Kate Bush Wishes Merry Christmas
Kate Bush wished her fans a Merry Christmas with a new message where she discusses topics including war, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and her insights gained from viewing Monet’s artworks.
Reflection on the Year
In a detailed message, she expresses gratitude to her fans for their support of her new short film, Little Shrew, a black-and-white animation she wrote and directed to benefit War Child. “Little Shrew will get a particularly delicious plate of earthworms this Christmas morning,” she remarked.
Bush also contemplated the challenging political climate worldwide but emphasized her desire for a positive Christmas message.
“This has been another year of exceptionally grim news. It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” she wrote.
“Wars continue to rage. We stand helplessly and watch these poor people go through all these horrors, and, of course, the children…”
“It’s hard not to focus on the anxiety we all feel about these conflicts and the huge changes that are happening around us, but I would like to try to find something positive to say in this Christmas message:”
Bush shared that Christmas Eve is one of her favorite days of the year. “When I was a kid, it had a special feeling,” she recalled. “It even smelled something like Christmas Eve… a mixture of smoking coal fires and damp leaves shrouded in a drizzling English icy fog. If I really work at it, I can still call it in the same day. I’m working on it now…”
She reminisced about viewing a new exhibition of Monet’s works, relating the French artist’s perspective on industrialization to current concerns regarding AI.
“This is us? Are you in awe of the dawn of artificial intelligence, a symbol of modernity, just like Monet’s smog represented in the new industrial London? Do we see only the flickering light of new invention that so often captures our imagination… and what are those vague, dark sardonic forms lurking in the background, behind the theatrical gauze?” she pondered.
“They are difficult to distinguish, but could these be our human capsules, akin to those in the Matrix, prepared for us by eager, playful numbers? Or perhaps they are freshly painted bridges – robust and lovingly constructed to usher us all into a long-awaited new era of healthy thinking?
“Everything will be revealed when the smog begins to clear.”
“Merry Christmas everyone. I hope this will be a truly joyful occasion for you all.”
Petition Against Unlicensed AI Use
Earlier this month, Bush signed a petition opposing the use of artists’ works by artificial intelligence without permission. The campaign, which began earlier this year, states that “unlicensed use of creative works to train generative artificial intelligence poses a serious and unfair threat to the livelihoods of the creators and should not be allowed.”
The petition now has 36,000 signatures and warns that without government action, this practice poses a “serious and unfair threat to the livelihoods of the people behind these works.” You can sign the petition and learn more here.
In other news, Bush recently mentioned that she has “a lot of ideas” she wishes to explore and is now eager to create new material.
“Over the last few years I’ve been preoccupied with archival work, redesigning our website, and compiling a collection of texts,” she explained.
“And I truly want to start working on the new album once that’s complete. I have a lot of ideas and I’m really looking forward to immersing myself back into that creative space; it’s been a while.”
When asked if she had been yearning to do this for some time, Bush affirmed: “Yes, I really have. Especially last year, I felt truly ready to embark on something new.”
https://www.nme.com/news/music/kate-bush-shares-christmas-message-to-fans-a-monet-christmas-to-all-3824739?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kate-bush-shares-christmas-message-to-fans-a-monet-christmas-to-all
