Brian Eno (full name: Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno) turns 58 today. This should probably be a national holiday. No, wait, a world holiday.
Those of us of a certain bent feel about Eno much as Catholics feel about the Pope. Why do we love Eno so much?
- He has a cool name. Try saying it. “Eno.” Doesn’t it sound cool?
- He was a founding member of Roxy Music; during this period, David Bowie says, he was “an alarmingly glamorous young man.”
- He produced the following albums, among others: Talking Heads’ More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light; Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo; Bowie’s Low, “Heroes,” and Lodger1; Ultravox’s Ultravox; and a bunch of albums by U2 (but we forgive him for that).
- Between 1974 and 1977 he recorded four experimental pop albums — Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World, and Before and After Science — that remain crucial discoveries for every hipster egghead college kid.
- He invented ambient music.
- With David Byrne, he recorded My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, using African rhythms and found sound to create one of the all-time stoner masterpieces.
- He uses a set of cards called “Oblique Strategies” to help generate ideas.
- Did I mention that he has a cool name?
So if you own any Eno, I recommend pulling it out and listening to it today. If you don’t, I recommend you get some immediately.
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