Too true, Thomas. Hello, Justin and everyone, from Dave in London, UK. If you like the Bulgarian folk singing, I suggest the album Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, which was popular in the mid 1980s, as part of the burgeoning world music scene, and is in my CD collection. It was released on the cult 4AD label (Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, Pixies etc.).
I think they released an album that got attention, and that's how Kate became interested in them. Think either Spin it Rolling Stone reviewed this album and spoke about how Peter Gabriel at the time was doing middle eastern music and Paul Simon was doing African, but they made a point about how Kate stayed in Europe for her explorations of traditional musical culture.
Kate was way ahead of her time. Like other people have mentioned when this was written the Internet was very basic and not everyone had access to it yet. But now you have it in your pocket. Like Breathing this is very apt for the situations in the world today. And if you like the backing vocals wait until you listen to Rockets Tail. It is absolutely amazing......
I had goosebumps the 1st time I heard this track years ago. The way the Trio Bulgarka come in on the chorus is one of the most breathtaking moments in Kate's catalogue. This is my 3rd favourite track on The Sensual World album.
This song really was prescient. Blows my mind to think this was written 30+ years ago. I was in my 2nd year of grad school in '89 working on my PhD when this came out. The internet was really just starting to take off with respect to it's use by the general public. Its come to revolutionize so many things, but especially how scientific research is done today. That aspect of the internet is very positive. But now there are some significant negatives associated with the internet, and I wonder sometimes if it was truly worth it. Of course I don't miss the irony of saying this in a comment on TH-cam which is wholly an internet creation.
I want to underscore that when this came out, the internet was .... basically electronic bulletin boards. You'd search the service provider and youd find ...a bulletin board, or group chat. Email was not a common thing at all till the mid to late 90s. Computers did not live on everyone's desk in the late 80s. Most computers had screens were black with green or gold block letters that operated from a mainframe. First time I saw a mouse was 1987 and first time a white white screen was 1985 and it was an Apple. I got my first home PC computer in 1991, and it had this revolutionary software called windows. My service was Prodigy. I paid $2,500. I hooked up with other music lovers and... believe it or not, there are still little groups from those early days. My hubby belongs to a group that started in the late 80s. My group started in '92. We are still active.
Lastly, my first knowledge of "the internet" was working for the library as a student worker. The librarian would "dial into" the library of congress. The library was converting from the Dewey's decimal system to the LC system. No small task. She placed the handset of her phone into this special cradle. Blew my mind. This was 1983. My point is to underscore how cutting edge kate was with her work with computers and with others who did in terms of her music.
This is one my favorites from the album, it's like being swaddled in music. Even the percussion and computer sounds are not jarring, they blend in like a cocoon forming. This came out before social media got so huge, she was being comforted by a computer program, an artificial person. It's very affecting.
I hope you are doing well, Justin. Isn't this just one of her most wonderful productions? What magical combination to have Kate, John Giblin and the Trio Bulgarka in one song... I think this album displays stories about all kind of complex or unusual relationships.
Those vocal harmonies are next level. Bulgarian harmonies often incorporate the 2nds and 9ths, and chromatic intervals. This makes three voices sound like six, ( that outro is only three voices)
putting the genius in context this song was written in the late 80s about people getting lost in technology,, there really wasn't an internet yet, no smartphones no siri alexis or Google,, 30 years later this idea is completely relevant
Agree that it's not a big standout song, but something I love about it is how the voices of the Trio Bulgarka are used as this unexpected organic representation of the computer. There's the sounds of technology along with these almost ethereal ancient-sounding chants juxtaposed, which is perfect for the theme of trying to fulfill one's basic emotional needs through technology.
