<3 <3 <3shocked that no one voted lay my love---might be my favoritei'd still like to hear an Aeroplane cover/treatment of spinning away --i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx)
shocked that no one voted lay my love---might be my favorite
i'd still like to hear an Aeroplane cover/treatment of spinning away --i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx)
can I just
― everybody's into weirdness right now (gbx), Monday, 11 January 2010 22:46 (fourteen years ago) link
this record is hilarious, forgot about it for years. middle-aged dudes get funky!
― velko, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 17:11 (twelve years ago) link
im surprised spinning away won in such a landslide. even the CD sounds like it was encoded as a 128 kbps MP3, and spinning away suffers the brunt of it
― frogbs, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:03 (twelve years ago) link
I don't follow either of these comments - hilarious? Sounds like 128kbps mp3s? It sounds frickin' great, both content and quality, to my ears.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:14 (twelve years ago) link
It IS funny! "I am the termite of temptation"?
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:16 (twelve years ago) link
i'm talking mostly about the drum sounds. the beginning of "spinning away" sounds so compressed and full of recording artifacts.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
Has anyone heard the recent-ish reissue, wrt the sound of the album?
― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:19 (twelve years ago) link
Some great stuff in this thread.
I luvluvluv the production on this album – it's SO deliberately artificial and clanky. It's as if not hiring a real band freed these two master soundscapers to use everything they've learned about keyboards, MIDI technology, Fairlight programming, and sextuple-tracked vocals.
Completely agree. I'm obsessing a bit right now over Eno's late-80s-era production style, which this is in some ways an extension of.
I always thought Crime in the Desert could have come off Before and after Science.
Totally -- it's "Backwater" sung as a duet in a saloon.
the beginning of "spinning away" sounds so compressed and full of recording artifacts.
Eno treatments, dude. Go listen to "White Mustang" off Music for Films III if you don't believe me. He was into those kind of effects at the time.
I could listen to "One Word" and "Empty Frame" on loop all day.
It's true. I've read a couple of different accounts about how "Empty Frame" developed. One (Cale's),held that Eno laid down an incredible vocal that he was embarrassed by and insisted on re-recording it. Eno's insisted that it was just in a really high register and didn't fit the album, so he re-wrote the song completely after Cale left (at one point it was called "Waterloo"). Shame virtually no outtakes of Eno's work ever leak.
I would've given love to "Been There Done That." Here's how that song developed. Eno to Cale: "Shit. I've spent the 1980s creating moonscapes. I better catch up on what's been happening in music. Hmmm. Let's see. New wave. That Tears For Fears is pretty good. The Cure too (at least when they're not too bummed out). House. Oooh - lovely piano hooks, Marshall. Gotta have those. CHR. I can make a record as bright and chirpy as the last two Scritti Polittis. Et voila! Been there. Done that. Now back to moonscaping."
A lot was made at the time of how this record hailed Eno's return to vocals, given that he hadn't really sung anything for almost 15 years prior. But in reality, from Nerve Net/My Squelchy Life to all his background (even lead) vocals in James to Another Day on Earth (to Drums Between the Bells even), he's actually done quite a bit of vocal stuff in the decades since.
There was a great piece in Option Magazine that went into amazing detail regarding what a difficult recording this was. Doesn't seem to be online, however.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 13 October 2012 03:37 (eleven years ago) link
This is sooooo weird as I've been listening to this record on loop in my car.
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:22 (eleven years ago) link
NTI, can you post a couple of those interviews?
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:37 (eleven years ago) link
Here's one: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/sos90b.html
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 11:45 (eleven years ago) link
In his "A year with swollen appendices" book, there's a line where he says he had just licensed "Spinning away" to be used in a British TV ad (Burtons, iirc) for £50,000. Nice.
