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So you want to contact Brian Eno? (2000)
- rurban 6y agoI'm not a fan, but I liked some of his albums. Late in the eighties my group of architecture students invited him as judge for an architectural competition. He came and I was his assigned translator. He was extremely impressive, much more than most of the other famous people I met then. Certainly not as arrogant as all the other artists, a real gentleman and very interested in everything.
- hprotagonist 6y agohttp://www.nealstephenson.com/why-i-am-a-bad-correspondent.html http://www.nealstephenson.com/why-i-am-a-bad-correspondent.h... But as those chunks [of time] get separated and fragmented, my productivity as a novelist drops spectacularly. What replaces it? Instead of a novel that will be around for a long time, and that will, with luck, be read by many people, there is a bunch of e-mail messages that I have sent out to individual persons, and a few speeches given at various conferences. That is not such a terrible outcome, but neither is it an especially good outcome. The quality of my e-mails and public speaking is, in my view, nowhere near that of my novels. So for me it comes down to the following choice: I can distribute material of bad-to-mediocre quality to a small number of people, or I can distribute material of higher quality to more people. But I can’t do both; the first one obliterates the second.
- tekstar 6y agoUsername checks out :)
- bcgraham 6y agoJust a little bit of trivia for other Stephenson fans: Anathem’s narrator is named “Erasmas.” This is a phonetic representation of the Greek “ήρωάς μας,” meaning “our hero.”
- hardlianotion 6y agoHe has form with that sort of thing: Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash (Edit - heh - just saw parent poster’s username ...)
- hprotagonist 6y agoi also read it as a nod to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus : Raz mentions at one point that his mathic name was the same as an older figure’s, who has some of these attributes.
- JohnJamesRambo 6y ago“He is currently Magic Leap's Chief Futurist.” Ugh why did I have to read his Wikipedia and ruin such a great quote and my impression of the man?
- hprotagonist 6y agoI try to return the favor, for some authors, of knowing as little about them as possible outside of their work. (i think his magic leap stuff wound down a while ago, though)
- bredren 6y agoMorgan Freeman narrates the new 21 Savage album. Werner Herzog is in the new star wars show. $$$
- JohnJamesRambo 6y agoBut those actually made a product. Werner Herzog was great on that show and I'm sure Morgan did great too. Chief futurist since 2014 on what seems to have been a multi-billion dollar scam at this point is not a good look.
- bredren 6y agoThe quality of that show is debatable. People liked the baby yoda a lot more than herzog. And herzog said he did it for the money to do his own thing. Freeman did okay, but again the art overall is not that good. I do recommend listening to “Snitches & Rats (interlude)” for a taste of Morgan’s work though. [1] I agree everything associated with magic leap looks bad but that happens with everything that falls on the wrong side of history. And while magic leap’s contributions appear meager, we haven’t had enough time to contextualize them or see what departed talent does next. NeXT could have ended up in a dustbin. [1] https://music.apple.com/us/album/snitches-rats-interlude/1534209957?i=1534210179 https://music.apple.com/us/album/snitches-rats-interlude/153...
- otterley 6y ago(2000)
- jonny383 6y agoThe sense of privilege in this is unreal.
- QUFB 6y agoHow so? Brian Eno owes his fans nothing.
- haroldegibbons 6y agoIt's 2020. "Privileged" is Newspeak for "envied".
- floatingatoll 6y agoIf you'd be willing to explain in more detail what "sense of privilege" means to you personally, that would help a lot of us understand what you're feeling here.
- slothtrop 6y agoYou've outed yourself as privileged just by being a user here.
- Torkel 6y agoThe writing here from Brian Eno is remarkably clear and well formulated. I admire someone who can formulate himself so well on a subject even when writing something in what I assume, from the minor spelling errors, is a quickly typed random email. (this is re: "exhibit 1: count me out")
- quickthrower2 6y agoMalware Bytes says: "Website blocked due to a Trojan Your Malwarebytes Premium blocked this website because it may contain a Trojan. We strongly recommend you do not continue."
- cpach 6y agoMaybe your connection got hijacked...? (The link uses plain HTTP and is therefore easier to MITM.) The linked page is a simple HTML document with no Javascript whatsoever. If you want to be sure, download the HTML document and inspect it using a text editor.
- quickthrower2 6y agoMaybe, I think MWB barfed. Later on it didn't complain. Maybe it was temporarily in a blacklist?
- adrianb 6y agoThis reminded me of the abuse internet fans are subjecting GRRM to. Probably also because he used to be involved with the online communities.
