Message 12/21
Date: 20-Jul-04 @ 12:17 AM -
RE: Brian Eno fans...
eno's best work, in my opinion....was easily "another green world" his first solo excursion after roxy music...and shortly thereafter...."before and after science".
this was where pop, art, electronics....and experimentation all came together in most genuinely surprising ways.
his work with german electronic masters....cluster...was also brilliant.
but at some point he became too much like robert fripp (a soul-less intellectual)>
who i met once and couldn't stand as a human being.
too polished and full of his little verbose explanations as to what makes art work.
it is absolutely my opinion that you cannot dictate what comprises valid art.
when i met him he refused to sign an anonymous piece of paper i brought with me...for an autograph....since that's exactly what he was doing at tower records this day...signing autographs (this was 20 years ago).
he said he would only sign his work such as an album cover.
i argued what's the fun in that?
the work already has his name signed on it and he's just signed 50 of the same cover so what's special about that??
now he's going to sign his name again like a robot on a cover which already has the same signature printed on it exactly the same way....again!
to me this was preposterous.
i told him the magic of an autograph is that you can take a piece of material which at one moment is purely without significance...and then the next > merely by someone putting their signature to it...it becomes something which holds value to someone.
this.... i said to him, was what alchemy was about.
there were many people behind me who were waiting for our gentleman guitarist's autograph and half were becoming annoyed with me....and the rest with mr. fripp himself....
as my point made absolute sense.
so....anyway...i let robert have his way and sign my copy of whatever that album was "leagaue of gentlemen" i think...and then in front of him...i ripped the album away from his autograph.....so it was only his signature i now held in my hand...and i thanked him with a smile.
i still have that autograph next to bowie's...framed in apicture with a phot of fripp bowie and eno all together in a studio in germany.
the missing autograph....eno's.
but brian eno.....at one point......in my estimation.....was untouchable.
another green world>
before and after science....
these are the albums to check.
everything else after that got pretty boring i thought.
at some point...as much as you might like a guy and his art....he's gotta keep it alive.