I still love this song to death after all these years — Richard Barone and the Bongos are definitely one of the most underappreciated bands of their era. Such a great, distinctive sound. Play this song three times and it will be stuck in your head for weeks.
Richard Barone on the video above:
The Bulrushes video is my favorite of the several we made. Instantly archival-looking, even new, it had the appearance of lost footage… like The Beatles at the Cavern Club. Besides the sense that Phil was documenting moments with the urgency of someone who knows they will never happen again – matching and complimenting our energy with his camerawork – the look and feel of this video was truly influential: Grainy, saturated Super-8 footage was simply not seen much in the early 80s, when the emphasis was on florescent colors, sharp edges, and and the false clarity of videotape.
And I love this quote:
I got more than one phone call from other bands asking how we got that Super-8 effect in our new video. “We used Super-8,” I would answer, in a tone that can only be described as… well… impish.
Moby is a big fan of this song, too, bless him, and even did a remake of it with Richard B, but I have to admit that I much prefer the original.
Love this song. Thanks for the post and the info.
wow-haven’t heard this is so many years! I saw them at Maxwells in Hoboken NJ back in the day. I had a classic alternative station on my tv and this song came into my head and I had to hear it again. Thanks for posting!
Certain bands from back then, I don’t know why they weren’t bigger or more appreciated…the mightly lemon drops, kitchens of distinction, springhouse…