It's been a couple of grey, lackluster days round here - with all the recoveries from birthday drinks, preparations for photo exhibitions and whatnot - , so just a quick one. After turning 27 last Wednesday (a tricky age in rock 'n' roll - knock on wood), I got to thumb some more through Lorin's second-hand LPs at the Mania to pick one out, and came up with a classic gem: Brian Eno and David Byrne's 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'. Once again the title is a literary reference, to a 1954 novel by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola about a little boy trapped in the ghost world - and this record, I bet, made an equally alienating impression upon its initial release. Funny thing is, this album's exactly as old as me - recorded while on tour with Talking Heads in '79-'80, yet published in 1981 - , and come November the twosome will finally release their follow-up, 'Everything that Happens will Happen Today'. Judging from 'Strange Overtones', the mp3 you get mailed if you subscribe to their newsletter, it'll be a more conventional trip this time around - with Byrne on vocals in a clear verse-chorus-verse structure - but with these guys, you can never be too sure.
Today, 'Bush' still stands as one of the most innovative albums in pop history. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the feel and sound of it hasn't dated one bit over all these years: the seemingly illogical combination of 'objet trouvé'-ish percussion (cardboard boxes, frying pans) and recordings of exorcists, Arabic singers and radio dj's, topped off with a generous portion of funk, opened the doors to genres like ambient, trance and crossover electronics. No wonder, since the recording process took place in no less than five different studios, pretty much unheard of in those days.
Posted here are 'Strange Overtones' off the new album, as well as 'America is Waiting', 'Bush''s opening track, on which they also had some help of legendary dub bassist Bill Laswell. 'Everything that Happens will Happen Today' can already be pre-ordered here - in the form of mp3, cd or deluxe pack.
Today, 'Bush' still stands as one of the most innovative albums in pop history. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the feel and sound of it hasn't dated one bit over all these years: the seemingly illogical combination of 'objet trouvé'-ish percussion (cardboard boxes, frying pans) and recordings of exorcists, Arabic singers and radio dj's, topped off with a generous portion of funk, opened the doors to genres like ambient, trance and crossover electronics. No wonder, since the recording process took place in no less than five different studios, pretty much unheard of in those days.
Posted here are 'Strange Overtones' off the new album, as well as 'America is Waiting', 'Bush''s opening track, on which they also had some help of legendary dub bassist Bill Laswell. 'Everything that Happens will Happen Today' can already be pre-ordered here - in the form of mp3, cd or deluxe pack.
MP3: David Byrne and Brian Eno - Strange Overtones
MP3: Brian Eno and David Byrne - America is Waiting
0 comments:
Post a Comment