- _-___________-_ 6y agoWho or what is GRRM?
- jccooper 6y agoGeorge R R Martin, of "Game of Thrones" fame.
- _-___________-_ 6y agoThanks!
- SeanLuke 6y agoI tried to get in touch with Eno once. And I had a good shot at it. I knew someone who knew him personally and agreed to forward a message I had for him. It was regarding nontrivial software I had developed which incredibly and unexpectedly he had more or less invented 20 years ago in a conversational email message. Thought he'd like to know it had come to fruition. Knowing his reclusion I wasn't expecting to get a response. Which was good, since I didn't receive one.
- retox 6y agoWhat was the software if you don't mind my asking.
- yaboy 6y agoChaturbate
- SeanLuke 6y agohttps://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/papers/evomusart19.pdf https://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/papers/evomusart19.pdf
- dahart 6y agoHey cool to bump into an evomusart fan here! (Of course it makes sense given the topic.) I see James McDermott in your acknowledgements. He might not remember me, but we hung out at evomusart in 2007 brainstorming ideas on artificial evolution of music.
- SeanLuke 6y agoSend me mail (my hn username is my real name, google it) and let's chat.
- altitudinous 6y agoI have his book "A year with swollen appendices" - has he done anything similar more recently wrt keeping an online diary? I can take or leave his music but I did enjoy reading his thoughtful daily entries.
- Arjuna 6y agoTwo verses from the lyrics to Limelight by Rush come to mind: Cast in this unlikely role • Ill-equipped to act • With insufficient tact • One must put up barriers • To keep oneself intact [...] Living in a fish eye lens • Caught in the camera eye • I have no heart to lie • I can’t pretend a stranger • Is a long-awaited friend
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- the-rc 6y agoFunny that the page says "I'd rather see folks like Robert Fripp contribute in a one-way fashion than not at all", but there have been remarkable examples of Fripp's two way communication in the days before email, where perhaps the fan regretted hearing back: http://et.stok.ca/articles/128-19.html http://et.stok.ca/articles/128-19.html (2020 Fripp on his wife's YouTube channel is like a completely different person)
- justusthane 6y agoWow, what a wonderful response!
- C19is20 6y agoOoooh, topical: my first click-thru lead me to Discipline №128 http://et.stok.ca/digests/128.html http://et.stok.ca/digests/128.html , talking of Holdsworth - "Some of AH's technical ideas, while wonderful--have trickled anonymously into the mainstream of rock in bits and pieces--in broadening the scope of guitar solos and sounds--inspiring hard rock players like Van Halen and Alex Lifeson, and shred-meisters such as Satriani and Vai--I have no time for those guys, because their whole approach to music seems mired to me in adolesence. AH forever refined and expanded the sound of the guitar--unlike Fripp, who single-handedly opened up rock music to new degrees of artistry and near limitless boundaries in terms of other musical traditions and approaches...."
- rob74 6y agoYeah, some people really want to stay out of the limelight... quite literally, in this case. And looks like he largely succeeded - I would describe myself as fairly familiar with rock music, and I have heard of most of the acts he has collaborated with, but the name Robert Fripp didn't ring a bell... But if you wanted proof that the kind of toxicity we see on the Internet nowadays did exist before (but wasn't available for everyone to see and amplify), this "fan" letter is a very good example!
- pimeys 6y agoIf you were ever into prog rock while young, his band King Crimson basically defined the genre and later on moved it to different directions very succesfully.
- chiph 6y agoIn the very early days of the Internet (it was capitalized back then) I sent an email to a musician whose music I liked [0]. And I got back a brief reply thanking for reaching out to him, and that was about it. I think he didn't realize that the general public could reach him via email, and he was probably going to change it so that he could concentrate on his work. [0] Canadian Tom Third. Sorry for that, Tom!
- sova 6y agoAttitudinous Eno doesn't have time for ascii you are gonna have to blow up a small mountain and send him a recording to get past that sound wall.
- mturmon 6y agoOf all people, Brian Eno should feel OK not responding to e-mails -- and it seems like he does! He's given us so, so many excellent recordings already.
