abm4@cunixa.cc.columbia.EDU (Andrew B Marvick) (04/25/91)
As Pinkerton confessed to Sharpless, so IED does to the "AATHP" et al. Sorry for being unreasonable about this PMRC business. IED admits that personal insults about deficiencies in humor were uncalled for. Sua culpa. He remains baffled, nonetheless, at the apparent fact that some people were unable to perceive that Chris's piece was a joke. On the larger issue of the AATHP itself--IED confesses to having been --again unreasonably--reluctant to welcome this new entity into the ranks, for several unrelated and admittedly less than fully rational reasons. First, it seems, frankly, a little like overkill to this Kate Bush fan, to see yet another group coming out with still another Kate Bush fanzine. Just to mention KT mags in the U.S. alone, there's Love-Hounds; Watching Storms (which is run by the so-called "American Kate Bush Society"); The Big Sky Forum; Reaching Out; Kevin Hendryx's new Lone Star Lionhearts; Gillian Gaar's For the Love of Kate; After the Party; and the list goes on...IED admits that he doesn't think it's particularly constructive to continue this splintering of Kate Bush fan groups throughout the country, when (in his opinion) so much more might be done by consolidating forces into one organized entity. Second, by whose criteria is Scott Shepard (sp.?) a "world famous Kate Bush authority"--as the AATHP's flyer advertised--and not simply a Kate Bush fan like the rest of us, albeit one who likes to do a lot of dealing? Third, IED admits taking offense at this bizarre resentment of _Homeground_--which, incidentally, has been _more_ than open in its criticism of British censorship for years and years (note, as only the latest example, their frankly critical description of the BBC's recent policy of "suggesting" that certain songs not be played during the Gulf war). Far from U.S.-bashers, the _Homeground_ crew have been, in IED's view, extraordinarily willing to welcome Americans into its enclave. They routinely report on the U.S. Kate scene, publish a large number of letters, articles, even artwork from U.S. fans, and keep on very friendly terms with a number of American fans beyond the domain of _Homeground_ itself. Finally, perhaps IED _should_ be slower to anger when hearing about fans bothering Kate for endorsements. Nevertheless, it does seem at least a little bit tacky of this group of Ohio fans to go about systematically heckling Kate Bush over the phone--by one Love-Hound's own account _many_ times, right up till the last moment--just to extract from her what could only have been (and by early reports was) a forced, unenthusiastic, rote endorsement of their activities? So, these were the feelings which produced IED's initial, overheated, even unwarranted remarks about the AATHP. IED would love to start from scratch, shake figurative hands and continue in peaceful coexistence from here on out. Perhaps some kind of coordination of Katemas activities could even be arranged. Which reminds IED--the location of the California Katemas party has _not_ been decided yet. See announcements here as soon as possible. -- Andrew Marvick ...Sharpless, v'aspetto per via!
nrc@cbema.att.COM (Neal R Caldwell, Ii) (04/26/91)
From article <CMM.0.90.0.672527254.abm4@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>, by abm4@cunixa.cc.columbia.EDU (Andrew B Marvick): > > As Pinkerton confessed to Sharpless, so IED does to the "AATHP" et al. > Sorry for being unreasonable about this PMRC business. IED admits that > personal insults about deficiencies in humor were uncalled for. Sua culpa. > He remains baffled, nonetheless, at the apparent fact that some people > were unable to perceive that Chris's piece was a joke. We all speak too quickly at one time or another. Likewise, while I've been trying to make only measured responses I am sorry if anyone has felt personally insulted. I suspect that the best we can hope for is to be kind to one another's mistakes. I certainly agree that Chris's joke was to me quite obviously a joke. I suspect, however, that the joke may have lost some of it's conspicuousness in the translation from The Net to print. > First, it seems, frankly, a little like overkill to this Kate Bush > fan, to see yet another group coming out with still another Kate Bush > fanzine. For the most part I agree. Still, I think as long as there is no single journal widely recognized as voice of American Kate Bush fandom there will always be room for one more. The ideal situation would be to have a single official fan club and newsletter: The Kate Bush Club. Chapters in each country could contribute their own pages of local interest. Sadly the KBC can barely seem muster the activity necessary to maintain it's own existence, let alone support the entire fan network. I have to say that at this point The KBC should either make the commitment and get the help it needs to be