Little did I know when I fell in love with this song from the album that 30+ years into the future it would describe my life. Way ahead of it's time, yet time-less. ❣
When I first got this album this song was in fact a standout big time for me. Kate can somehow sing notes she's composed to feel exactly what the lyrics are saying and in this case this song sounds so much like deep isolation in desperate need to look outward and beyond itself and I can always picture someone in a dark corner of their house, face lit by a computer screen, but at the same time it has that atmospheric quality of a world outside of her lonely place that's knocking on her window wanting to be seen.
When I first heard this song on my car stereo back in 1989, enveloped in my sonic cocoon, I was reminded of David Cronenberg's immensely prescient 1983 film VIDEODROME. Those intoxicating images of sadomasochistic eroticism as James Woods caresses a television are evoked in Deeper Understanding. Somehow Kate manages to make tech-addiction sound so seductively sensual, so languidly tactile, and so deeply melancholy. As with Cronenberg's film the cathode ray takes on a haptic dimension, transforming into a new form of flesh.
For me, this song is memorable for 2 things. First, as others have mentioned - it is truly prophetic. In 1989 there was no internet...no social media... yet Kate accurately foresaw the ramifications of the coming age of personal computers. Second, th-cam.com/video/nzqF_gBpS84/w-d-xo.html she made this remarkable music video of the song (& reworked the music, which I actually prefer to the album version).
After working on a Kate Bush song on The Red Shoes album with The Trio Bulkarka ("You're The One"), Jeff Beck wrote the song "Bulgaria". He was aware of the trio before that though, and cites listening to an album of theirs as the inspiration for the song "Where Were You", where the melody is played by bending harmonics with the whammy bar. He used the same technique on the song "Bulgaria".
A very beautiful song about a very sad subject matter. I remember it seemed like science fiction to have this sort of "relationship" with a computer when I first heard the song back in 1989. Little did I know that, years later, I'd meet my wife, thanks to that box of circuits.
I've seen a few reactions to her singing "this womans work". In most of them people are shocked when they find out that it wasn't originally a Maxwell song. Here's to making sure Kate Bushes work is not forgotten.
I agree with you..it is not one of her great songs but I found myself playing it over and over.....when I am cooking or doing housework...and then I discover that it is a great song because I am playing it continually as if it is therapy and maybe that was Kate's intent....lol
Can you imagine listening to this for the very first time, like he is? Unfortunately, my 1,000th listen is better than my tenth as there is so much to pay attention to which is why I enjoy JP as he really listens carefully. And yes, “the business end” is coming!
I really like this song on the Directors Cut album where Kate’s son Bertie sings the computer part with the vocal computerised like an over reliance on auto tune. Mother son connection element added but with distance. An even greater effect.
Visionary? 😊 Love the rhythm section on this, it's stunning. Her voice is so dreamy on this Justin 😊 ❤️ prophetic, so current. This album is quite superb tbh. Great stuff Justin 😊
"I don't think this is a stand out song on its own." ?? eh? ... I do! It's one of my top 3 favourites on the album too, along with The Sensual World and This Woman's Work. I enjoy your reviews by the way.
Hey man, enjoyed the review. I would say that this is a standout song. Kate has created something unique in this album. I haven't heard anything that sounds quite like this. Her singing style is so direct, and recorded in a way that sounds like she is talking to you, the listener. The harmony vocals are marvelous! That trio is so cool and rich. The arrangement gets into kind of an ambient, psychedelic funk groove, but so spare and spacious. You broke down the lyrics nicely. In 1989 she recognized the human potential to get lost in technology and losing touch with oneself and one's loved ones, to say nothing of the larger community. I think she picked up on something really deep within us, and explored it beautifully in this song and this recording.
I think by the time Kate recorded this she may have had her own studio, not sure. However, all if not most of her previous albums were recorded at Abbey Road. So we’re Talk Talks earlier Albums and when you add Pink Floyd, The Beatles plus god knows how many other artists, I would say that Abbey Road has got be one of the most important studios in the history of music. They recorded many classical music albums there too. Queen were on the EMI label so they may have recorded some stuff there too, not sure, as were Deep Purple.
