"The Chemicals Between Us" is a song by

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

band

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

. It was released on 14 September 1999 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the band's third album ''

The Science of Things ''The Science of Things'' is the third studio album by British band Bush, released on 26 October 1999, through Trauma Records. It is the last Bush album released through Trauma and features many electronic music influences. The album peaked at n ...

'' (1999). The song was featured in the TV series ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

''.

Lyrics and style

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale (born 30 October 1965) is an English guitarist and actor, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992; on the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer ...

described the song as being "all about the differences and distances between people." He also said the song was about misunderstanding and not being able to communicate. He said, "I was thinking the chemicals between us would be when things aren't going so good and you're in that lonely bed with that person and you're not communicating." The song is unique among most other singles by the band due to its numerous

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elements as well as an almost dancey

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. However, it also bears a prominent

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

guitar riff throughout.

Music video

The song's music video (directed by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited r ...

), which was filmed in late August 1999 in Los Angeles, was played predominantly on the music channels,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

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, and VH1. Gavin Rossdale on the video:

''"Thinking about it, the most extravagant thing was my last video ('The Chemicals Between Us')- that was fucking extravagant. I think the next video I do I'm just going to get a pile of money and burn it, KLF style. I might as well just cut to the chase."''

The music video begins with Bush performing in an alley with a white

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive rock (geology), stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological for ...

beside them, then Rossdale comes inside the monolith in a white background surrounded by a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese-inspired island. Later, the scene becomes interspersed with Rossdale doing karate blindfolded and Parsons doing martial arts as well. The video ends with the band entering the monolith.

Commercial performance

It spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S.

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 67 on 4 December 1999. The song would eventually become Bush's last major worldwide hit before their 2002 breakup.

Track listing

UK Enhanced CD Single 4972222 # "The Chemicals Between Us" (Radio Edit) – 3:10 # "The Chemicals Between Us" ( Super Collider Vapour Version) – 10:02 # "The Chemicals Between Us" (CD-ROM Video) – 3:38 UK CD Single 4972232 # "The Chemicals Between Us" – 3:37 # "Homebody" – 4:22 # "

Letting the Cables Sleep "Letting the Cables Sleep" is the second single from British band Bush's third studio album '' The Science of Things'', which was released in 1999. In an interview, Gavin Rossdale revealed that the song was written for a friend who had contrac ...

(Original Demo)" – 4:36 AUS CD Single 4972132 # "The Chemicals Between Us" – 3:37 # "Homebody" – 4:22 # "The Chemicals Between Us" uper Collider Vapour Version– 10:02 # "The Chemicals Between Us" D-Rom Video– 3:37 AUS Promo CD Single 4971442 (Custom Made Printed Plastic Sleeve) # "The Chemicals Between Us

adio Edit Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...

– 3:06

Charts

References

External links

Bush Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chemicals Between Us, The 1999 songs 1999 singles Bush (British band) songs Music videos directed by Stéphane Sednaoui Songs written by Gavin Rossdale Electronic rock songs Interscope Records singles Trauma Records singles