Something Understood
March 11th, 2008 by Steve BowbrickObviously, I think of myself as a grizzled atheist—a creature of pure reason—but Crufts makes me cry and Mark Tully's Something Understood quite often does too. I think it's partly Tully's honeyed tones and partly the memories and out-of-focus melancholy that come with it.
Tully was the corporation's man in India for decades, one of British broadcasting's elder statesmen. His voice, along with a handful of others—Charles Wheeler in Washington comes to mind—is part of the soundtrack to my childhood, coming in over a crackly line from Delhi or Karachi or Colombo. It's like a kind of synaesthesia: Tully's voice produces in my head unrelated images—memories of my childhood, feelings I'd forgotten. Voices like his are keys to memory. This, incidentally, is why Radio 4 is essentially untouchable: so many people have lived important parts of their lives in the intimate company of these voices. The station is woven into memory and experience in a way that no other outlet could match.
Anyway, Something Understood is a slice of nonspecific spirituality, not a religious programme as such—no faith dominates. Each week has its own theme: this week it's 'longing'. Music and words are provided to support the theme and Tully's lovely, slightly soporific voice holds it all together. It's quite dreamy and musical selections can be a bit cheesy but the whole is a contemplative treat. You'll either love it or hate it (MP3).