TS: Madonna's "Into The Groove" vs. Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill"

into the groove

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

Running Up That Hill

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

they sound similar, sat next to each other on the 85 pazz and jop critics poll, morodery highlights of two female icons careers, likely to make people's heads explode

Running Up That Hill. Into The Groove is better in theory than in reality, but Running Up That Hill is the opposite.

^ co-sign this.

Running Up That Hill without a question.

fukken hipsters

interestingly, both wound up behind "freeway of love" and "would I lie to you?" on said p'n'j poll

("sun city" won)

do u mind if I make a freeway of love vs. living in america poll

fukken hipsters

Into the Groove was one of my favorite songs in the world when I was 11 or 12, and I still like it now (which is what made not picking it really difficult), but Running Up That Hill is FOR THE AGES.

go for it, curtis

Kate!

"Running Up That Hill". There are other Madonna singles I'd rate above it, but "Get Into the Groove" is not among my favourites. To me it (unlike some other Madonna tunes) sounds like a rather generic piece of dance pop, whereas "Running Up That Hill" does pretty interesting things within the pop format.

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, April 18, 2010 5:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

do u mind if I make a freeway of love vs. living in america poll

Go ahead.

"Into the Groove" by light years. I love Kate Bush but only like "Running Up the Hill." "Hounds of Love" and "Cloudbusting" are more dynamic.

still don't think there's enough of a mandate yet -- too bad I already started the poll xpost

It should be mentioned that "Running Up That Hill" made the Top 40, but "Into the Groove" didn't (I know -- it wasn't an official "single," blah blah).

"running up that hill" blew my mind when i first heard it, but part of why i loved it was how it sounded like "into the groove" PLUS avant-garde. not that i knew what avant-garde meant when i was nine.

anyway i voted for "into the groove" -- what can i say, desperately seeking susan was so fucking great.

My last pot dealer would have us say we were "desperately seeking Susan" when we called him to ask for weed.

Running Up That Hill. Into The Groove is better in theory than in reality, but Running Up That Hill is the opposite.

― Ismael Klata, Sunday, April 18, 2010 10:08 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

this actually might have some weight to it

oddly enuf, my instincts told me Into The Groove, though

never noticed the similarity before tbh. i like into the groove a lot but there really isn't enough to it sonically or otherwise to put it up there to alot of her other stuff from the era, or running up that hill

whoa this is a really easy call w/me - running up that hill for sure

ditto

listening to Into the Groove just to refresh my memory, not buying the similarity really. that said, Kate

huge kate fan, not into madonna except the early stuff but i never really liked running up that hill and think hounds of love is somewhat overrated
so madonna, weirdly

"into the groove" is in my top 5 madonna songs, "running up that hill" is not even in my top 10 kate bush songs. (even tho it's great and all, obviously.)

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, April 18, 2010 5:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox)

they sound similar, sat next to each other on the 85 pazz and jop critics poll, morodery highlights of two female icons careers, likely to make people's heads explode

― da croupier,

You must be tone deaf if you think they sound even remotely similar, they're very different in scope and mood. And even if they both appeared on a p&j poll and they're both highlights of their careers it still doesn't mean anything. It does make my head explode, I'll grant that.

TOO BAD FOR YOU SHUT IT AND VOTE

Ok sorry that was a jerk post, but calling someone tone deaf for hearing something you don't is just irksome for me.

moreover, calling someone "tone deaf" and then going on to describe things about the songs that have nothing to do with the way they sound

Running up that Hill and Into The Groove were shower time favorites, and I can probably remember every lyric to both, but I totally agree with Johnny that Running Up That Hill is timeless.

To put it this way, during my past solo disco car parties, Into The Groove definitely had me grooving in my seat, but it never had me pumping my fists with tears of ecstasy forming in the corners of my eyes.

sucks that he's basically the new sam adams because he can actually kinda flow

yeah, don't like this match at all, "Running Up That Hill" is a completely different song, i mean the atmosphere!

if you guys don't like it you can lump it

lol my post is on the wrong thread

to the aggrieved, i suggest they compare this moment and this one, cuz yeah, i think they don't sound so criminally dissimilar that a TS should be an outrage.