― Rob M Revisited, Saturday, 13 October 2012 12:50 (eleven years ago) link
Cale's side of the story of making Wrong Way Up is pretty grippingly written up, I recall, in What's Welsh For Zen:)
― t**t, Saturday, 13 October 2012 12:55 (eleven years ago) link
Here's one: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/sos90b.html
It's interesting that the two of them were so inspired by "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" -- until recently, it was never a favorite of mine and generally representative to me of Cale's kind of monotone melodic style of the period (which continues to some extent on WWU). I like the sounds in it tho -- particularly the squiggly scratchy sound that stretches into infinity.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link
Just heard Sugar Ray's cover of "Spinning Away", surprisingly faithful. Anyone have the back story on this?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 19 January 2014 22:34 (ten years ago) link
Yeah that always seemed odd to me. The only thing I can imagine is that whoever did the soundtrack citation was trying to match a popular act with a personal fave.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 January 2014 18:57 (ten years ago) link
You walk towards the station.I'll walk towards the bus
― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 26 January 2014 19:01 (ten years ago) link
otm
― LADsy (wins), Sunday, 26 January 2014 19:01 (ten years ago) link
I'd heard about the language-book lyrics for Cordoba - looked for the source today:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g8KlL80sQ-sC&q=%22according+to+his+father+he+is+very+ill%22&dq=%22according+to+his+father+he+is+very+ill%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGkK6jv-DJAhVEbRQKHbiECeMQ6AEIHzAA
― woof, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 13:42 (eight years ago) link
that's awesome
― La Lechuza (La Lechera), Wednesday, 16 December 2015 13:56 (eight years ago) link
Actually more likely this one in the same series, given the dates: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=R43FKpfjAEAC&dq=%22according%20to%20his%20father%20he%20is%20very%20ill%22&source=gbs_book_other_versions
― woof, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 14:04 (eight years ago) link
gah those are my favorite types of language instruction books too -- tons of drills, sentences that are written for their sounds, super old school methodology that's pretty useful when you're at the beginning stages of learning a language
― La Lechuza (La Lechera), Wednesday, 16 December 2015 14:10 (eight years ago) link
Love Spinning Away so much, but a friend sort of pooped it up a bit for me by noting the simple chord progression is pretty much "Hey Soul Sister."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 December 2015 15:04 (eight years ago) link
ilxor Tom D. just pointed out that "Spinning Away" is merely a rewrite of "The Big Ship"...
but I'd like to chime in that "Spinning Away" unfortunately replaces the original's heavily distorted synths & Frippotronics with late 80s flourishes like gated drums & world music cliches.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:34 (four years ago) link
Spinning away is beautiful
― Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:40 (four years ago) link
yeah c'mon it's like top ten Eno
― The Squalls Of Hate (sleeve), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:43 (four years ago) link
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli),
Your imagination unfortunately was replaced by heavily distorted farts
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:44 (four years ago) link
Trying to imagine if Julien Baker* (or hell even Cale**) covered it on solo piano...
*a la her cover of "Accident Prone"**a la his cover of "Frozen Warnings"
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:48 (four years ago) link
I love this album. Footsteps and been there are the 2 tracks I’m not so hot on, though I enjoy them - love all the rest
― Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:48 (four years ago) link
Eno did a lazy lugubrious cover of “ring of fire” in the style of “the river” around this time, I love it just for giving me more of that vibe
― Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:52 (four years ago) link
brb gonna listen to the oh-oh-ohs from "Empty Frame" again.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:56 (four years ago) link
Had I been around I might have voted for that one itp
― Baby yoda laid an egg (wins), Thursday, 16 January 2020 19:58 (four years ago) link
Listened to it today! Particularly love "Cordoba".
― Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:03 (four years ago) link
that's a cool observation, I think this tune fits in with those two as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xycTSIC0aCA
(not Eno though)
Spinning Away is absolutely classic of course (even the Sugar Ray cover is good!!) but I'm still bothered by the drum loop sounding like a 96kbps MP3
― frogbs, Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:05 (four years ago) link
It's a fairly standard chord sequence, probably been used lots of time. Eno only uses straightforward chord sequences, Cale often does too.
― Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:08 (four years ago) link
I wish I could vote on this to show Been There Done That some love
― the public eating of beans (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 16 January 2020 20:50 (four years ago) link
I'm finally home (!) and am here to tell you that:
"The Big Ship"C - F - Am - F - C - G/B - Am - F I | IV | vi | IV | I | V* | vi | IV *inversion
"Spinning Away"A - E - F#m - D I | V | vi | IV
so a slight difference, but in Tom D's defense, the reedy/overdriven DX-7 preset sounds remarkably similar in both tracks.
My big takeaways: "The Big Ship" uses the same chords as "No Woman No Cry" & "Spinning Away" uses the same chords as "Three Little Birds".
Is Eno a closet rasta?
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, 18 January 2020 01:57 (four years ago) link
Hasn't he just been working with Lee Perry?
― Frozen Mug (Tom D.), Saturday, 18 January 2020 02:01 (four years ago) link
I'm finally home (!) and am here to tell you that:"The Big Ship"C - F - Am - F - C - G/B - Am - F I | IV | vi | IV | I | V* | vi | IV *inversion"Spinning Away"A - E - F#m - D I | V | vi | IVso a slight difference, but in Tom D's defense, the reedy/overdriven DX-7 preset sounds remarkably similar in both tracks.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 4 April 2020 17:25 (four years ago) link
bumping this thread for the "Spinning Away" chord progression soundalike... my wife's native ringtone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW6gUttBqpM
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 13 November 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link