Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Enough said from Byrne/Eno.

by Jeff Boule in Album Reviews, Editorials, New Releases, Opinion Posts, Reviews, What's New

It seems that life is so high pressure these days. Economic crisis, housing crisis, Middle East crisis, everything in crisis. Sometimes you need something to bring your stress level down. The new album from David Byrne and Brian Eno is something that can keep your toes tapping while reducing heart rate and blood pressure levels. But the music is far too lively to be as coma inducing as some of the earlier Eno ambient albums. But it is far more cerebral than Talking Heads.

A quick, vague overview of the album would be Talking Heads play U2. What might those two bands have in common? Brian Eno. Eno has produced (joined) both the Talking Heads and U2. He was the one to blame for U2’s jangly delayed guitar lines such as the one from “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”. You’ll hear some of those guitar tracks on Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. You’ll hear a lot of interesting sounds on this record. Typical of anything Eno touches. Eno’s contribution is creating the beds of sound for Byrne to sing over. What each of these beds consists of will be different track by track, as each will contain something special. If you are familiar with Eno’s work, you know from whence I ramble. These two have worked together from Talking Heads days, as well as their initial collaboration of My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts which was groundbreaking for 1980.

The opening track, “Home” is an unusual choice for an album opener but it really does set the tone for the majority of the album. Slow, interesting, unusual songs with unusual lyrics that form some very intriguing mixtures of Eno and Byrne’s styles. Eno seems to have calmed Byrne away from the frenetic tempos for more sedate, introspective tracks. Sure there are a couple of speedier ones, but remember, Eno is the master of the unhurried tempo. Their combined objective may have been to create an aural tranquilizer. Beats having to take an actual pill. The percussion behind Byrne’s acoustic guitar on “Home” is reminiscent of some of the drum sounds Eno conjured for the demos of Devo’s first album. While one would think the lyrical content would have been more comforting, there are lines in the choruses like “home, where my world is splitting in two” or “where no one’s speaking.” Comfort in dysfunction. But Byrne’s vocals are larger than life against Eno’s ever full and ever inventive rhythm track. Throughout the disc, you can identify Eno’s presence through voice and instrument. Several disparate musical entities meld so easily together it astonishes your average listener. The guitar solo is seemingly lifted right from a U2 ballad. The dynamic constantly rises and falls. That dynamic might be defined by more instruments, or more vocals, or Byrne’s vocal may just seem louder, but dynamic is alive and viable on this record. Byrne ends the song on a tremoloed guitar line by singing “compassion for things I’ll never know.” Answers won’t be found, but the search will be fun.

Once again, while still seeming out of place, acoustic guitar greets “My Big Nurse” with an equally out-of-place country track. But they make it work. Eno’s synth-organ solo at the end has the tendency to propel the country idea right to the end. But that solo gives the mental image of two people dancing on that lazy afternoon. The song is also about other possibilities. The big nurse aspect is merely a mention. Some of the lyrics are PG17, but kids won’t get into this album. If they do get into it, start researching art school costs, as your child could be the next Warhol if he gets into this type of art-heavy music.

“I Feel My Stuff” is perhaps one of my favorite tracks because of the overall weirdness of it. The lyrics are divinely abstract. The delayed piano throughout is definitely Eno. The lyrics, distinctly Byrne. But after the delayed piano opens the track up, several clandestine sounds join in. Even Byrne’s light vocal in the beginning is misleading as to where this track is headed. Byrne even gets to exercise his vocal chords by changing the timbre of his voice for various parts of the song. Once he gets done threatening someone with a Government coupon, the jazz backing vocals come in, repeating “deh, deh deh, deh deh deh” as if Sammy Davis Jr. were going to join in at any minute. Byrne changes voice for the bridge between verses. More jazz backing vocals, and after one more slow verse, the horns join in to signify it’s time to up the tempo. Things speed up and get worrisome. How will this end? A screaming guitar solo that could have only been done better by Adrian Belew. Why didn’t he play on this record? Brian has worked with Ade while Ade was part of the Talking Heads. But also during that time, Talking Heads rhythm section and married couple Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz approached Belew about replacing Byrne in the Talking Heads.

I am a huge Belew fan, but this would have been an even bigger mistake. Belew knew that and quit the band after that tour. Shortly thereafter, Talking Heads ceased to exist, and Belew went on to do work with Nine Inch Nails and others and remained in King Crimson even when it wasn’t up and running.

