Monday 2 April 2012

#AtoZChallenge: Boss Hog & Kate Bush

Did you know that the lead singer of this band, Cristina Martinez, is actually a model, and the wife of Jon Spencer from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion? Yep. And oh yeah, Jon Spencer is in Boss Hog too.

This band got me dancing and rocking about my apartment when I was about 19. The first year I lived away from home. With a prosperous future of being a rock star (in my eyes), I'd pretend to be this gorgeous woman in my bathroom mirror. Swinging my (then) sexy hips, and doing weird things with my tongue. (Oh, yes, didn't we all? Um ... no? ... oh well *sigh*)




Kate Bush. Wuthering Heights. See the connection? Yep. Music and literature. This woman inspired me to actually read Wuthering Heights. She taught me to love the classics. Then I started getting into Mary Shelly, and Emily Dickens and Jane Austen ... but of course, how can you resist this woman's voice??? Magic.


Did any musicians ever inspire you to read? Tell me who, and why!




Don't forget to drop by Dawn Ius' blog, my partner in crime, to see her music pick for B.


To see a list of A-Z Challenge hosts and participants, click here. 

To listen to my music click here!

REMEMBER! During the challenge, I will choose a random commenter every two days, to receive a free download of one of my albums. Your choice! That's thirteen winners. How does that sound? Tell your friends! Just comment for a chance to win.

37 comments:

  1. Oh yes! My favourite band became the favourite because of their literary allusions. They are Daniel Amos (not a guy, a band:) They got me into Dostoevsky, Chesterton, Annie Dillard, Fred Buechner, even Steinbeck (thank you DA!)
    When I met their lead singer several years ago, I told him I appreciated all the great books he'd led me to, not thinking till after, that maybe telling him his music and lyrics might have been good to thank him for as well!
    A great post.

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  2. I didn't know Boss Hog. Good song! I'm going to download it onto my iPod. Thanks!

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  3. Leonard Cohen always makes me want to curl up with a book and a cup of earl grey. I have absolutely no clue why.

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  4. I totally would have guessed Kate Bush - TOTALLY! But Boss Hog is new...xo

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  5. Okay, Kate Bush - you totally hit it. I just came over from commenting on Dawn's blog and told her Bonjovi had to be the top pick for the letter B in music. You've match it. :D

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  6. There must be something wrong with me...these recordings that are made now, I just can't understand what they are saying??? The new singers coming on in this age of music lack a certain ability to speak distinctly. It is like they have a mouth full of mush (corn meal mush) and just can't speak. I must say, Kate is a beautiful lady, though. :)
    Ruby

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  7. "This woman's work" by Kate Bush is one of my absolute favorite songs. Excellent choice!

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  8. Oh dear, if Kate Bush inspired you to read the classics you must be a lot younger than me! Glad she did though.

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  9. Good stuff...gets you bopping.

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  10. I knew it, every day I'm going hear something I've never heard before. I'm happy that it got you reading more the classics, although I can't say I liked Wuthering Heights. Too dysfunctional for my tastes. I much preferred Jane Eyre.

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  11. And see, Pat Benatar did Wuthering Heights in the late 70s--it was one of the two 8-track tapes my friend Michelle has in her 59 pick-up, so we listened to it A LOT (and yes, encouraged me to read the book)

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  12. Cool songs. I haven't heard of either but I do like the Wuthering Heights one.

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  13. yes, she is a great singer...an artist who's words alays inspired me was Dan Fogelberg!

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  14. Great B choices. Kate Bush blasted out of my nursing quarters many times. :D

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  15. Hi Jessica - I swung by from the A-Z Challenge list. I love Kate Bush and I feel like she does not get enough recognition - at least with my generation (the 1989'ers/1990'ers). An artist who inspires me lately has been Archie Star (they are kind of pop-punk); I found them on MySpace years and years ago and recently I have been using them as my writing inspiration :)

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  16. Music doesn't really inspire me to read. Nothing really inspires me to read, except, you know, great books.

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  17. I love Kate Bush. I love her voice, and style and how whimsical she is.

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  18. Hi. My B is about an artist that got me blogging! :)

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  19. As much as I like Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, I always preferred the Pat Benatar version for some strange reason, it was a little punchier I think.

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  20. Kate Bush is lovely. A lot of music inspires me, but mostly it calms me down so I can consider writing. Instrumentals work best for me.

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  21. Umm, i've seen pics of you. I'm pretty sure your hips are still sexy

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  22. That Kate Bush is a beautiful woman! -- But nope, I don't think there are any musicians that have inspired me to read a particular book...not any that I can think of at the moment, anyway ;)

    ~Nicole
    Blog: The Madlab Post
    @MadlabPost on Twitter

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  23. I love KAte Bush. She's eccentric but sexy and a darn good songwriter (like someone else I know!).

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  24. You're teaching this old woman some new things. :) The beautiful Kate Bush might take some getting used to though. :) Thanks for visiting my place!

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  25. I danced around in my flat (still do actually), but never the tongue thing...maybe I missed out? Hmmm, it's never too late to start.
    Kate Bush is ACE! Her home is not far from where I grew up, in the lovely county of Devon, UK.
    "Army Dreamers" was a good song - my ex boyfriend starred in it when he was small!

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  26. Kate Bush was/is so amazing. What a voice. Don't know Boss Hog - thought it was ok. Will check out your music. New follower.

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  27. Kate Bush was a favourite of mine in my younger days. I liked the way she always seemed to do her own thing and never mind what people said.

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  28. Several of the progressive rock bands I listen to like to do concept albums and tell a story through song. That often spurs me to write.

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  29. Pink Floyd always gets my mind working, Roger Waters really wrote some wild lyrics, have to check out Boss Hog, haven't heard them to my knowledge.

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  30. So many songs get me thinking. They set my mind spinning off in so many directions. Music is so powerful!

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  31. I definitely danced around more hair shaking and slithering than tongue. lol

    I do think Pink Floyd helped me through college, especially when the Time song came on..time to hit the books.

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  32. Many of the groups I listened to probably didn't know how to read. Pink Floyd always got my mental neurons snapping though.

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  33. I'm not familiar with Boss Hog, but I have heard Kate Bush. Our Lady Peace inspired me to read Ray Kurzwell's "The Age of Spiritual Machines", which was the name of their fourth studio album, full of songs based on the human-computer debate that's discussed philosophically in the book.

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  34. I just signed on to the A-Z challenge, nearly at the last minute, but I'm trying to visit every blog at least once.

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  35. oh my goodness that Kate Bush video sends me back, although listening to her voice now it sounds almost fake. I don't know if I can think of any songs that have made me read literature, but I certainly spend a lot of time looking up references and other things behind the stories that go into lyrics that move me. I am intrigued always by words.

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  36. What happened to C and D? Where are ya, Jess? Jessie?

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  37. I'm terrible in that I have never (knowingly) heard any of Boss Hog! But I need to give them a shot.

    Kate Bush is legendary, but I have to say I only recently read WUTHERING HEIGHTS for the first time. Shame on me!

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