Threw my vote at DMB in the end as it is so bad and hated but the bookends deserve it as much idk w/e
― an uptempo Pop/Hip Hop mentality (imago), Tuesday, 4 April 2017 17:01 (six years ago) link
On Some Faraway beach is A warped version of " Still The Same" by Bob Seger
concerning the warm jets, they are on the cover. there is this game card with the policeman next to the woman in an obvious position on the beach on the left of the eno photograph.
― Alex in Spree-Athen (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 4 April 2017 17:39 (six years ago) link
another small little detail concerning "on some faraway beach". it was released in 1973, "still the same" is from 1978. go figure who influenced whom...
― Alex in Spree-Athen (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 4 April 2017 17:49 (six years ago) link
There's lots of great stuff on here. While I would choose most other tracks over Driving Me Backwards I don't consider it weak either.It was a tie for me between On Some Faraway Beach and Dead Finks Don't Talk, went for the mighty Beach.
― Valentijn, Tuesday, 4 April 2017 19:14 (six years ago) link
i see the Eno/Zappa connection. both were 70s misanthropic studio wizards that enjoyed making mutant deconstructions of rock n roll/doo wop.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 4 April 2017 22:44 (six years ago) link
What? Eno has never ever been misanthropic.
― Bill Teeters (Tom D.), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 00:18 (six years ago) link
allmusic: a "self-described non-musician [...] Eno championed theory over practice, serendipity over forethought, and texture over craft"
i think eno's theory of the "study as instrument" and his reliance on people who were competent enough to actually play guitar, drums, etc. distinguish him from zappa, who was a multi-instrumentalist and very much a control freak. whereas eno's well-documented use of chance methods sort of put him an a spot that's less studio-creep, more open to improvisation or at least input from the musicians he worked with (zappa almost always got full songwriting credit right from the start -- HCTWJ, at least, is different in that respect). it's also hard to imagine eno telling his band how to behave, what drugs not to take, etc.
as for the music, i guess you can call it misanthropic? you could point me to where that is, but i've never heard it. eno himself never comes off as such in interviews. he seemed / seems to be genuinely interested in humans and all the world has to offer. isn't that so? can you even imagine zappa being involved in something like the long now foundation? eno's politics are pretty right on.
i'll give you "mutant deconstructions" i guess, but i'd argue that's being generous to zappa. more like tasteless parodies. dude had zero sense of humor and, as has been discussed at length on other threads, his lyrics are full of just super gross sexism, homophobia, and machismo that is super direct and unpleasant.
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 00:38 (six years ago) link
eno's music is the opposite of misanthropic
― Treeship, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 00:59 (six years ago) link
yeah budo jeru OTM - Zappa and eno are not in the same wheelhouse.
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 01:01 (six years ago) link
I give you all that on Eno but I feel there is a definite bitter (manipulative, vulgar, yeah misanthropic) streak to Eno maybe up until AGW. Like early Roxy and solo albums are tastier than Zappa sure, but it's not that different of a wheelhouse. Ferry had enough genuine leading man gusto to tamper it a bit and the difference after Eno left is telling. Many moments on this album make me think of Hot Rats by sounds alone but also a certain feeling of being pulled on by a bullshiter. Like, the melodies on On Some Faraway Beach and the title track are genuinely pretty but he sort of plays against them in a cheap kitschy way as opposed to enhancing them as he started doing in all his later stuff. Like it's a difference, that we were talking about during the Talking Heads poll, between early and late Byrne. The nervous hateful wreck vs a guru. Eno wore the guru better but Byrne was a much more likable wreck.
Also I agree, Zappa is a dumbass both as a person and as an artist. Still, Freak Out and We're Only in It for the Money have moments where all his miserable bullshit sort of becomes poignant (Mom & Dad comes to mind). I actually prefer those to Here Come The Warm Jets.
― gospodin simmel, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 01:38 (six years ago) link
Think of the pretty pars of Peaches En Regalia and tell me you don't hear the similarity! But ok, can probably phrase it all better once I clear my head a bit. But again, I would probably go on a "Still the Same is a million times better than On Some Faraway Beach" rant so I should shut up forever.
― gospodin simmel, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 01:46 (six years ago) link
parts*
i feel like these early, overstuffed albums are brimming with affirmative exuberance rather than any kind of mockery or scorn. sometimes absurdism can feel hostile, but the dada lyrics here just seem like a way to untether the songs from any single meaning, allowing the album to retain some of the improvisational energy of the recording process
― Treeship, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 01:56 (six years ago) link
Eno is a masterful self-publicist, so we should take "non-musician" for the delicious nonsense it is. He plays excellent keyboards, although perhaps not in 1973.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 02:03 (six years ago) link
i spent a year of my life living completely inside this album. just about literally. fave song at beginning: "needle in the camel's eye." fave song in middle: "on some faraway beach." fave song at end: "here come the warm jets."
since there's been hardly any mention of "blank frank," i'll add that i love how the hand percussion turns around on every verse, having played through the metric changes on the instrumental interludes as if they weren't there.
― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 02:19 (six years ago) link
Dead Finks Don't Talk is a piss-take of Ferry, right?
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 02:20 (six years ago) link
In hindsight, I wonder if Eno knew of 'Maggot Brain' in how on the track 'Here Come the Warm Jets' he kinda keeps the drums completely out of the mix until the last part of the tune. I'd imagine there is a drum take on the whole tune, but either it was off or it just sounded better having the guitars, bass and synth on that front half and slow mixing in the drums. How it is mixed reminds me a bit of how Clinton created the studio Maggot Brain in that way.
― earlnash, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 02:28 (six years ago) link
between this and the Talking Heads poll this has been an Olympics record-breaking month for the amount of complete bullshit wittered on ILM
― Django Chutney (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 04:54 (six years ago) link
“Dead Finks is not about Bryan Ferry. After all the music was recorded and the words written, Chris Thomas (my producer and Roxy’s as well) said, ‘you’ll get me shot for that track. It’s obviously about Bryan.’ So I listened back to it and it obviously was. It was certainly something I hadn’t realised. Essentially all these songs have no meaning that I invested in them. Meanings can be generated within their own frame-work. It may be a very esoteric thing to talk about but I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question.” -- Brian Eno, 1973
― JoeStork, Wednesday, 5 April 2017 05:45 (six years ago) link
Surely the faux Ferry inhabitance at 1.14 in "Dead Finks Don't Talk" is the best recorded on tape
― Carlotta's Portrait (Ross), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 05:47 (six years ago) link
It's dead on
I have on occasion taken off my earbuds during the title track to check if there actually is a bell going off somewhere. I love it. Also love two drum kits playing practically the same thing at the same time.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 06:30 (six years ago) link
Like early Roxy and solo albums are tastier than Zappa sure, but it's not that different of a wheelhouse. Ferry had enough genuine leading man gusto to tamper it a bit and the difference after Eno left is telling.
It is that different of a wheelhouse(?) As for Roxy, Eno twiddled knobs + wore feather boas, it was Ferry's band.
Think of the pretty parts of Peaches En Regalia and tell me you don't hear the similarity!
I can't hear the similarity.
― Bill Teeters (Tom D.), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 09:03 (six years ago) link
I mean, I don't think it's crazy to see black humour and misanthropy in a rock song called "Baby's on Fire" that is literally about a woman on fire and written with this tone:
Baby's on fireBetter throw her in the waterLook at her laughingLike a heifer to the slaughterBaby's on fireAnd all the laughing boys are bitchingWaiting for photosOh the plot is so bewitchingRescuers row, rowDo your best to change the subjectBlow the wind blow, blowLend some assistance to the objectPhotographers snip snapTake your time, she's only burningThis kind of experienceIs necessary for her learning
Baby's on fireAnd all the laughing boys are bitchingWaiting for photosOh the plot is so bewitching
Rescuers row, rowDo your best to change the subjectBlow the wind blow, blowLend some assistance to the object
Photographers snip snapTake your time, she's only burningThis kind of experienceIs necessary for her learning
Idk what the digression about Juanita and Juan is really about, though.
― My Body's Made of Crushed Little Evening Stars (Sund4r), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:56 (six years ago) link
^ but Eno has never ever been misanthropic
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 14:22 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 16 April 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
I listened to this album in the car for three days straight last week.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, April 3, 2017 11:01 PM (one week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
This was precisely what prompted me to poll it, randomly grabbed the cd out of a box and played it on the road for a couple of days. A week later my appreciation for it was completely revived and upgraded.Shame someone brought Zappa into this, he's the last person on my mind when thinking about Eno. Always though of 'Baby's On Fire's lyrics as a critique on gossip/press/voyeurism/celebrity cult.
Perfect album, impossible to vote in my own poll, but will give it to the title track.
― On Some Faraday Beach (Le Bateau Ivre), Sunday, 16 April 2017 23:28 (six years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 17 April 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
wow, interesting spread, everything got at least one vote
― sleeve, Monday, 17 April 2017 00:02 (six years ago) link
I didn't realize the title track was as widely loved as it is. I always thought of it as a gem tucked away behind needle and baby's on fire.
― Karl Malone, Monday, 17 April 2017 00:19 (six years ago) link
Me neither! Expected Needles to walk this tbh. But the title track is such an immense anthem. One of the best album closing tracks I know.
