And Now For Something Completely Different

In so many ways.

Brian Eno is one of my biggest influences. "Music For Airports" one of his landmark albums, and a personal favorite still blows my mind. I admit I was a little disappointed at first. After four albums full of quirky art rock songs, it threw me for a loop, which it is full of. Introducing me to the idea of loops of different lengths recombining in surprising ways, defying repetition.

These days the version I listen to most often is Bang on A Can's 1998 chamber music arrangement. 

Here is my favorite piece, "1/1" performed live, where else, but in an airport.

Lou Reed recorded a lot of head scratchingly irritating music, and nobody's favorite, "Metal Machine Music" is probably the most deliberately so. Here is the German ensemble Zeitkratzer (Time Scratch) performing their rendition in 2016. 

I like the original album, and find the musicality of the noise fascinating, and apparently I'm not the only one. 

Eric Satie (1866-1925) was probably the true originator of ambient music, referring to his invention as "furniture music". Intended to be in the background, but there, like a chair, if you needed it. Here is his most famous piece, Gymnopedie no1 (1888).

Thanks for stopping by.

-BBJ