"HELLO EARTH" KATE BUSH (1985)

For October, the Mental Jukebox is dialing it way back to the eighties and going deep. Deep cuts have always been an important element of music listening to me because they’re often the songs that resonate with me most. Deep cuts are usually the ones that the true fans appreciate most. I like my singles and hits, but I love my deep cuts.

Sometimes I think about how much I owe to music artists who unknowingly have become such a huge part of me. My life’s soundtrack. I think about how this movie I’m living would not be the same without the music tracks to support it. Then I think about the music artists who not only exhibited greatness in their own right, they helped pave the way for other great artists that followed after them. These are my thoughts when I listen to Kate Bush’s “Hello Earth”.

Kate always had such a unique perspective. A unique way of looking at things that are right in front of us. “Hello Earth” is one of many examples of this. A beautiful, sweeping deep cut on an album full of Kate’s biggest “hits”, it’s possibly the one track that best exhibits and typifies her ability to let the beauty shine through the ugliness. “Hello Earth” has even greater implications when you hear it back today and realize that this was the sound and aesthetic that Tori Amos and others built off in their own amazing trajectory as music artists. I’m in awe as I listen to it today nearly 40 years later. 40 friggin years.

“With just one hand held up high, I can blot you out Out of sight.”

"PURE" THE LIGHTNING SEEDS (1990)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 1990

My love for music really soared when two key events in my life came to fruition: getting my driver’s license when I was a junior in high school and finding out about an alt rock station that my county was able to barely catch on the airwaves. The reception wasn’t great, but it was more than good enough. WDRE – formerly WLIR – was the station where I discovered new bands and rediscovered ones that have been around for years. It’s the station where I first discovered The Lightning Seeds and the breakthrough alt single “Pure”.

“Pure” blasting in my Oldsmobile Omega, windows down, cruising through windy roads back from track practice, on my way to a friend’s house or to the Mt. Kisco Diner. “Pure” was light, upbeat, euphoric. It was like a drug. It didn’t matter how crappy of a day I had, “Pure” saved the day. It didn’t matter if the girl didn’t like me back, “Pure” saved the day. It didn’t matter if I had no plans for the weekend, “Pure” saved the day. Ian Broudie’s music is like a time capsule stored away in a closet. The music didn’t stay highly relevant over the past few decades. But it’s awesome seeing him at Glastonbury 2023. No one ever forgets great music – it’s pure and simple every time.

“Don't sell the dreams you should be keeping.”