proper fan club or officially pack it in. > Bush fan groups throughout the country, when (in his opinion) so much > more might be done by consolidating forces into one organized entity. I agree completely and it sounds like The AATHP is making just such an attempt. Unfortunately, I suspect that some and perhaps many factions will chafe at notion of allowing themselves to be organized by persons from between the coasts, an area that had until recently been considered a vast Kate Bush desert. > Second, by whose criteria is Scott Shepard (sp.?) a "world famous > Kate Bush authority"--as the AATHP's flyer advertised--and not simply > a Kate Bush fan like the rest of us, albeit one who likes to do a lot > of dealing? I don't know about "world famous" but he had a lot of rare and wonderful stuff and he sold some of it at prices that I could just about double. Perhaps there is something to be said for living in a vast Kate Bush desert. > Third, IED admits taking offense at this bizarre resentment of > _Homeground_--which, incidentally, has been _more_ than open in its > criticism of British censorship for years and years (note, as only > the latest example, their frankly critical description of the BBC's > recent policy of "suggesting" that certain songs not be played > during the Gulf war). I must admit that Homeground really isn't my kind of magazine. There are a few too many flights of fancy in there for my taste. Still, I didn't have any problem with Homeground in general until fairly recently. I felt that some of the items that were intended to deal with U.S. news reflected a rather casual attitude toward the facts. These reports too often appear to be the effusive recounting of just what they've been told by a rather opinionated and -- in some cases -- poorly informed source. That was particularly so with issue #40 which contained no less than three instances of this. I personally found issue #40 bothersome in this regard well before I learned the specifics of the flap with _Little Light_. I could have set this all aside in an instant were it not for the fact that issue #40 gave me the distinct impression that HG is not willing to give those who disagree with them any forum for disagreement. Perhaps that will change, I haven't received issue #41 as of yet. Still, the fact that HG could not be bothered to allow the PMRC or LL any space for an honest airing of their positions will leave me always wondering if I'm getting the whole story from HG. > Finally, perhaps IED _should_ be slower to anger when hearing about > fans bothering Kate for endorsements. Nevertheless, it does seem at > least a little bit tacky of this group of Ohio fans to go about > systematically heckling Kate Bush over the phone--by one Love-Hound's own > account _many_ times, right up till the last moment--just to extract > from her what could only have been (and by early reports was) a > forced, unenthusiastic, rote endorsement of their activities? This may be a misunderstanding caused by my own poor recollection and reporting of what I was told at the convention. It was, after all, a busy day. Hopefully I've got it right now. In fact nobody at AATHP called about the convention greeting, their request was sent in writing to The Kate Bush Club. Call me old fashioned but I view it as part of The KBC's task as an 'official' fan club to act as a buffer between Kate and the tons of fan correspondence that she must receive. Maybe they don't see it this way but I think that includes a certain responsibility to respond in circumstances like these, even if its just to say, "Sorry, Kate can't be bothered with your silly request right now, she's off getting her face licked for another episode of The Comic Strip." They sent several letters with no response from The KBC. Before long responses started arriving from other artists. Not wanting Kate to look bad they tried making contact through a friend at Columbia. This friend made the contact with Novercia and thus the message was delivered (on paper, not on tape as some have seemed to assume). > IED would love to start from > scratch, shake figurative hands and continue in peaceful coexistence from > here on out. Perhaps some kind of coordination of Katemas activities could > even be arranged. Sounds like a fine idea to me. I doubt that we'll ever agree on everything but we can at least agree to disagree. I'm sure they'd like to co-ordinate Katemas but I think the video party they are planning has been moved out into August due to scheduling conflicts. Thanks for giving this further consideration after your initial reaction, Andy. I think Kate Bush fans everywhere have a common interest that is much stronger than any individual differences in opinion that we may have and your message reflects that. It is this that brings us together. "Don't drive too slowly." Richard Caldwell AT&T Network Systems att!cbnews!nrc nrc@cbnews.att.com