really hoping to find time to read this later. eno is the author of my favorite quote on music:
“Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.”
I just finished reading the ~500 page On Some Faraway Beach. If you love his work, especially the early years, take your time reading this one. As the background, personalities and processes behind songs are revealed, I looked up the video or music for each one on archive.org or youtube (and never saw a single ad, amazingly, thanks cool guy at google whomever you are). So much more meaning now.
Yeah in his art school, physical media were shunned and role playing was emphasized. So he kind of painted with sound in some ways. Also, at that time, Cagian systems and processes were the popular approach.
Yup knowing the history of it all provides much more meaning.
“Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.”
Yeah in his art school, physical media were shunned and role playing was emphasized. So he kind of painted with sound in some ways. Also, at that time, Cagian systems and processes were the popular approach.
Yup knowing the history of it all provides much more meaning.