There are some similarities, but stylistically they are completely different things; they're both amazing songs that work on completely different levels... I think I'm going to abstain on this one.

they sound similar

not really!

"into the groove"; it might not be my favourite madonna single, but it's up there, but what makes it such a colossus is the way the lyrics distil the essence of pop music itself so perfectly - "only when i'm dancing can i feel this free" - she takes her relationship with music as a music fan and shows how it can seem life-changing, life-saving, liberating, the best feeling in the world. which it kinda is.

"running up that hill" is really great obv but i prefer "hounds of love".

on second thought, and having listened to both in sequence, RUTH wins this handedly - It just has a huge emotional resonance for me that ITTG does not, tho it remains a ridiculously awesome dance track. Open Your Heart on the other hand..

i instantly understood this comparison -- something about the looping, the relentlessness of the beat and the tonal arc of the 2 hooks.

*beats

Not the greatest Madonna fan here, but then I've only skimmed the surface of Kate's back catalogue. Get Into The Groove is definitely my favourite Maddie song though, and whenever the dancefloor's beginning to flag, there's not better track I can think of to get it pumping again. Running Up That Hill doesn't quite have the same effect, but what it will do is make the hairs on my neck stand up with that nostalgic autumnal fan-heater pad running through it. It reminds me of being a kid wrapped up in the back seat on a cold night.

neither r even my faves off their resp. albums

sorry, kate walks this. into the groove is a great track, but madonna is still just a popstar. kate bush is so much more....

I like how evil this dilemma is. My first instinct is "Into the Groove" and I think I'm gonna stick with it.

Comparison totally makes sense btw, there are some deep similarities.

what makes it such a colossus is the way the lyrics distil the essence of pop music itself so perfectly - "only when i'm dancing can i feel this free" - she takes her relationship with music as a music fan and shows how it can seem life-changing, life-saving, liberating, the best feeling in the world. which it kinda is

^^^ this. Nothing beats this song, imo.

I can't say enough about how Madonna sounds on "Into the Groove": her timbre, her tone. It's a shame she can longer sing like this.

finally decided to go with madge but it really is a toughie

xp yeah see also the way her voice growls slightly on the pre-chorus to Papa Don't Preach.

It's a shame she can longer sing like this.

So OTM. What is the received wisdom as to why she went all all mezzo after this?

singing lessons for evita

Seriously? Man what a waste.

She's given good vocal performances post-singing lessons but her posh mannerisms sometimes make her sound like Angela Lansbury singing over a Moroder track.

i think the worst effect has been on her diction, more than her timbre - the post-evita clarity works well on the material she's done since, the listen-children enunciation less so

Oh fucking please. Kate Bush every damn time. Madonna isn't fit to lick the horseshit from Bush's boots.

LOL listen-children enunciation, that's awesome.

yah "running up that hill" is great but "into the groove" is my favorite madonna song so I voted for that

her diction on Ray Of Light absolutely ruins the album - "I've had so many lovaahhs" etc.

There's plenty of stuff of hers I like in the 'new voice' btw, but I wish there could have been a couple more years of the awesome squeaky voice.

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

^^^^^^^^^

her diction on Ray Of Light absolutely ruins the album - "I've had so many lovaahhs" etc.

that's exactly the line and enunciation I had in mind.

i will say that the diction, lack of growl etc work really well on "frozen", "to have and not to hold", "die another day" and "music" (four of my favourite post-evita madonna tracks, uncoincidentally)

"The Power of Goodbye" too.

Confessions on a Dance Floor is the only album on which she's successfully mated the voice and material seventy percent of the time ("Hung Up," "Get Together," all the singles, really).

What's the purpose of this comparison other than making my head explode?

