Editorials > Brian Eno
Brian Eno On The End Of Records
By Johnny Firecloud
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Certain people can be relied upon to speak pure, unadulterated truth about the path to righteousness. They’re an inspiration to keep digging, a beacon of light in the opaque, choking fog of misinformation and empty semantics. People like Henry Rollins. Steve Albini. Bob Lefsetz. If it wouldn’t cost us our firstborn children and a limb each, we’d post the Lefsetz letter right here on Antiquiet. But we like our limbs and our kids, so we’ll just link to him from time to time and carry the torch in whatever way we can.
Credited with inventing ambient music, Brian Eno was the wizard behind some incredibly successful music from the ’70s onward through the present. He helped establish Bowie and Devo, produced and performed on three Talking Heads albums and has long been considered a fifth member of U2 for his contributions to their past seven albums. In short, he’s a genius hitmaker. After producing Coldplay’s latest multi-platinum album, he’s currently putting the finishing touches on their follow-up, and you can bet your Satriani-stealing ass it will be impossible to escape in the coming months.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Eno had quite a bit to say on a variety of interesting topics: Bono’s ego and working with U2, recording philosophies, human frailty and various musings on music history and technique. It’s a wildly inspiring interview, but one particular section stood out the most – one that aims to put a lid on the file-sharing debate and take a broader look at the doomed commodity of recorded music:
“I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn’t last, and now it’s running out. I don’t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going. The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you’d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history’s moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.”
We live in an incredible time in music history, where the rulebook has been outgrown and discarded by those who will pave our path to the future. Those clinging to old methods, those standing at the shoreline with clenched fists raised, fighting the inevitable oncoming tide, will serve as the final holdouts of the Old Guard. Representatives of a business model that swindled both creator and consumer for more than eight decades, and no longer have a place in today’s all-access world.
Thanks to the internet there are more bands on the rise, more ideas circulating, more exciting new avenues being taken than ever before, and as listeners and clickers we all play a central part in the development of this new musical jungle. There are no more wizards behind curtains except those which we allow to be made. Niche is the new mainstream. We are no longer beholden to old media, which is killing itself in refusing to adapt to changing trends. Nothing is ubiquitous in the modern music world, because our refined collective ability to smell bullshit doesn’t allow for mass swindling any longer.
It’s these things we need to remember when so-and-so label is trying to cram the next Hinder, Creed or Katy Perry down our throats. It’s these conversations we need to keep having, to avoid the cycle of history repeating itself.
Read Paul Morley’s full interview with Brian Eno over at the Guardian.
amen brian eno, but i actually like some kate perry down my throat if you know what i mean and i mean her tits are great
Of course Eno doesn’t care. He’s minted.
But he’s right of course.
Eno is indeed a genius…and yes, technology has increased the accessibilty, output and information available. We who utilize the internet have indeed benefited from it. However, the demise of the industry(and records) as we know it is not what I have a problem with. The internet, file sharing, torrents, itunes and even blogging has reduced our attention spans to nil. We want it fast and easy..we bail out if it takes too long or “reads” too long….it’s a bit sad. I’m going to miss reading liner notes, or designing covers of mix tapes or holding on to “physical” novels.
There is a part of me, even as the intense music lover that I am, that fears the time when the machines truly take over.
I’m not sure we can avoid history repeating itself. We can be more on guard, we can help a better outcome. Better that is noble I’d say. I am really enjoying this change over. I doubt many minstrels were ever told that their music couldn’t be heard because of any money they received. We find new and strange ways to be new and strange. We are all still human after all, if that ever changes someday, well there will be bigger things to think about than records.
Johnny, thought you might be interested in this project. Anything you might do to help spread the word will go a long way. THANK YOU for considering if you might be able to help get the word out! Best, Angela Bennett
PRESS RELEASE – JAN 19/10
Project of Love From the Fans of Henry Rollins
Thanks to Hank
WANTED: Personal stories from the fans, a.k.a, ‘skhRhneoalolplrwieend isyn .oy gIuof h urHe sei intnso rsroyoyu m Rtin ote hl awle ifnrauesyt, ,hu loiarvrsei n jmpuguso atbv rmleti dcaaa knytedoiso ui nny, io snopufsir prF laiairtfneieoda bfn taye,in octata unSet dtritco o bysr ’ryoi, ee uowas fac aoHrhyfee hT onwifhrg iyahll neinrkg,s to
to Hank, please send your story! The target goal is to complete the project by February of 2011, Henry’s 50th birthday. All potential proceeds will go to the charity of Henry’s choice. Fanatic and novice writer, Angela Bennett, commented on the project, “Henry has made such a profound contribution to the lives of many thousands, perhaps even millions of people around the world. He is an inspiration to so many people regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic class. This is an opportunity for fanatics to share their stories with, and thank Henry. During the first week of this project, some really moving stories have come in from across North America, from 16 year olds to 50 year olds, in response to an early post on the internet. It’s one thing to be a fan of a band, or an actor, but often it’s about more than that when it comes to Henry. Henry moves people, he is a catalyst in people’s lives. There’s a quote from The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, by Lewis Hyde, that captures Henry well, “…the gift we long for, the gift that, when it comes, speaks commandingly to the soul and irresistibly moves us.” People can contact Angela Bennett with questions, stories, or artwork, at bennettangela@rogers.com, or on Facebook (the Angela Bennett with the pic of Henry), or at http://open.salon.com/blog/angelalala. Angela does not work for, or represent Henry Rollins, other than being one of many grateful fanatics in the global neighbourhood.
Brian Eno is the man for sure. Same with Lefsetz, although he seems to have a permanent hard-on for Taylor Swift. Like I understand she sells a lot of records, but her music is nothing special.
whoa crazy cat lady, we have a contact link.
Fuck that guy, he raped Jax’s mom! Eno and Rollins together in one post…thank god for the internet?
Well I certainly agree with the argument that hard media is an obsolete format. And I’ll be the first to say that record companies deserve to be exploited in the way that they are now, in much the same manner that they have driven the business of fucking artists and consumers. But I still believe that there is something to be said for the arts of production and A&R…So with that said, what is the alternative, and how do we reconcile the collapse of the record industry with the distribution of well produced/recorded music and proper artist marketing and promotion?
The music is dead. Long live the music!