Kate Bush -- Running Up That Hill

 

It was a little over a year ago when I found out about how one episode of "Stranger Things" really set social media alight (along with the villain) with its usage of Kate Bush's August 1985 single "Running Up That Hill". I was thinking about putting that in as the first of Bush's discography as part of the Reminiscings of Youth articles, but gosh darn it, I was too beholden to her earlier song "Babooshka" so I went with that. 

But this time, it's "Running Up That Hill". Like Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Bush's single and video had the heaviest rotation on radio and TV respectively for weeks and perhaps months on end, and yep, it was getting to the point where I was beginning to feel Bush fatigue. However, I think I fared a little better with "Running Up That Hill" since that interpretive dance was so mesmerizing (along with the percussion) for a while. Frankly, I think the video is probably the Bush-iest video I've ever seen. 

My impression is that "Running Up That Hill" was dusted off after so many years for "Stranger Things", but I think that the song would be perfect for any scene in a movie or TV show revealing preparation for an upcoming battle of huge proportions. The observation that it took a few decades for that realization to actually coalesce in a Netflix horror series has made both program and song that much more legendary.

When it was first released, the song did fairly well on the charts by scoring No. 30 on US Billboard and No. 16 on Canada's RPM with its highest rankings being in the UK and West Germany at No. 3. But once that "Stranger Things" episode aired, "Running Up That Hill" achieved year-end rankings of No. 24 and No. 23 in Canada and the United States respectively.

So, what was coming out as singles in Japan at that time?

Yu Hayami -- Passion

Yumi Matsutoya -- Metropolis no Katasumi de（メトロポリスの片隅で）

Yoko Oginome -- Kokoro no Mama ni  (心のままに 〜I'm just a lady〜)

Up above, I described "Running Up That Hill" as that call-to-arms. Well, last night before I was about to head to bed, I discovered that the first non-Japanese to attain the highest rank of yokozuna in sumo, Taro Akebono (born Chad Rowan in Hawaii), passed away some days ago at the age of 54. He'd retired from active competition more than twenty years previously but his shadow was so long that I couldn't quite believe that it's been that long since his retirement. I can only imagine that he ran up a very steep hill to become a yokozuna in a Japanese sport whose governing body could have been very reluctant to have an American at the very top of the sumo pyramid in 1993, although at the time, the rank had been vacant for the better part of a year. My condolences to his family, friends and fans.