Music For Airports (I), 2012
Music For Airports (II), 2012
Ambient 1: Music For Airports is an album by Brian Eno. It was released in 1978.
This was a relatively late purchase for me – I got hooked on Eno when I heard his first three albums – they’re clever, funny, pop albums (my favourite has always been the overlooked one, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974), (wherein Brian takes nonsensical lyrics to an extreme – Mother Whale Eyeless being as good a place to start as any). Anyway, Another Green World (1975), one of the other vocal albums featured instrumental miniatures, which were better than the songs, and through them I got into the ambient stuff. And thinking that one day I would be a great avant-garde composer (I was messing around with tape recorders a lot at the time), I devoured the lot, but somehow missed this one. It’s alright. It’s one of those albums that’s better as an idea than a listening experience. In fact, you’re not really supposed to listen to it in a “I’ll just sit down and listen to Ambient 1: Music For Airports” kind of way at all; you’re supposed to put it on and let it just be there in the background. I can no longer imagine a time when this would be of any use or even possible – it would have to be at deafening volume to be heard in our house.
There’s a really interesting article about the album here.
This CD can be found: dining room, left-hand bookshelves, third shelf down.
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Thank you, once again, John and Denne for title and tag ideas etc. And to Terry for sending me in the direction of the shelves in search of inspiration, and of course, as always, to Richard at CK Ponderings for being a super-cool collaborator.
Love the musical notes in your airwaves!
Ha, thanks very much, Patti! I couldn’t resist.
Love the lines in these, and you’ve got a stave too! 🙂
🙂 A younger me would probably translate it into sounds…with “mixed” results.
I would like to hear that!
Music in the air!
Everywhere I look around…
Great!
Brilliant images together, Richard. They relate in a very interesting way.
Thanks so much, Karen. The title kind of brought them together.
Great combo of images… linear finds organic adjunct to Escher-like geometry 🙂
🙂 Thanks, EllaDee!
Bravo images. The Eno references makes my heart go pit-a-pat. One of my favorite albums and very groundbreaking. The impact on modern electronic music is beyond the reach of expression at this time. And your images are perfect matches. So well done. I’ll be coming back for seconds.
Thanks very much, Terry – Eno’s done that a few times – My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts being another instance. Very interesting figure.
Excellent images, Richard. And the way they work together links so nicely to Eno’s music. Great.
Thanks so much, Chris. I did it from memory – I guess I’ll have to dig the CD out and give it a spin.
Great images – particularly like the first one… And Mother Whale Eyeless… Hmmm… 🙂
Thanks, Richard! 🙂 Yes, that album’s a gem.
Great shots. The first one looks like silhouetted plants dancing in a strobe light. There is certainly an energy to it.
Thanks very much, Stevie. Glad it does something – it’s difficult to tell when the image is fresh.
Beautiful. Thank you. I came across this album while Deejaying at a college radio station that played progressive rock. My memory had lost it in the maze of punk rock, metal, pop, reggae, jazz and classical that I’ve filled my head with over the decades. All wonderful, inspiring music!!! I’ve just now purchased this album to revisit it. Thanks again!
Hey, you’re welcome! So, are you also familiar with Van der Graaf Generator?
I absolutely love how these images work together. Very thought-provoking. Such interesting compositions. Fabulous title.
Thanks very much, Melanie! They kind of fell together – I was looking for something to call the first shot, found the CD, and then remembered the second shot, which was taken the day before (and reminded me of a non-musical score I drew a very long time ago).
the first shot = priceless
Thanks so much, Barbara! I was slightly hesitant about posting it, which seems to be a good sign…
Love the shots here and the music. I really like when you say where you can find a book or a cd in your place… I know this kind of things of my own place but not practical things like where my keys or phone are … Great post, Richard!
Thanks very much, Laura. Ha! We’re very similar in that respect – practical things (particularly paper ones, like passports etc), seem to slink off and bury themselves in piles or correspondence, and other detritus, and stubbornly refuse to reveal themselves when they’re wanted at a moment’s notice.
Image no.1 resonates particularly strongly with the title for me. Very nice images.
Thanks very much, Deanne.
These photos have some sort of futuristic feel.
Yes, it’s odd – when you see them apart, it’s not so effective, but together they seem to do that…