them out :)
Odd compilation of videos, but she certainly has a vibe!
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