12B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Majgazin - Thursday, September 26, 2002

4

The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine -1


Eno's 'Discreet Music' a
landmark in ambient music

Random student likes big boobs, iced tea

By Neal Pals
Daily Arts Writer
Long before electronica or New
Wave officially existed, there was
Eno. Considered the godfather of
ambient music, Brian Eno has
enjoyed a prolific career as both a
composer and collaborator with the
likes of David Bowie, the Talking

Heads and the Velvet Underground.
Yet it was probably Eno's 1975
classic Discreet Music that gained
him his notoriety, but more impor-
tantly, created an entirely new type
of music that "needed to be heard,
not listened to."
Ambient music exists even now
as somewhat of an ambiguous class
of composition. Fleeting, formless

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and free-flowing, ambient music is
termed aptly; it generally lacks any
form of discernable meter, relying
on the listener's (or "hearer's")
willingness to allow it to happily
exist only in the background of his
setting.
Discreet Music is exactly that,
and is thus appropriately named.
Viewed by many ambient music
purists as the definitive introduc-
tion to the genre, Eno's work gar-
ners its appreciation through pure
simplicity. The album is divided
into four separate tracks: A titular
one and three of Eno's variations on
Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.
The title track of the album is the
most arresting. The 30-minute
magnum opus maintains a spacey
beauty throughout, best played with
the volume at a minimum and in the
solitude of a comforting room. The
first few moments of Discreet
Music are barely audible, the tone
building gradually
like the rumble of
distant thunder. As
the melodies softly
emerge, the core of
the piece is
exposed - a sym-
phonic layering of
winds, echoes and flutes. This first
track is representative of Eno's
early experiments with what he
calls "environment-conscious"
music.

Courtesy orEnions tE

Eno, circa 1978.

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For art enthusiasts, Discreet
Music is the musical equivalent of
James McNeill
Whistler's "Sea
and Rain:
FVariations in
the Violet and Green."
VUIt It evokes a loneli-
ness of the com-
forting variety,
conjuring up images of gentle tides
and gray beaches. The reflective
nature of Eno's brand of music def-
initely makes it best in times of
solitude.


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The next three tracks -
"Fullness of Wind," "French
Catalogues" and "Brutal Ardour"
- are all superb reconstructions of
classical composer Johann
Pachelbel. All three variations con-
tain the baroque splendor of the
original compositions, but Eno's
mixing is clearly evident. The notes
are blurred slightly, rendering them
more atmospheric in nature. Eno's
alterations make the Canon more
appropriate for a quiet lounge
rather than a concert hall. But then,
this is the aim of ambient music.
Perhaps the most striking feature
of Discreet Music as a whole is the
malleability that it provides for the
listener. There is no prescribed
emotional state one must adopt in
order to appreciate Eno's work.
Hope, sorrow, detachment and ela-
tion are all acceptable under the
auspices of ambient music.
Discreet Music also works wonder-
ful remedy for insomniacs.
Functioning as a voiceless lullaby,
it soothes the consciousness, nulli-
fying worry and erasing stress.
Discreet Music is avant-garde
minimalism without pretension.
Brian Eno's presence in the music
community has been significant.
His influence is- far reaching and
emulations of his effects have
appeared in the works of progres-
sive artists such as Pink Floyd and
Talvin Singh. With his discreet
melodies, Eno became the first
artist to produce silence from
sound, thereby singlehandedly cre-
ating an entire genre of music.

