"Bull in the Heather" is a song by American
alternative rock band
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
from their eighth studio album, ''
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star'' (1994). It was released to radio as the lead single from the album on April 19, 1994, by
Geffen Records. The song was written collectively by Sonic Youth, and production was done by
Butch Vig. According to band member
Kim Gordon, the song is about "using passiveness as a form of rebellion."
Background
The single featured an outtake, "Razor Blade", and an alternate version of "Doctor's Orders" as
B-sides.
Singer and bassist
Kim Gordon explained that the song is about "using passiveness as a form of rebellion—like, I'm not going to participate in your male-dominated culture, so I'm just going to be passive".
The song's title is a reference to the race horse Bull inthe Heather, who won the
Florida Derby in 1993.
Critical reception
Barbara O'Dair of ''
Rolling Stone'' referred to the song as "enigmatic," highlighting Gordon's "breathy, talk-singing."
Also from ''Rolling Stone'', Matthew Perpetua praised the song's "graceful combinations of pop songwriting and off-kilter experimental noise," making note of the unorthodox guitar techniques employed throughout it.
Chart performance
In the United States, "Bull in the Heather" debuted at number 29 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Alternative Airplay chart for the issue dated May 28, 1994. The song reached a peak of number 13 for the issue dated June 18, 1994, spending a total of eight weeks on the chart.
The song became Sonic Youth's highest charting song in the United Kingdom, reaching a peak of number 24 on the
UK Singles Chart for the issue dated May 7, 1994. The song spent a total of five weeks on the chart.
In Australia, the song reached a peak position of number 90 on the
ARIA Charts.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Tamra Davis and produced by Kris Krengle.
Filmed in Los Angeles,
the video features
Bikini Kill singer
Kathleen Hanna dancing and occasionally interacting with the band members, particularly guitarist
Thurston Moore; she accidentally gave Moore a bloody lip during filming. Also featured are a young couple hanging out in a semi-wooded field and stock footage of horses racing.
The scenes of Moore and
Lee Ranaldo jumping around on a bed were inspired by a photo of Moore when he was younger. At the time of the video, bassist
Kim Gordon was five months pregnant.
The music video was featured in an episode of ''
Beavis and Butt-Head
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...
''.
Live performances
Sonic Youth performed the song during their set at Battery Park’s River to River Festival on July 4, 2008. A recording of this performance was released as a promotional single on June 7, 2019 and was subsequently included on the live album ''
Battery Park, NYC July 4th 2008''.
Legacy
In 2007, ''
NME'' placed "Bull in the Heather" at No. 48 in its list of the 50 "Greatest Indie Anthems Ever".
''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' placed the song at No. 37 in its list of "The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994".
"Bull in the Heather" directly influenced
The Strokes' 2003 single "
12:51", and lead singer
Julian Casablancas
Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of Rock music, rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since the ...
would admit that the phrasing was "totally ripping it off".
Track listings and formats
* 10" vinyl and CD single
# "Bull in the Heather" (LP version) – 3:04
# "Razor Blade" – 1:06
# "Doctor's Orders" (T.-Vox version) – 4:20
* 7" vinyl and cassette single
# "Bull in the Heather" (LP version) – 3:04
# "Razor Blade" – 1:06
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star'' album liner notes.
Sonic Youth
*
Thurston Moore – guitar
*
Kim Gordon – vocals, bass
*
Lee Ranaldo – guitar
*
Steve Shelley
Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment.
Biography
Shelley was born in Midland, ...
– drums, percussion
Technical
*
Butch Vig – recording,
mixing,
production
*
John Siket –
engineering
*
Howie Weinberg –
mastering
* Bil Emmons – technician
* Devin Emke – technician
* Ed Raso – technician
* Fred Kevorkian – technician
* Ollie Cotton – technician
* Walter Sear – technician
Charts
Release history
References
{{authority control
1994 singles
Sonic Youth songs
Song recordings produced by Butch Vig
Music videos directed by Tamra Davis
1994 songs