Eclectopia Blog

"Bloom is an endless music machine, a music box for the 21st century. You can play it, or you can watch it play itself."

~Brian Eno 

"Inspiration is cheap. Bliss is expensive."

~Peter Gabriel

This is bliss for your iPhone and it's cheap, but I digress.

 Brian Eno is a genius.

Eno has changed the course of music in the 20th and now in the 21st century. Most musos would agree that that is now fact. He was a vital part of glam rock, invented ambient music and brought it to popular music status, is responsible for the careers and reputations of countless influential bands (Talking Heads and U2 among them), is world renown for his innovative studio production, and has influenced the visual arts with his interactive installations. He's simply a giant of our time.

Plus, he's really funny.

Eno has been my musical north star ever since Evening Star, the second album he wrote with guitarist Robert Fripp. In short, he is a very special figure in my personal musical development and thinking.

That's why I was delighted to learn that Eno and collaborator Peter Chilvers have three new apps for iPhone available from iTunes. These fall under yet another innovative idea: generative music. I debated whether or not to get these, but I tend to buyer's regret in reverse. That is, I end up not buying them and then regretting it. I was not going to let these Eno gems get away.

Eno and Chilvers have done all the work for you. You just have to play. Or choose not to. It's all good.

Bloom does what it says: you can create or you can just listen. Turn it on and soft piano like synth sounds begin to hover. Touch the screen and a single note sounds and a corresponding circle forms like a water drop which continues out until it fades. It's very Zen-like. Do something or not, it matters not. Bloom offers some parameters for the user, such as selection of sounds, time of delay and even a practical sleep timer.

Trope seems to be more advanced than Bloom in some ways. The sounds, more akin to Neroli, are more complex and the images vary a lot more. A good companion in a noisy, crazy world.

Air is like your personal mixing station of Music for Airports. Peter Chilvers and Irish singer Sandra O'Neill have taken the basic concepts of Eno's seminal ambient work and placed them at your fingertips and imagination.

In short, I like all three, but you may just want to try them one at a time. Think about it: an automatic composing machine or a creative outlet or some background music? It's up to you.

I do recommend headphones (or ear buds) or a speaker system to fully appreciate these magic apps.

Sometimes in Zen 

we say, "Do nothing." 

But, in doing nothing, 

everything is done. 

I often get puzzled looks or questioning comments by close friends and loved ones.

When I brought home Duff McKagan's memoir, It's So Easy (And Other Lies), my wife let me know that my literary standards were really slipping: "Who is this guy? Why would you want to read this book?" She was appalled by the man on the cover. He was so rough and dirty looking.

She was right. Duff looks like the life he has lived. He is a clear product of his environment and the hard living in the madness that was Guns ' n' Roses, but his is a story of accountablity and redemption.

Here's the interview I did in November of 2011.

Funny thing is this: while Green Day were introducing GnR (sans Axl, of course), Duff and company were waiting in the wings.

"Who's the tall one?" came my wife's query. "That's Duff McKagan. The guy I interviewed" was my reply. Pause, then,

"He's kind of good looking." Well, well, well.

Then came the bomb:"Why did you want to read his book?" I can't win.

Along with singer Myles Kennedy,Duff and the boys went on stage and played a really strong set. They could tour without the hassle of Axl's childish antics.