17. L 'Amour Looks Something Like You Kate Bush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT26hnP62aU Whilst her breakthrough song 'Wuthering Heights' seems to be a more obvious choice for a list of love songs, 'L 'amour looks something like you' makes the cut because there's no tragedy here, this is all about exuberance, desire and longing it's also unashamedly risqué too, and so it should be. Kate Bush is better known for her wonderfully obscure lyrics, but this cuts right to the chase. She's simply saying that the object of her desire literally looks like love personified. Whilst this certainly isn't about profound, spiritual love, (well not yet anyway) it tells a story that is just as important in the canon of love songs, the excitement of pure lust and the initial burst of infatuation, or as she swoons,"You look like an angel, sleeping it off at a station... I'm dying for you just to touch me, and feel all the energy rushing right up at me." This is certainly one of Kate Bush's most straightforward songs - the chorus is so catchy that as soon as you hear it once I promise you'll be whistling it all day. Whilst many lovesongs end up being covered by an untold amount of artists, Kate Bush's uniqueness seems to scare people off (unless you're the Futureheads but let's not dwell on that...), and that's a great shame, as I'd love to see someone like Suede have a go at this, if you close your eyes you can just imagine them pulling this off beautifully.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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