^^^^^^^^^

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Monday, April 19, 2010 6:55 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

why are some people finding heads exploding a bad thing, TS-wise? These are two songs from the same year from female icons with morodery beats that climax with urgent multi-tracked pleas (linked directly to upthread) - that also happen to be classic songs with totally different vibes. what more "purpose" does a TS need?

idk, i really like confessions cuz it's so BANGING, but i do think some...looser, less mannered diction would have really benefited it! (and would have helped me care more about the less strong songs)

otm about "the power of goodbye" though, gorgeous song.

xp

"Into the Groove" is definitely in the top 5% of all songs, but "Running Up that Hill" is like, top .002%. you can dance to it with friends or lovers, or tearfully sing along all by yrself, or some other permutation of these basic elements, or just put on headphones and let it envelope you like a blanket woven from Kate Bush's soft, soft hair

I think the biggest problem with Madonna's voice lessons is that they didn't incorporate ear training; she wouldn't come across nearly as stilted/horrible if they didn't have to post-process her into the correct key. (Also interesting to note that she matched pitch a lot better with her old singing technique, suggesting that the way she's producing the external sound matched closer the internal sound in her head.)

I haven't voted in this yet but I'm leaning "Into The Groove".

Into the Groove is easily my favorite Madonna song. Its sentiment is something that has a very strong personal resonance for me. Running Up That Hill is a great song, perhaps better on some esoteric level, but just doesn't have the same direct connection for me that Into the Groove has.

otm about "the power of goodbye" though, gorgeous song.

yah. I think it's the only time her 'new voice' really manages to convey real conviction. It's the last time I've been moved by a ballad by her.

Here is another angle on the comparison between these: in "Into the Groove" the would-be lover is optional: she's tired of dancing by herself and so tonight she won't, but when she's dancing by herself she still feels free. She's coaxing the would-be lover, but if the boy fails to prove his love to her, she is still into the groove. Her freedom is the key virtue. Whereas on "Running Up That Hill" the lover is not optional: the aim is reconciliation through identification with the lover. So both songs represent the gap between lovers, but in "Into the Groove" filling the gap is instrumental only; it beats the usual boredom, but if not, she's still free and that's the groove enables; whereas in "Running Up That Hill", filling that gap is so important that it warrants petitioning God.

Well, it's just an angle. I love both songs but voted "Running Up That Hill", for the throb at the "let me steal this moment from you now" point, when the synths start to tesselate.

why are some people finding heads exploding a bad thing, TS-wise? These are two songs from the same year from female icons with morodery beats that climax with urgent multi-tracked pleas (linked directly to upthread) - that also happen to be classic songs with totally different vibes. what more "purpose" does a TS need?

I didn't say it needed another purpose; in fact, making heads explode is a damn good one. Much better than those polls which seem to have no purpose for existing at all (yes, I realize a handful of these are my fault).

"Into the Groove" -- function over form. Disposable product.

"Running Up that Hill" -- art

HAVE AT ME, POP TWITS!!!

pfft, even my disgruntled ass likes Into the Groove!

Alex is like Madonna recording Music: mannerism meets form for fun results.

Ok, I tried. I cannot vote in this poll.

Madonna recording Music: mannerism meets form for fun results.

fixed

interestingly, both wound up behind "freeway of love" and "would I lie to you?" on said p'n'j poll

I agree with this judgment btw

Prediction: "Running Up That Hill" by a landslide.

It's on top of the heap.

"Young Turks" vs. "Johnny & Mary" next!

really really want this

I like the Kate Bush song a lot (only song of hers I can say that about tbh), but this is no contest for me. Madonna, easy.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"into the groove" favorite madonna song.. "running up that hill" is damn super but it doesn't make me want to get up and shadow kickbox or anything

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

A third of the hosts of heaven went w/Lucifer, I see.

Almost made it to 100!

:D

holy shit alot of people voted!

More importantly, a lot of people were right.

I don't think there's any poll where I wouldn't vote for whoever's running against kate bush

beach boys?

would vote beach boys

like, there's something about the beach boys that bugs me, but I can respect their stuff - I just personally can't feel it. kate bush's music on the other hand is terrible

OH OK

would you vote for Bush or Kate Bush? This is important.