So it would be doubtful that Byrne would want Belew anywhere near any of his projects from that point on.

“…My Stuff” graduates to a much faster and harried tempo and the lyrics change in style and content. There are some wayward breaks in that tempo change, at one point you hear Byrne laughing. The line “it’s a little bit, it’s a lot inside, it’s a bigger thing than you can hide, I took away the parts that need controlling” is simply sinister in its delivery.

Things seem to have gotten serious now. Looking at the dynamic, things are building at the point where Byrne first utters the phrase “I feel my stuff.” The dynamic is building slowly to its potential climax. Abrupt end and all, you want more of this song. But to calm you down after that confusion, we enter the dream like state that is “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.”

Some of the subject matter in this song, we hope won’t happen today: “I saw my neighbor’s car explode just up ahead against the sky, quicker than you blink your eye.” I have long loved Byrne’s perverted view of what is funny, what is sad, and other off kilter views of human emotion. This melody just lumbers by, very much akin to “Julie With…” from the Eno album Before And After Science. A keyboard and solo break divvies things up. After the chorus is inflated by the use of a choir, the song ends simply with Byrne and a guitar singing “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.” To paraphrase Steven Wright, where would we put it? If I had to use one word to describe the majority of song styles, tempos, dynamics, it would be ‘floating’.

The drum beat that starts “Life Is Long” is a familiar one, which one you compare it to is up to you (I told you I would make this blog interactive!). The lyric that constantly catches my attention is the ever-optimistic line “Chain me down, but I am still free.” I just disagree with the notion that “everyone is happy to be a baby daddy”. I know I wouldn’t be. A lively horn and synth arrangement at the end brings this happy, optimistic tune to a close. I guess they are happy life is long!

The imagery from “The River” is remarkable. Again a rather subdued rhythm track, but the lyrics need to have attention paid to them. At this point I should make mention that I may not have some of the technical information correct as I am working from a downloaded version. You see this album won’t be available until November 25. We purchased the download (and our copy of the disc) directly from the artist’s web site. This is my preferred album purchase method (especially when PREX can’t get it). Not that I have anything against record retailers (OK, I have something against the big chain stores as they DO NOT provide ANY selection for someone like me who has Avant Guarde tastes.) As a reward for pre-ordering, this deal includes (for an inflated price of course) the downloads, a screen saver that my best thing to ever happen to me loves, and when the disc is released, ours will come in a tin with a tiny replica of the house from the cover of the album on the lid, a book, a DVD, and some other swag. We tend to buy expanded versions of most things we like. So my reviews may be more comprehensive than those who just buy (or are comped) the regular, standard release. The downside to this is, you can’t just head over and purchase this from the PREX, and in fact, part of the pre-order includes four bonus tracks that I will review and tack on the end of another review later on when I get them.

Some of those lyrics that need paying attention to for example: “The forest is alive and asks us to participate, we lifted up our eyes, to promise and reciprocate.” That message alone is worth a hearty listen. But there is so much imagery, that ends with the simplistic “…and I go home where you are right in front of me.” Welcoming.

Now that you feel at home, let’s dance! “Strange Overtones” was the single, and it has gotten much positive response from early listeners. While it may initially seem to be about cohabitation and communal living, it is about harmonizing with others around us. You could use the apartment building as the metaphor for the world around us. Several of the songs seem to have the recurring theme of home-as-planet, or don’t level your dwelling. The guitars on this track are worthy of mentioning, one is a funk note line, another is a phased rhythm guitar and both bring the track in line and get it where it needs to be. The intersection of funk street and EZ listening avenue.

While this album may induce relaxation, it has been rumored that laughter is the best medicine. So while you are relaxed, let’s add some humor therapy with “Wanted For Life”. All the musicians out there will identify with this way of life, at least the first two lines. Think about touring. “Fill my suitcase up, better stiff somebody…” If you had no label support, you know EXACTLY what Byrne is smirking about. But the rhythm track is one of my favorites, with it’s simplistic 6 note recurring harmony theme, the coffee percolator drum track, synth bass and oddities, right down to the comical break, “even though your smarter than me, I’ll write your autobiography, I got my grammar in a 5 and dime”. Towards the end we hear the scratchy rhythm Fender in the mix, a neat-sounding track, accompanied by squish drums and Byrne explaining to the occupants of his former residence and summing up life with the apropos “that’s the way it goes.” Right to the “oh-so-in-vogue” dead stop ending.

