Tag: Zan Rowe

Listened Brian Eno’s luminous songs from ABC Radio

When Brian Eno came to Australia for the first time ever, back in 2009, Zan was lucky enough to sit down with him and invite him to curate triple j. He was in the country for Luminous, a festival that would become Vivid in Sydney. He had created light installations, and programmed some of his favourite musical acts to come and play. Over five songs, Eno shared his passion for these artists, and some of the theories and thinking that have made him one of the great modern music philosophers and creatives. This is a rare treat to get into the mind of a genius, across five songs.

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 – “Think Africa”

Battles – “Atlas”

Jon Hopkins – “Light Through the Veins”

Reggie Watts – “Out Of Control”

Ladytron – “Predict The Day”

In this interview from 2009, Zan Rowe speaks with Brian Eno about songs/artists associated with with the Luminous Festival. Some of the points that stood out were his idea of listening as the act of connecting:

When I am listening to someone’s work, I think ‘that is a little bit like’ or ‘there is something in here that might be enriched by hearing some else’s music’

The importance of having strong views:

That’s quite good doesn’t help anyone … if you take a strong position other people can orientate themselves around it. They can see what they feel in relation to your position … Having strong opinions forces others to take positions as well.

Talking about Jon Hopkins, Eno questions how many people are actually synthesiser players.

Most synthesisier players are keyboard players with a few sounds

For me someone like Chris Beckstrom represents this difference.

Eno also wonders about the difference between recorded and performed music.

I often think that recorded music should have a different name. We do not think of cinema as theatre … Music form is different to what composers did centuries ago.

Listened Tom Waits on finding his voice: ‘I don’t really think there is anything genuinely new under the sun’ from Double J

Tom Waits opens up about the mystery of songwriting and the melting pot of influences he draws from.

Zan Rowe speaks with Tom Waits about the songs that inspired his album ‘Bad As Me’. It is one of those interviews that carries you away and leaves you seeing the world in a different light. Some of the notable thoughts were music as captured air:

Tunes are in the air … writing them down is like letter air out of a balloon and then naming it.

Songs living within us after we hear then:

Songs kind of live within you once you hear them, there is nothing new, we are all just doing bad impersonations of each other.

Life as planting seeds:

That’s really what we hope for … plant a few seeds and then we go. We are all just drawing in the dirt with a stick.

Songs in songs and voices in voices:

I think inside every song there are other songs. But I also think, inside your voice, there are other voices that you have yet to discover and that’s kind of why you are here.

Completeness of recorded music:

Until a song’s recorded it isn’t really finished. Regardless of what your plan is, the song itself has a plan of its own. You need to be sensitive to that. Sometimes you need to get out of the way. You need to know when to duck.

After listening for a second time, I was left thinking about the episode with Damian Cowell and how the truth was not what was important, instead it was about a world seen with fresh eyes.

Listened Mark Ronson’s songs of pop perfection from ABC Radio

Where do you begin with Mark Ronson? 7 Grammys, an Oscar, and so many hit records over 15 years of writing and producing music. He may not sing, but he’s topped the charts in every other way; crafting ‘Uptown Funk’, co-writing ‘Shallow’ with Lady Gaga, and collaborating with musicians from right across the genre map. Ever since that debut album back in 2003, I’ve been a fan. The way he scooped up hip-hop, soul, and funk into perfect pop packages grabbed my attention and kept it. Over the years Mark and I have crossed paths a few times but he’s never done a Take 5. And the opportunity to get inside the musical mind of Mark Ronson is something I’ve been hankering to do for a long time. From OutKast to The Smiths, King Princess to Kacey Musgraves to Prince, hear one of the world’s great producers explore how their songs define pop perfection for him. King Princess – ‘1950’ The Smiths – ‘Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ Outkast – ‘Ms. Jackson’ Kacey Musgraves – ‘Slow Burn Prince – ‘Pop Life’ 

Mark Ronson gives insight into what defines a perfect pop tune. For Ronson, the best pop songs have a tinge of melancholy, with the push pull of melody and sadness. This reminds me of his discussion of music collection for Crate Diggers. The thing I love most about listening to Ronson speak about music is his breadth of knowledge and experience.

Marginalia

All these old songs are like your kids … They all get you to where you are at.

What can I bring to amplify this person’s superpower.

via Virginia Trioli