In 1995, English musician, composer, producer, author and visual artist Brian Eno (b. 1948) teamed up with the Irish rock band U2 on a side project called Passengers. They released one album, Original Soundtracks 1. Eno chronicled the Passengers project in his 1995 diaries, published in 1996 as A Year with Swollen Appendices (the appendicesContinue reading “Miss Sarajevo”
Tag Archives: U2
Running to Stand Still
Listening to the Irish rock band U2’s “Running to Stand Still” yesterday, I was struck by the beauty and slowed-down simplicity of the song. As I sought information about the piece, I found a lengthy and fascinating Wikipedia article telling about the background, composition, recording and production of the song from U2’s highly successful 1987Continue reading “Running to Stand Still”
In a Big Country
Well, happy Friday, friends! Another week has gone by so quickly… how does that happen when we are still so restricted and isolated? Surely, time should be dragging! If you’ve been following along here in the last few weeks, you might have noticed I have a bit of a thing going on with the 1980s.Continue reading “In a Big Country”
Can’t Let Go
This week, former Roxy Music founding member and frontperson Bryan Ferry released a live solo album, Royal Albert Hall 2020. The collection was recorded in London, England during the a world tour that was to be cut short soon after the UK shows due to the global pandemic. Today, an email blast advertised that theContinue reading “Can’t Let Go”
Reap the Wild Wind
In my post on former Japan front person David Sylvian’s “Orpheus,” I talked about my weekly record shopping excursions of the mid- to late-1970s. On one of those trips, I discovered the British new wave band Ultravox (which went by Ultravox! from 1976 to 1978) and their 1977 debut, eponymous album. I don’t remember ifContinue reading “Reap the Wild Wind”
Kiss Them for Me
I can’t say I followed the punk rock scene of the mid-1970s, though I suppose I observed from a distance what was going on due to my constant fascination with music. But English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer Susan Ballion, better known as Siouxsie Sioux, sure did. She first saw the English punk rock bandContinue reading “Kiss Them for Me”
New Year’s Day
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2021. This blog will be one year old in a few days, and I’m looking forward to sharing more music with you, each day this year. It might be a corny choice for today to pick “New Year’s Day,” the lead single from Irish band U2’s 1983 album, War.Continue reading “New Year’s Day”
MLK/Pride (In the Name of Love)
My philosophy on anything the British musician, visual artist, sound designer, music producer, theorist and activist Brian Eno puts his name to is simply, “buy it.” That practice has never failed me since first picking up one of Eno’s albums at the behest of one of my brothers in 1976 (as I’ve mentioned before here,Continue reading “MLK/Pride (In the Name of Love)”
Walk On
It has felt like a rough couple of weeks. So, today, a song that seems to fit as encouragement through discouragement. I had a crash on my road bike on a spectacularly, gusting, windy day just over two weeks ago, and have had a sore shoulder and ribs as a result. In retrospect, it wasContinue reading “Walk On”
Black Stations/White Stations
Serendipity is something one of my brothers and I talk about a lot. He and I both experience it all the time; maybe we’re just more open to observing and receiving it; I don’t know. Anyway, I thought it was time to venture down the basement to visit my vinyl collection to find an oldieContinue reading “Black Stations/White Stations”
Under a Stormy Sky
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, long trips to cottage country in northwestern Ontario meant some CDs and some radio, but FM stations didn’t reach too well in rural areas, so it was often AM radio. Near noon on Saturday meant CBC’s Quirks and Quarks (with Jay Ingram) and Basic Black (with the lateContinue reading “Under a Stormy Sky”
January 6, 2020 – Deep Blue Day (from the film, For All Mankind)
When I bought my first stereo in around 1976-77, one of my brothers told me that the first record I really needed to buy was Brian Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). I found it, and was very glad I did; it touched off a lifelong love for Eno’s music. From his time as theContinue reading “January 6, 2020 – Deep Blue Day (from the film, For All Mankind)”
Song of the Day for Today 