If you didn’t know better, you would say “One Fine Day” has that “last song of the disc” feel to it. But there remains more! This is a relaxed, almost gospel ballad. Sedate right up until after the second verse (after the first guitar solo). After that verse we up the dynamic with volume and additional tracks. Vocals keep adding and adding until a keyboard breakdown. Which gives way to a lone vocal and more of that scratchy rhythm guitar. Line by line, more instruments and vocals are introduced, including a repeat of the vocal chorus from the intro. As we head into the end, the dynamic is left at mid when the fade begins. A fade! Go figure!

The most down and dirty track of the collection is “Poor Boy”. With Byrne’s vibratoed voice announcing alternating lines (first in the left channel, second in the right) “I like talking funny, it’s the only song I know”. The rhythm bed is ultra funky and lends itself to a brief revisit to Talking Heads territory. It is difficult to listen to just one instrument; they are all so tasty on this track, even the over-fuzzed guitar solo. Pure Byrne, with sound by Eno. There is a synth/sax line that appears every other line or so and is compact genius. With all the funky parts and sounds, that recurring synth sax line is the earwig. Another dead stop. Too soon!

The true album ender features the (again) unhurried tempo of “The Lighthouse”. This song includes all the prerequisite lighthouse references, rocks and waves below, out on a peninsula, by the water, etc. etc. Sorry, but I have known far too many lighthouse enthusiasts who thought that by jamming lighthouse culture down my throat that would result in my becoming one of them.

One of them, one of them…

I will say Eno’s rhythm bed portrays the imagery to a tee. You close your eyes and you’re in Cape Hatteras. This track as well as many others feature some superb bass playing by Eno and/or Byrne, particularly during “I Feel My Stuff” where right after the first verse ends, the bass line sort of eases the listener until it gets to the last note which is off-key. In this song the bass is under present until it needs to be heard, some of the ad-libs, etc.

There are even lighthouse foghorn sounding synths and more delay piano. Things just gently shimmer to a close, brought down by that foghorn synth’s lone drone. I still don’t have anything for lighthouse culture, it has a big light in it that spins around and saves boats from crashing on the shore. Sorry, not gonna plan my vacation around the great lighthouses of the Eastern Seaboard.

This concludes the album. If you are looking for house-shaking party music, this ain’t it. I also would not recommend this album while driving or while operating heavy machinery. I would recommend it for most everything else concurrent with relaxing. Sex music? It might have to be a bit kinky, but yeah, you could go there. But the only problem with that is, you won’t be able to go there until after November 25th. You can pre-order it from the artist’s web site, I would Google “Byrne” “Eno” and the album title. Or, if you want to have some fun, go into PREX every day from the time you read this review until it actually gets released (November 25th) and ask the clerk ‘is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’ ‘Is it in yet?’

Now, on a far more serious and sober note, I have to make a change to my schedule (not that recent computer and ISP problems haven’t made my life a fresh pile) but I had announced that I would be covering the Scars On Broadway concert later this month. If you are unaware, the band has cancelled the tour. Specifically, Daron Malakian stated on his MySpace page recently that; “his heart isn’t in it.”

What kind of boorish, toddler-time nonsense is this? I guess Malakian doesn’t need our hard-earned concert dollars. He only charged $19.50 and the fee was $7.50, so $27 total, per seat per show. He was most likely too used to the multi-millions he grossed with System Of A Down and realized it wasn’t all going to be like it was.

So thanks to Daron Malakian’s spoiled, unprofessional, adolescent business sense and probably an encirclement of yes men telling him what he wants to hear, there is no tour, hence no review. The truly sad part was that my best thing to ever happen to me and I went from listening to this album repeated times per day to a total boycott as the result of Malakian’s total disregard for his fans.

The good news is the new Todd Rundgren album is out and (as usual) something new, different and unexpected. I am off to review Killing Joke in NYC Saturday and Sunday, and after that we will fill in with Rundgren old and new. We will have a review of David Byrne performing this album live, he performs at the Tower Theater November 8th. So if all the tiny demons in my CAT-5 cable stay at bay, these reviews will come in a more timely fashion than they have lately.

I am off, to the gathering!!!!