- nullc 6y agoAt around the time this article was written some friends of mine managed to get a musician that was primarily active in the 50s and 60s on the phone once and a lovely conversation was had. (I'm omitting the name because he's still alive and I don't want to create a thundering herd). There is some portion of famous people, particularly ones that have passed a bit into obscurity where a bit of fan contact would probably be welcome. Unfortunately it's hard to tell who and "a bit" would almost always be far less than the amount received if it got out that they didn't mind fan contact. I've sent an occasional no-response-expected messages of thanks to the creators of stuff that I've liked-- as I've always appreciated receiving those myself. I thought Eno's message in "exhibit 1" was thoughtful, well written, and worth the read. I one read an insightful comment on reddit about the perspective of a youtuber about letting fans down at conventions because they didn't live their "on" youtube personality 24/7. It discussed how easy is is to disappoint people by just being human and what a tremendous responsibility having fans can be. From that perspective it isn't hard to see how just minimizing contact might be best for everyone. [Alas, I can't find it now to link to it here, as google has become substantially useless for searching for specific reddit comments]
- bambam24 6y agoI have, No idea who Brain Eno is... I’m alone?
- shean_massey 6y agoNope, I also had no idea. And now that I know.. my life will not be changed in the least. I suppose it's a generational thing ;)
- Belshazzar 6y agoI would have my agent call his agent. And have my agent explain how what I want will help him.
- blue-dragonfly 6y agoThat's what W. Shatner suggests: https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/1220163317106241537 https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/122016331710624153...
- greenie_beans 6y agoMan...I love him. What a treasure we don’t deserve
- sergiotapia 6y agoWho is he? I google and he invented elevator music or similar?
- rblatz 6y agoI know I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know what he has done. He must be before my time. Which means he’s before most people on HN’s time. Edit: guess not knowing the producer of U2 and Coldplay is a sin around here. I’m 38 and I have no idea what any of his other work is but I don’t think I’d much care for it based on my opinions of those two bands he produced.
- pimeys 6y agoDavid Bowie's best work was with Eno. You might want to check the album trilogy Low/Heroes/Lodger. And of course his massively influential ambient productions, or the band Talking Heads... Or his ambient experiments with Robert Fripp, inventing the tape loop to make the guitar sound like something else. Or the art/glam rock masterpieces Another Green World and Before and After Science.
- matthewh806 6y agoI don't think the "sin" is not knowing who Eno is, but rather, an unwillingness to explore and educate yourself. "He must be before my time" "I know I’ve heard of him" So, you make some research and the best you can come up with is "the producer of U2 and Coldplay"... "I have no idea what any of his other work is but I don’t think I’d much care for it based on my opinions of those two bands he produced." It all just reads as wilful ignorance... You obviously care enough to comment and bask in the fact that you're unaware of him. As if being oblivious to a hugely influential figure should be worn like a badge of pride or something
- inopinatus 6y agoPeople on HN are not as young as you think, and Eno is not such a one-trick pony that the music he makes himself has much resemblance to the more mainstream amongst the bands he's produced. So I suspect that your downvotes are for broadcasting unfair assumptions as justification for wilful philistinism.
- Archio 6y agoOne of my favorite quotes of all time is about introverts experiencing fame, from the Rush song Limelight: Living in a fish eye lens Caught in the camera eye I have no heart to lie I can't pretend a stranger Is a long-awaited friend
- 8bitsrule 6y agoOne of his projects that's still mentioned now and then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies
- bjourne 6y agoBrian Eno is a passionate supporter of the BDS movement, so you could try ask him about that. Maybe he'll answer. :)
- soniman 6y agoThis is an amusing story about when David Bowie would hang out on message boards. http://dokearney.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-beautiful-exit.html http://dokearney.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-beautiful-exit.html
- great_kraken 6y agoThat was a great and touching read. Thanks for the link.
- supernova87a 6y agoI didn't know who Brian Eno was before reading, or his music. It was an interesting article though. I come away with the impression that this is someone whose work has fulfilled him, and he is someone who doesn't seek the benefits or potential paths that many people would try to exploit success for. He's not using his name to seek fame, be really highly regarded, or make great wealth from it. His work just has happened to give him some of that as a side benefit in his mind. I wouldn't even say "he's made it in life" in the traditional way you might say about someone who reached monetary satisfaction. He seems to have reached the fulfillment of his purpose in life, and that is kind of refreshing. Not satisfying for fans, but refreshing. And maybe he's right that some of the negative reaction to this kind of perspective shows exactly the stress and "badness" of fame that creates a sense of entitlement among your appreciators. Today it seems that every media/IG/whoever is seeking the likes (even you or I do a little of this every time you post something, right)? And the dopamine hit, or doors that it opens to new, interesting things, which probably turn out to be less interesting after a while, or result in more stress after you see what it is you're really pursuing. Great for him to have reached this point in life -- although as I said, unsatisfying for his fans. Maybe it is an aspect of the human condition that when you've reached satisfaction in life, you actually become a bit disappointing to others -- exactly because you no longer feel the need to engage in the behavior to be an excitement, inspiration, false role model to them. I wonder if he at least plays that role for his friends or family, the ones who he does want to expend that mental energy on?