Hi JP, just accidently found this reaction and I was like WOW he's done this album track which I have had such a sweet spot for since 1989. Love seeing reactions to Kate Bush songs that other reactors have kind of missed! Although that is not surprising in this case as it is more album track, rather than a hailed single. I'm going to (cheekily) suggest you would like to check out and react to one song from her next album (1993's The Red Shoes) at some point in the future? The one I have in mind is a great ballad called Moments Of Pleasure. It has lyrics for you to get your teeth into as well! Quite frankly your time would not be best spent checking out the rest of that album ... although other die hard Kate Bush fans might now flame me for saying that !! All the best, Ian
Another of Kate's beautiful songs being reviewed. Well, you may as well pick the best female singer /songwriter we have ever seen. Great choice 👌 The Sensual World and This Womans Work, two more wonderful songs on this album.
Again, very Kate. Good song, interesting story, and the tune gently carries you along. Musically, it was the fretless bass that caught my ear. A nice listen, but possibly my only listen. not a song i see myself yearning to hear again particularly.
Around the time I first heard this song, computers did not have built-in communication links that you can use to send and receive messages, without tying up the phone line. For me, this song highlights the loneliness of those times.
Wait 20 years on social media? Look at kids that all hang out and each one is lost in their own phone Kate is talking about being at home - alone - and finding compassion in what she is viewing from the computer Way ahead of it’s times
I'm still not coming to terms with this album. Maybe it's more reflective, and doesn't have the passionate extremity I enjoyed in some of her earlier work?
I too used to feel that way years ago until I read about how it was made and the story for each song. Then came back to the album with a different perspective and it finally clicked. Sure it's not as theatrical as Never For Ever, experimental as The Dreaming or masterful as Hounds Of Love, but it's still great in its own unique way. Kate referred to this album as her most feminine. I think it's a rewarding piece of music when you accept it for what it is. But it's perfectly fine if you don't enjoy it. Not every Kate album will appeal to all her fans.
This song is quite honorable but struggles to fully capture my attention. it's far from being my favorite of the album but I like the fretless bass part by John Giblin.
Far far from the standout song of the album, they are yet to come, but innovative certainly for its time...and a subtle introduction to the Trio Bulgarka, their haunting beauty sounds as fresh today as it did 30 years ago. Standard Kate, standard JP review...which equates to both being head and shoulders above the mediocrity...and tell that lot next door to pipe down ( I recommend a delivery in gravely tones of an earthy London cockney accent...not Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins cockney, Gor Bless 'im, but the real stuff). Enjoy your festivities mate.
The Trio Bulgarka lift this album to another level.
Kate discovered them and introduced their voices to the West, while the Cold War still imprisoned Eastern Europeans.
Too true, Thomas. Hello, Justin and everyone, from Dave in London, UK. If you like the Bulgarian folk singing, I suggest the album Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, which was popular in the mid 1980s, as part of the burgeoning world music scene, and is in my CD collection. It was released on the cult 4AD label (Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, Pixies etc.).
I think they released an album that got attention, and that's how Kate became interested in them. Think either Spin it Rolling Stone reviewed this album and spoke about how Peter Gabriel at the time was doing middle eastern music and Paul Simon was doing African, but they made a point about how Kate stayed in Europe for her explorations of traditional musical culture.
Kate was way ahead of her time. Like other people have mentioned when this was written the Internet was very basic and not everyone had access to it yet. But now you have it in your pocket. Like Breathing this is very apt for the situations in the world today. And if you like the backing vocals wait until you listen to Rockets Tail. It is absolutely amazing......
I had goosebumps the 1st time I heard this track years ago. The way the Trio Bulgarka come in on the chorus is one of the most breathtaking moments in Kate's catalogue.
This is my 3rd favourite track on The Sensual World album.
