My life in the Bush of Ghosts

I bought a CD (or whatever you want to call the cyber-version of a CD) on iTunes music store a few weeks ago. I needed some new stuff for my iPod, and decided to buy a record that I have loved since the beginning of the 80's: Brian Eno & David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.

I don't know how many hours I have spent listening to this album. Hundreds, maybe thousands. It remains one of my favorite album of all times, and since all my records and my record player is gone, I thought it was time to get a digital version.

When punk - in any interesting form - died, it left a gaping musical void. If you ever doubt how horrible the 80s were in terms of music, try comparing what Bowie did during the 80s with what he's done during the 70s and 90s!

Anyway, I discovered that the American alternative, experimental scene was the only place where anything really exciting was happening. Eno and Byrne were the absolute cream of that scene, which also counted (among others) Talking Heads Adrian Belew, Laurie Anderson, and Robert Fripp.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was a musical and artistic revolution to me. I think it was the same to a whole generation of musicians who through this album discovered the artistic possibilitites of sampling and using computers for creative purposes. The soundscapes of the album is still unique - and still worth listening to.

Here's a review from DJ and musician Moby:

"'bush of ghosts' was one of my favorite records when i was growing up in the early 80's. i loved (and continue to love) it's remarkable combination of emotional longing and atmosphere and sex and tension. at times it's a very disquieting record ('mea culpa', 'come with us'), and at times it's poignant and delicate ('the carrier')."

If you want a taste, here's a site dedicated solely to the album. Here, you can read about the work, watch the artwork and listen to most of the tracks from the record. Enjoy!

Comments

[Carolynne]

I love Talking Heads and am so excited by this! I really haven't looked into David Byrne's work outside of the band (*ducks*...I know, I know. I need to be more inquisitive sometimes).

[Mari-Ann]

Hi Carolynne. Oh, I'm so, so pleased that I'm not the only one who absolutely adores Talking Heads. I just recently bought "Crosseyed and Painless" from iTunes, and I instantly time-warped back to the days when they were my no. 1. I hope you'll like My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, although its uniqueness is somewhat blurred by the fact that so many artists have done similar things since 1981. Still, it's a great album!! :))