- noema 6y agoIt is no hyperbole to say that Eno is probably the most influential producer of the latter half of the twentieth century. You may know him indirectly via his collaborations with Talking Heads and Bowie. His legacy permeates all electronically produced music today.
- kinghtown 6y ago>I wouldn't even say he's made it in life No offence, but this is an astoundingly ignorant thing to say about the legacy of Brian Eno. Yeah, he’s not big like Celine Dion or Bono or anyone in that tier of musical fame or mega rich but to suggest that Eno hasn’t really made it in life is hilarious to me. He is one of the most respected and influential artists of his era. It’s like referring to Lou Reed as an unknown.
- ovi256 6y agoHis brother, Roger Eno, is a frequent collaborator and has composed some very interesting takes on classical forms like the sonata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYX86SW9rcg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYX86SW9rcg The whole In A Room album (with Harmonia Ensemble) is very good, one of my favourites.
- Theodores 6y agoNobody famous ever contributes to forums. This is a law of the universe. However, emails are an area where something better could be done. Imagine if you were a famous person and you had a definite idea of who you wanted to hear from. Friends and family would be whitelisted. Amazon too. Everyone else could then be spam filtered to 'reject' or 'discard' their emails. At the server level you could reject everything in a foreign language. Or with an attachment. You could also have your own stop words. So Eno could have 'Music For Airports' as a phrase that triggered the response 'no, sorry mate, thanks for writing though'. Now what would happen if people did get stock 'don't bother' emails? If they were well written and had some politeness to them then I think people would prefer that to 'well, he never replied, sob, sob...'. It is about using a customer service ethos, which could be hard to imagine if you are a famous person and therefore centre of the known universe. There is an aspect of 'proof of work' with email as it is. DMARC is a thing, reverse PTR checks and everything else an email has to get right shows that your email has at least tried. There are also 'header checks' for proof of identity. Right now, if some producer at the BBC needed Eno to star on Desert Island Discs then they would be able to contact Eno's agent, give their BBC email address and title, then get a yes or no straightaway. In this the 'proof of work' would be going through the agent who would obviously think 'yeah, Brian would like that' to forward on the enquiry. They would check the person was from the BBC and it would all be good. Heck, they would probably know the producer anyway and the producer would have LinkedIn and other credentials. The agent might not be replaceable by a postfix main.cf/master.cf configuration but it must be possible to get something better than anonymity. I also think that emails received - even if never replied to - is an important metric. Imagine you thought you were really famous and that everyone was wanting to email you for that to not actually be the case.
- EdwardDiego 6y agoI enjoy Arnie's occasional contributions on Facebook and Reddit.
- schwartzworld 6y agoI miss the pre-monitized internet. I emailed Jonathan Coulton and asked if I could bring my uke to a show and join him in stage. I don't know why I thought he'd say yes, but he did said yes. I met up with him in the green room and we did a quick rehearsal then on stage he called me up and we performed a song. Surreal. I have never been able to successfully replicate this sequence of events with another musician though....
- moon2 6y agoI simply love these artists that are so unpretentious. Huge fan of Jonathan Coulton, big nerd and nice guy. I wonder if Jack Stauber would react the same way.
- twostoned 6y agoThis is amazing. When I was younger I used to write bands that I love. I'd contact them with praise, or asking with help on chord progressions, and never received anything back. One day I mailed an indie band from Canada and told them how much I loved their record and how incredible it was. I received an email back saying thanks that was signed with a name that I didn't recognize. I looked at their website and it was their drummer. I loved it. One of the very happy moments in my musical journey.
- dfxm12 6y agoDo people expect a response from someone (famous or otherwise)? Do they feel entitled to one? This does remind me a little of Twitter though. People in the replies just begging for a reply or RT from a celeb. People will say ridiculous things just to get even a negative interaction with a celeb. Why do they care?
- CalRobert 6y ago"And then, when you look at the headers, most of the messages turn out to be junk along the lines of "MAKE $$$ WITH NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER!" (where the sender neglects to mention that you will be making the $$$ for them) or "Visit my XXX Website" (where the XXX turns out to stand for "total waste of time") or "Medical Breakthrough" (where the sender is selling something banned throughout the world [apart from one sleepy little village in Kwang-ju])? " Interesting that it's old enough they didn't just say "spam" (and in fact don't refer to it as spam, though that word was already in use by 2000....)