u/mad_soundz_

I'm a longtime music journalist who just published an interview with the singer-songwriter (and noted Kate fan) Beth Orton—and there is a teensy bit of possible Kate news in the story. Since we all know any signs of Kate are exceedingly rare, I wanted to share it here.

During my chat with Beth, which took place a month ago, she mentioned that she had recently met Kate. As a big Kate fan myself—I once interviewed her and reviewed a couple of her albums when I worked at Pitchfork—I was surprised, and excited, to hear this! Naturally, I tried to learn more about the meeting, but Beth was tight-lipped about it. Which makes me think there might be something to it. Maybe! Here is the part of the interview in question:

>If you could sit anyone down and make them listen to your new album, who would it be?

>Beth Orton: Briefly, yesterday, I met Kate Bush, and I just didn’t know what to say to her. I should have just said, “How are you? I hope you’re good,” and talked to her like any other human. But instead I was like, [cartoonishly dopey voice] “I’m such a huge fan!” And she’s just like, “Yeah, OK. Whatever.” I suppose it’s more like I’d love to sit down with these people and have a real conversation.

>How did you come in contact with Kate Bush? She’s pretty elusive.

>I know. So that’s why I shouldn’t really tell the story, because I can’t follow through on it. I just have to leave it there.

I know this is not a lot, but it's something?!

If you like Beth Orton—and music journalism in general!—please considering checking out the full interview. The story is published on Hearing Things, a worker-owned newsletter and website that I co-founded alongside four other great music writers.

Hopefully we find out more about this meeting soon!

Wanted to share this interview I recently did with Ed where he talks about the history and intricacies of his favorite guitar, the black-on-black Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster. I hope guitar aficionados can get something out of it, but I also wanted the story to delve into his emotional connection to the guitar as an instrument, and his personal history with it too. He also talks about some new guitarists that have caught his ear and whether the other members of Radiohead have given him any feedback about Blue Morpho yet. (Not to shamelessly tease but I think it's worth reading the article in full to find these things out!)

The interview is for Hearing Things, an independent music publication I run and own alongside four other longtime music journalists. Before starting Hearing Things I worked at Pitchfork for 15 years, where I wrote about Radiohead a bunch and also interviewed Colin and Phil. When I was a teenager, Radiohead were one of the first bands to make me aware of countercultural forces, and I like to think what we're doing with Hearing Things follows in that same spirit so many years later. One more Radiohead bona fide: I traveled from New York to Oxford to attend the band's now-famous festival at South Park in 2001, and stood in the front row. I remember a local at the show telling me how he once tried to say hi to Thom at a pub, but Thom was allegedly scared and ran away; the story seemed legit!

Anyway, hope you enjoy the interview!