This song really was prescient. Blows my mind to think this was written 30+ years ago. I was in my 2nd year of grad school in '89 working on my PhD when this came out. The internet was really just starting to take off with respect to it's use by the general public. Its come to revolutionize so many things, but especially how scientific research is done today. That aspect of the internet is very positive. But now there are some significant negatives associated with the internet, and I wonder sometimes if it was truly worth it. Of course I don't miss the irony of saying this in a comment on TH-cam which is wholly an internet creation.
In some ways we are closer than ever, and yet farther
I want to underscore that when this came out, the internet was .... basically electronic bulletin boards. You'd search the service provider and youd find ...a bulletin board, or group chat. Email was not a common thing at all till the mid to late 90s. Computers did not live on everyone's desk in the late 80s. Most computers had screens were black with green or gold block letters that operated from a mainframe. First time I saw a mouse was 1987 and first time a white white screen was 1985 and it was an Apple. I got my first home PC computer in 1991, and it had this revolutionary software called windows. My service was Prodigy. I paid $2,500.
I hooked up with other music lovers and... believe it or not, there are still little groups from those early days. My hubby belongs to a group that started in the late 80s. My group started in '92. We are still active.
Lastly, my first knowledge of "the internet" was working for the library as a student worker. The librarian would "dial into" the library of congress. The library was converting from the Dewey's decimal system to the LC system. No small task. She placed the handset of her phone into this special cradle. Blew my mind. This was 1983.
My point is to underscore how cutting edge kate was with her work with computers and with others who did in terms of her music.
This is one my favorites from the album, it's like being swaddled in music. Even the percussion and computer sounds are not jarring, they blend in like a cocoon forming. This came out before social media got so huge, she was being comforted by a computer program, an artificial person. It's very affecting.
I hope you are doing well, Justin. Isn't this just one of her most wonderful productions? What magical combination to have Kate, John Giblin and the Trio Bulgarka in one song... I think this album displays stories about all kind of complex or unusual relationships.
When the movie "Her" came out, I immediately thought of this song. The video for it is kinda the movie. Just swap the computer for a phone.
Man I totally forgot to mention that in the video, but thats what I was thinking as well!
Those vocal harmonies are next level. Bulgarian harmonies often incorporate the 2nds and 9ths, and chromatic intervals. This makes three voices sound like six, ( that outro is only three voices)
putting the genius in context
this song was written in the late 80s about people getting lost in technology,, there really wasn't an internet yet, no smartphones no siri alexis or Google,, 30 years later this idea is completely relevant
I love that Kate's music is timeless...and folks don't know when her albums were released...
@@evetsc that's absolutely true
every album any song rarely sounds dated in any way
Right its actually scary how prothetic this song is
Agree that it's not a big standout song, but something I love about it is how the voices of the Trio Bulgarka are used as this unexpected organic representation of the computer. There's the sounds of technology along with these almost ethereal ancient-sounding chants juxtaposed, which is perfect for the theme of trying to fulfill one's basic emotional needs through technology.
Little did I know when I fell in love with this song from the album that 30+ years into the future it would describe my life. Way ahead of it's time, yet time-less. ❣
When I first got this album this song was in fact a standout big time for me. Kate can somehow sing notes she's composed to feel exactly what the lyrics are saying and in this case this song sounds so much like deep isolation in desperate need to look outward and beyond itself and I can always picture someone in a dark corner of their house, face lit by a computer screen, but at the same time it has that atmospheric quality of a world outside of her lonely place that's knocking on her window wanting to be seen.
When I first heard this song on my car stereo back in 1989, enveloped in my sonic cocoon, I was reminded of David Cronenberg's immensely prescient 1983 film VIDEODROME. Those intoxicating images of sadomasochistic eroticism as James Woods caresses a television are evoked in Deeper Understanding. Somehow Kate manages to make tech-addiction sound so seductively sensual, so languidly tactile, and so deeply melancholy. As with Cronenberg's film the cathode ray takes on a haptic dimension, transforming into a new form of flesh.
