Kaaaaate Buuuuuush

January 20, 2013 7:04 AM

Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights slowed down to 36 minutes long.
posted by urbanwhaleshark (27 comments total)

Huh, all I'm seeing as an error message that says "this video contains content from Angelo Badalamenti, who has blocked it on copyright grounds."
posted by griphus at 7:08 AM on January 20 [12 favorites]

I'm seeing it. I'm afraid I only lasted 30 seconds. I have a very short attention span.
posted by Summer at 7:11 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]

It's wonderful. I love it!
posted by JtJ at 7:16 AM on January 20

Kept waiting for the drop. Most frustrating song ever.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 7:21 AM on January 20 [5 favorites]

Heh - found it to be surprisingly listenable. For a couple of minutes. Then I got bored and went somewhere else.
posted by YAMWAK at 7:36 AM on January 20

Reminds me a bit of Waiting for Cousteau
posted by DreamerFi at 8:21 AM on January 20

Am I suspended in gaffa?
posted by moonmilk at 8:49 AM on January 20 [4 favorites]

Hmm, this is very odd: I enjoy Kate Bush a lot, while I can't say the same about Justin Bieber. Yet I loved the shimmery ethereal sound of Bieber's "You Smile" slowed by 800x, while "Wuthering Heights," which was ethereal to start with, strikes me as strange and creepy in this slowed incarnation.

Maybe Kate Bush's expressions in the video are shaping my perceptions. With her eyes looking bugged out for such extended periods of time, she looks like she might pop. . .
posted by DrMew at 8:55 AM on January 20 [2 favorites]

I watched it on fast forward. Cool song. I think she could have a hit on her hands.
posted by tigrefacile at 9:03 AM on January 20 [3 favorites]

This highlights how much sliding (portamento?) she put into that vocal, which I hadn't really noticed before. Ah, the days before auto-tuning!
posted by jabah at 9:11 AM on January 20 [3 favorites]

That's a lot of wuthering. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen anybody wuther for this long before.
posted by koeselitz at 9:28 AM on January 20 [14 favorites]

Yeah, that's some sort of wuthering pinnacle there.
posted by moonmilk at 9:47 AM on January 20 [1 favorite]

That is the Wutherlode.
posted by quarsan at 9:58 AM on January 20 [16 favorites]

Heh - found it to be surprisingly listenable. For a couple of minutes. Then I got bored and went somewhere else.
posted by YAMWAK at 7:36 AM on January 20 [+] [!]

So, a lot like Kate Bush at normal speed.

(I kid, I'm a kidder, sorta)
posted by humboldt32 at 10:19 AM on January 20 [2 favorites]

no, it's the height of wuthering
posted by pyramid termite at 10:31 AM on January 20 [2 favorites]

Can YOU weather the Wuthering?
posted by KingEdRa at 10:41 AM on January 20

This is like The Ring. If you get through all of it, it will turn a random Kelly Clarkson fan into a Kate Bush fan.
posted by xingcat at 11:43 AM on January 20

This is surprisingly listenable if you like atmospheric, minimal beats stuff. Example.

Hope someone technical can chime in because I'm curious how it was done. Usually slowed down music sounds much different.
posted by anti social order at 12:28 PM on January 20

This reminds me of when KennyG at WFMU played the soundtrack of the last Friends episode slowed down by a factor of 3. It's here, and I'd love to listen to it again, but I've given up on RealAudio.

Buuuuttttt Joooeeeeyyy, Rrrrrooossssssss thooouggghhhhttttt shhheeee waaaannttttedddd toooo gooooo ouuuuutttttt withhhhh youuuuuuuuu.....
posted by benito.strauss at 12:43 PM on January 20

anti social order, I think whoever put it together used granular synthesis to pick out tiny little 'grains' or microsamples in sequence, slowed their playback without pitching them down, and applied a lot of reverb so that it would sound seamless and sweeping instead of blocky and glitchy. Does this make any sense? Somebody else might be able to convey this better.
posted by Evstar at 12:59 PM on January 20

Hope someone technical can chime in because I'm curious how it was done. Usually slowed down music sounds much different.

It was almost certainly made with PaulStretch. (Previously. Previouslier. Previousliest.)
posted by neckro23 at 1:15 PM on January 20 [2 favorites]

We need to play this to some whales or some dolphins or something. They'll totally understand it.
posted by Solomon at 3:14 PM on January 20

Wuthering Depths.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:41 PM on January 20 [1 favorite]

Nice. Here, make some more!

http://hypermammut.sourceforge.net/paulstretch/
posted by edheil at 7:00 PM on January 20

ohgodwhywouldyoudothis

(I had to listen to a bit of 50 Words For Snow earlier today and not even Stephen Fry could save it.)
posted by maryr at 8:05 PM on January 20

I made it through 18 minutes. It was actually kinda neat. A good thing to play around 4-5 AM at an all-night party when everyone is totally whacked out and can't tell how quickly time is passing anyway.
posted by Mars Saxman at 8:10 PM on January 20 [2 favorites]

How curious. It reminds me of whale song, somehow.

Speaking of odd takes on Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," have you seen the Paul Cornell attempt at singing it with his three month old son? It was part of a fundraiser and I find it strangely endearing and amusing.

Just for reference, Paul's a Hugo-award winning author and has written for things like Dr. Who.
posted by maryrobinette at 8:53 PM on January 21