My goodness, I thought I was a horror fan, but I haven’t heard of this movie and I don’t know this song either. An excellent post, Rebekah,and an excellent series. 💕I always come away from your writing feeling smarter.
This is one of those songs that instantly brings on "I've got something in my eye" excuses for me. I'm really glad that you've articulated the fact that the sampled line has little to do with the song except for abstracting the fear of falling in love and the inherent vulnerability we place ourselves in when seeking it. I suppose you could argue the whole thantos / eros drive coming through too, but sometimes I feel that disassembling certain songs/poems can rob them of their magic? I really like the fact it's a bit thematically jarring, like finding out the pebble in your shoe is actually a diamond. Now excuse me whilst I sort out this grit in my eye,...
Nicely put, Mark, it's an interesting point about explaining songs too much. There's definitely something about the inclusion of the Night of the Demon stuff that makes more intuitive emotional sense than strict narrative logic. Her songs are such beautiful oddities!
I raise my hat to you Rebekah - nicely played! You've certainly done your research. I didn't know about that earlier version. Although it's not as tight as a song I think I like it better. Those hounds always irritated me but probably no one else would agree.
When I saw 'sceance' in the title I wondered if the song would be Houdini... and I also wondered if Heads We Dance would be one in this series so it's nice to see that mentioned too.
Thank you so much, Roz, it’s been so lovely having you along for the ride and I’ve really enjoyed hearing how much these songs mean to you too. I so nearly added ‘Houdini’ to the list but decided it was a moot ‘horror moment’ because it’s about someone wishing they could speak to the dead rather than a definite ghost story. I’d definitely include it on a longlist if I ever do another Kate Bush series!
I think I like the ‘official’ version of HoL best, just because it’s the one I know and I love the use of Night of the Demon, but I totally take your point about the yapping hounds!
Really enjoyed this- I know some of the songs & a few of the films but your post makes me curious to familiarise myself with more. What a brilliant woman KB is.
Thank you so much, Posy, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! She’s surely one of the best living songwriters, and for my money one of the best storytellers too. Do let me know if you discover any new favourites! x
I could watch Night of the Demon any number of times, despite Hal E Chester's rubber demon puppet, and I always get an extra thrill from that as "Hounds of Love" gets started. (Btw, very wise not to mention Gone to Earth -- I'm a staunch Powell and Pressburger fan, but that's one best forgotten.)
Another great, informative piece. And one of my fave KB songs. Do you know the Futureheads version? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awjE92YZeEQ
My goodness, I thought I was a horror fan, but I haven’t heard of this movie and I don’t know this song either. An excellent post, Rebekah,and an excellent series. 💕I always come away from your writing feeling smarter.
Thanks so much, Shelia, I’m so glad you enjoyed the series —it’s been wonderful having you along for the adventure!
I’ve really enjoyed this series of articles! Thanks!
Thank you so much!!
This is one of those songs that instantly brings on "I've got something in my eye" excuses for me. I'm really glad that you've articulated the fact that the sampled line has little to do with the song except for abstracting the fear of falling in love and the inherent vulnerability we place ourselves in when seeking it. I suppose you could argue the whole thantos / eros drive coming through too, but sometimes I feel that disassembling certain songs/poems can rob them of their magic? I really like the fact it's a bit thematically jarring, like finding out the pebble in your shoe is actually a diamond. Now excuse me whilst I sort out this grit in my eye,...
Nicely put, Mark, it's an interesting point about explaining songs too much. There's definitely something about the inclusion of the Night of the Demon stuff that makes more intuitive emotional sense than strict narrative logic. Her songs are such beautiful oddities!
Nail on head describing it "makes more intuitive emotional sense". Here's to her beautiful oddities!
I raise my hat to you Rebekah - nicely played! You've certainly done your research. I didn't know about that earlier version. Although it's not as tight as a song I think I like it better. Those hounds always irritated me but probably no one else would agree.
When I saw 'sceance' in the title I wondered if the song would be Houdini... and I also wondered if Heads We Dance would be one in this series so it's nice to see that mentioned too.
Thank you for letting the weirdness in.
Thank you so much, Roz, it’s been so lovely having you along for the ride and I’ve really enjoyed hearing how much these songs mean to you too. I so nearly added ‘Houdini’ to the list but decided it was a moot ‘horror moment’ because it’s about someone wishing they could speak to the dead rather than a definite ghost story. I’d definitely include it on a longlist if I ever do another Kate Bush series!
I think I like the ‘official’ version of HoL best, just because it’s the one I know and I love the use of Night of the Demon, but I totally take your point about the yapping hounds!
Thanks again for all the support x
Really enjoyed this- I know some of the songs & a few of the films but your post makes me curious to familiarise myself with more. What a brilliant woman KB is.
Thank you so much, Posy, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! She’s surely one of the best living songwriters, and for my money one of the best storytellers too. Do let me know if you discover any new favourites! x
I could watch Night of the Demon any number of times, despite Hal E Chester's rubber demon puppet, and I always get an extra thrill from that as "Hounds of Love" gets started. (Btw, very wise not to mention Gone to Earth -- I'm a staunch Powell and Pressburger fan, but that's one best forgotten.)
I’ve never tried watching it but thank you for the warning! I’m oddly fond of the demon puppet - but it should never have been included.