An audience with Brian Eno
guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk
I stopped reading after this.
I think the insights he has about his world also have relevance to the typical HNer's world, e.g. the importance of getting rapid feedback from the audience and adjusting accordingly, the importance of a good name, the transience of a market. It was interesting to see these themes in a different context.
"The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you'd be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history's moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it"
If you're interested in his music, here's a good taster:
We played a show with a ZZ Top cover band - I assume this is a world first (Brian Eno + ZZ Top on the same night).
Sadly (for me, at least), his music of late doesn't thrill me as much as his '70s and '80s work, but that's life.
His book, A Year with Swollen Appendices, is extremely entertaining. Mixed into mundane daily items are some striking observations, and the essays at the end are worth the price of the book alone.
[Edit] I didn't hear back from him but that's what he said might happen.