For me, this song is memorable for 2 things. First, as others have mentioned - it is truly prophetic. In 1989 there was no internet...no social media... yet Kate accurately foresaw the ramifications of the coming age of personal computers. Second, th-cam.com/video/nzqF_gBpS84/w-d-xo.html she made this remarkable music video of the song (& reworked the music, which I actually prefer to the album version).
Kate's songwriting never gets enough credit.
After working on a Kate Bush song on The Red Shoes album with The Trio Bulkarka ("You're The One"), Jeff Beck wrote the song "Bulgaria". He was aware of the trio before that though, and cites listening to an album of theirs as the inspiration for the song "Where Were You", where the melody is played by bending harmonics with the whammy bar. He used the same technique on the song "Bulgaria".
Beautiful song by Kate. Beautiful album...can't wait for Rocket Tail. Cheers!!
😂😂The same here.. Cheers
Yeah! There she goes! 🌠
A very beautiful song about a very sad subject matter. I remember it seemed like science fiction to have this sort of "relationship" with a computer when I first heard
the song back in 1989. Little did I know that, years later, I'd meet my wife, thanks to that box of circuits.
I've seen a few reactions to her singing "this womans work". In most of them people are shocked when they find out that it wasn't originally a Maxwell song.
Here's to making sure Kate Bushes work is not forgotten.
She is Queen!
I agree with you..it is not one of her great songs but I found myself playing it over and over.....when I am cooking or doing housework...and then I discover that it is a great song because I am playing it continually as if it is therapy and maybe that was Kate's intent....lol
One of my favorite Kate songs. Her use of the vocoder was perfect.
You're getting to the business end of the album now Justin. Wish I could listen to it all again for the first time :)
I'm enjoying my time with it!
Can you imagine listening to this for the very first time, like he is? Unfortunately, my 1,000th listen is better than my tenth as there is so much to pay attention to which is why I enjoy JP as he really listens carefully. And yes, “the business end” is coming!
One of the most beautiful songs.
She was a prophet with that idea of getting addicted to technology
Kate is always good, her voice is really something. And another pinpoint reaction for you Justin.
I really like this song on the Directors Cut album where Kate’s son Bertie sings the computer part with the vocal computerised like an over reliance on auto tune. Mother son connection element added but with distance. An even greater effect.
Visionary? 😊 Love the rhythm section on this, it's stunning. Her voice is so dreamy on this Justin 😊 ❤️ prophetic, so current.
This album is quite superb tbh. Great stuff Justin 😊
"I don't think this is a stand out song on its own." ?? eh? ... I do! It's one of my top 3 favourites on the album too, along with The Sensual World and This Woman's Work. I enjoy your reviews by the way.
Hey man, enjoyed the review. I would say that this is a standout song. Kate has created something unique in this album. I haven't heard anything that sounds quite like this. Her singing style is so direct, and recorded in a way that sounds like she is talking to you, the listener. The harmony vocals are marvelous! That trio is so cool and rich. The arrangement gets into kind of an ambient, psychedelic funk groove, but so spare and spacious. You broke down the lyrics nicely. In 1989 she recognized the human potential to get lost in technology and losing touch with oneself and one's loved ones, to say nothing of the larger community. I think she picked up on something really deep within us, and explored it beautifully in this song and this recording.
The Original Video is Fantastic❤️🙋♂️👍
Justin, you really do have deeper understanding 🙂
Well thank you Diane🙃
I think by the time Kate recorded this she may have had her own studio, not sure. However, all if not most of her previous albums were recorded at Abbey Road. So we’re Talk Talks earlier Albums and when you add Pink Floyd, The Beatles plus god knows how many other artists, I would say that Abbey Road has got be one of the most important studios in the history of music. They recorded many classical music albums there too. Queen were on the EMI label so they may have recorded some stuff there too, not sure, as were Deep Purple.