BY Neal pals
Daily Arts Writer
The Michigan Daily: Hey, is Kirk
around?
Random Student: This is Kirk.
TMD: Well, it's your lucky day ... I'm
from the Daily and you've been selected
to participate in this week's Random
Student Interview.
R: I'm the random student?! Oh man,
that's totally sweet! But dude, I'm actual-
ly on the line, long distance. It sucks, but
I think you're going to have to find
someone else ...
TMD: Nah man, I'll call back. You
sound pretty excited about this and I can
wait on it.
R: Cool! Thanks, man. I'll talk to you
later then.
TMD: For sure.
(I'm a nice guy for waiting. Thumbs
twiddle for a bit. 45 minutes later I call
back It's on.)
TMD: What up, dude?
R: Not much. I can't believe I was
picked for this ... I read the Random
Student Interview every week. It
cracks me up.
TMD: Glad to hear it. So, enough
with the foreplay. Let's start, shall we?
R: Yeah, I'm ready.
TMD: What do you think about
having your words read by about
100,000 people?
R: Well, that's a lot of people.
Actually, I feel pretty intimidated. My
roommate said I should have gotten
drunk for the interview after you first
called, to get my creativity on, you
know?
TMD: Aw, there's no need for that.
I'm sure you'll do fine.
OK, so do you smoke?
R: No, I don't. It's a pretty disgusting
habit.
TMD:Yeah it is. I'm actually trying to
quit myself. But that's because I heard
that cigs contain some of the same chem-
icals as dog poop. Crazy, eh?
R: Yeah, totally.
TMD: Have you ever consumed
tetrahydrocannabinol?
R: No, I have no idea what that is. Did
you make that up?
TMD: Nope, it's real. But moving
on, are you worried about this
nation's economy? Those stocks are
plunging like crazy.
R: It is pretty scary. But I don't really
keep in touch with the news that much.
TMD: What are your thoughts on
these troubled times?
R: These troubled times? Ha ha.
TMD: Yeah, there's a lot of strife
all over the world. Bad shit is always
going on.
R: Yes, I agree. But I'm pretty
happy myself.
TMD: Good, good.
Out of curiosity, how many Two Calls
do you get per day?
R: Umm, what do you mean?
TMD: Like deuces in the pot.
R: Ohh! Yeah, I thought that's what
you meant. I drop one a day ... in the
afternoon.
TMD: Certainly a good time for one,
before a siesta or something.
What sort of reading material do you
consume when you're on the porcelain

throne?
R: I'm not a toilet reader myself. Ijust
go to get the business done.
TMD: Fair enough.
What qualities do you look for in a
potential mate?
R: I like nice, sweet girls who are
down to earth and have a good sense of
humor ... and big boobs. A nice rack
never hurts.
TMD: Have you ever seduced a lady
with sexy male lingerie?
R: Can't say that I have. But I do wear
boxers with little hearts on them.
TMD: That's cute.
What kinds of things get your undies
in a bundle?
R: This is weird, but my biggest pet
peeve is when the collars of my shirts
get stretched out.
TMD: Do you know the capital of
Madagascar?
R: Uh, no.
TMD: Shame on you. It's an impor-
tant place. The answer is Antananarivo.
R: Oh.
TMD: What's your favorite bever-
age? I consider it an important question,

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seeing as how, for some reason, it is
important for the University's Directory.
R: Iced Tea.
TMD: Do you ever howl at the
moon?
R: Uh, no. Never done that.
TMD: Do you believe the path of
excess leads to the tower of wisdom?
R: Yeah, I could see how you could be
enlightened when you're drunk.
TMD: Do you believe in a Creator of
Being?
R: Wow, deep fucking question. But
yes, I do.

o7IMATO'$
102 S. First Street at Huron
Just off Main St.

TMD: Is there anything you would
like to say to the campus community at
large?
R: Just have fun. People need to enjoy
themselves way more. And get along.
TMD: Right on. When it comes
down to it, it's all just about the love,
isn't it?
R: Definitely.
TMD: Well, thanks for speaking to
me. I should probably go now, though,
cause my contact lens is about to pop
right out. See ya.

's
i
7
3
3


" French Toost
" Eggs Florentine
" Chicken Morsaki
" Covottoppi {house famyrie)

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I

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^TO fl A Ifl OS Yowe 4(Day
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