(great turnout btw ty ilm)
― On Some Faraday Beach (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 17 April 2017 00:36 (six years ago) link
The chaotic drums falling into place suddenly is a glorious moment.
― On Some Faraday Beach (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 17 April 2017 00:49 (six years ago) link
^ Top 5 moments in art rock or pre-punk or whatever this is imo
― albvivertine, Monday, 17 April 2017 01:00 (six years ago) link
Always though of 'Baby's On Fire's lyrics as a critique on gossip/press/voyeurism/celebrity cult.
I don't think this contradicts the idea that there is a misanthropic element in there. (Zappa critiqued those things too, tbf, not that it was the first comparison that came to mind for me either.)
Anyway, I didn't expect the title track to win either but it is also really satisfying.
― My Body's Made of Crushed Little Evening Stars (Sund4r), Monday, 17 April 2017 01:43 (six years ago) link
Like, I think he's pretty scornful/misanthropic towards the laughing boys and the photographers but I also don't get a lot of compassion towards the woman from the narrator.
― My Body's Made of Crushed Little Evening Stars (Sund4r), Monday, 17 April 2017 01:45 (six years ago) link
very satisfying results! my top 4 is the same as the results, it just depends on the day and listening context.
― Karl Malone, Monday, 17 April 2017 01:46 (six years ago) link
Providence-based brass band What Cheer? Brigade covers the title track.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuL6yEHv7xA
― Jazzbo, Monday, 17 April 2017 11:12 (six years ago) link
I rarely vote, but voted title track.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 17 April 2017 11:32 (six years ago) link
On Some Faraway Beach sounds quieter than the rest of the album, which irritates me. Does anyone else get this?
― Duke, Monday, 17 April 2017 19:46 (six years ago) link
Nope. Not on my cd at least.
― On Some Faraday Beach (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 17 April 2017 20:10 (six years ago) link
how did i miss this? i love the whole album for many of the reasons mentioned above, overstuffed exuberance included (driving me backwards is the only song i find genuinely irritating) one of my bands covered warm jets tooif i had voted it would have been for "some of them are old" because of how it leads into title track, they are like one song to me <3 "baby's on fire" is probably my emotional favorite but i don't feel it needed my vote.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Monday, 17 April 2017 20:29 (six years ago) link
i didn't vote either but would've voted for dead finks to make sure it got at least one vote. surprised paw paw negro blowtorch got so few votes tbh. i def prefer all the weird rockers to the more melodic ballady stuff, though it's all great.
― na (NA), Monday, 17 April 2017 20:39 (six years ago) link
Maybe it's the way the drums are kept in the background that makes it sound quiet to me. It jars oddly.
― Duke, Monday, 17 April 2017 20:40 (six years ago) link
Interesting to compare to the 2008 results from POLL: Favorite Track on Eno's "Here Comes the Warm Jets"
Needles In The Camel's Eye 21Baby's On Fire 17On Some Faraway Beach 11Here Come The Warm Jets 11Cindy Tells Me 9The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch 9Dead Finks Don't Talk 5Blank Frank 4Driving Me Backwards 2Some Of Them Are Old 2
Same top 4 sequence, except that the title track shot forward from fourth to become the dominating favorite. Rest also looks the same, except TPPNB collapses from a nine-vote constituency to a lone voter. No idea what to make of either development but against an otherwise unchanging background it'd be interesting to think about reasons why.
― long dark poptart of the rodeo (Doctor Casino), Monday, 17 April 2017 21:19 (six years ago) link
One vote for Paw Paw is ludicrous. I didn't vote for it either, mind you. Almost did.
― Punnet of the Grapes (Tom D.), Monday, 17 April 2017 21:29 (six years ago) link
I also forgot to vote, love it all - when there was that ilm 70s rock poll a few years ago I had this album #1, it is easily my favourite "rock" album
― briscall stool chart (wins), Monday, 17 April 2017 21:50 (six years ago) link
if i had voted it would have been for "some of them are old" because of how it leads into title track, they are like one song to me <3
this was the reasoning behind my vote! :)
― Karl Malone, Monday, 17 April 2017 22:50 (six years ago) link
Blank frank is the siren, he's the air-raid, he's the craterHe's on the menu, on the table, he's the knife and he's the waiter
― Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 12 May 2018 15:50 (five years ago) link
Eno: underrated singer and lyricist.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 12 May 2018 16:32 (five years ago) link
not underrated by mei love his lyrics, they span the spectrum from ridiculous to poignant and are super fun to singand tbh i have never disliked his singing, though it probably isn't for everyone
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Saturday, 12 May 2018 16:51 (five years ago) link