Hi JP, just accidently found this reaction and I was like WOW he's done this album track which I have had such a sweet spot for since 1989. Love seeing reactions to Kate Bush songs that other reactors have kind of missed! Although that is not surprising in this case as it is more album track, rather than a hailed single.
I'm going to (cheekily) suggest you would like to check out and react to one song from her next album (1993's The Red Shoes) at some point in the future? The one I have in mind is a great ballad called Moments Of Pleasure. It has lyrics for you to get your teeth into as well! Quite frankly your time would not be best spent checking out the rest of that album ... although other die hard Kate Bush fans might now flame me for saying that !!
All the best, Ian
Ty so much Ian! Ive done this whole album and a few others. Gonna have some Snow coming up🌨
Yanka Rupkina ! Even it where a few seconds...unbelievable voice
Another of Kate's beautiful songs being reviewed. Well, you may as well pick the best female singer /songwriter we have ever seen. Great choice 👌 The Sensual World and This Womans Work, two more wonderful songs on this album.
Happy Thanksgiving, Justin and everyone!
Ty Greg you too!
Came out in 1989, how prophetic was she?
Extremely!
I've thought that precisely so many times about this song!
This song....so amazing. I also HIGHLY recommend her later version from her Director’s Cut album
Computers were so innocent in 1989.
Haha right?!
Again, very Kate. Good song, interesting story, and the tune gently carries you along. Musically, it was the fretless bass that caught my ear. A nice listen, but possibly my only listen. not a song i see myself yearning to hear again particularly.
An amazing light of creativity is she in a dark abyss of sameness
Around the time I first heard this song, computers did not have built-in communication links that you can use to send and receive messages, without tying up the phone line. For me, this song highlights the loneliness of those times.
Kate Bush, prophet at large...
You have to listen to the version on Director’s Cut
It doesn’t add all the sampled electronic effects
Beautiful song, touching, I also love the newer version, she puts autotune to creative use.
Very interesting concept, almost over produced for me but, I liked it fine. The bass playing was nice too.
Peace and computer Music
Wait 20 years on social media?
Look at kids that all hang out and each one is lost in their own phone
Kate is talking about being at home - alone - and finding compassion in what she is viewing from the computer
Way ahead of it’s times
Creepy to hear this song now on lockdown
But I was lonely! I was lost!
I'm still not coming to terms with this album. Maybe it's more reflective, and doesn't have the passionate extremity I enjoyed in some of her earlier work?
I too used to feel that way years ago until I read about how it was made and the story for each song. Then came back to the album with a different perspective and it finally clicked. Sure it's not as theatrical as Never For Ever, experimental as The Dreaming or masterful as Hounds Of Love, but it's still great in its own unique way. Kate referred to this album as her most feminine. I think it's a rewarding piece of music when you accept it for what it is.
But it's perfectly fine if you don't enjoy it. Not every Kate album will appeal to all her fans.
I've always wondered, What's so Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding?
This song is quite honorable but struggles to fully capture my attention. it's far from being my favorite of the album but I like the fretless bass part by John Giblin.
Can’t believe you didn’t bring up dating apps... I feel like that’s the obvious connection here
Parasocial relationships to internet celebrities, addiction to social media, video games and technology.
Far far from the standout song of the album, they are yet to come, but innovative certainly for its time...and a subtle introduction to the Trio Bulgarka, their haunting beauty sounds as fresh today as it did 30 years ago. Standard Kate, standard JP review...which equates to both being head and shoulders above the mediocrity...and tell that lot next door to pipe down ( I recommend a delivery in gravely tones of an earthy London cockney accent...not Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins cockney, Gor Bless 'im, but the real stuff). Enjoy your festivities mate.
First
I’m excited for Cygnus. After that you should try grace under pressure by rush
You are doomed.
I've always known this.....now you've confirmed.