Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (2001)

Stars of the Lid are by far my favorite ambient group; if you ever wondered what to listen to while you read on the couch with a mug of chamomile tea, look no further than this record. Have you ever wondered what the noise between space stations and satellites sounds like? How about the sounds of mice tunneling under snow?

And if you want to fall asleep to their languorous, slow-churning, drony textures; please do...

...I think that's the whole point of this record.

Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (2001; Kranky Records)

Links to Spotify

Gavin Bryars, Philip Jeck & Alter Ego - The Sinking of the Titanic (2007)

This is the live recording of the Gavin Bryars' minimalist masterpiece from 1975, utilizing the help of sound collage artiste Philip Jeck and the Italian classical sextet Alter Ego. 

The story behind the record goes like this: the band on the Titanic played the as the ship sank to help calm the passengers and ease the transition to the lifeboats; all eight musicians went down with the ship. Bryars' piece is meant both as an homage to the heroism of the musicians as well as what it may have sounded like- they chose Amazing Grace and another hymn Autumn as well as interspersing actual sound clips from survivors.

Take a dive into this heartbreaking and haunting solemn work of sound art.
Gavin Bryars, Alter Ego & Philip Jeck - The Sinking of the Titanic (1969-) 2007; Touch

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978)

As great as Brian Eno's non-ambient albums are (the one he did with David Byrne can be downloaded here); I've always been intrigued with this one. It's got more feeling than any other record; just atmospheres, textures and landscapes of the mind- it's also one of the most demanding records I own because of what it asks of the listener.

Most music with words (or even guitars or saxophones or drums or etc.) pretty much tell you how to feel; or rather what the musician was feeling at the time of recording. Eno has stated that his intention with Music For Airports was to defuse the tenseness and anxiety of air travel by creating "sound installations" to be played on continuous loops in the terminal, and as to not be noticeable to the listener. A sort of non-invasive procedure, done musically.

Robert Wyatt helps out on the piano on two tracks; I hate to use the word "track" here because the four pieces are so seamless, it really should be taken as a whole. This is from the 1983 Working Backwards box set so the last track is four minutes longer than the CD or vinyl pressings.

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978; Polydor Records)

Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air (1969)

Experimental minimal electronic progressive drone music?

Fucking sign me up.

And while you're at it, sign up The Who (for the inspiration Pete Townsend got to do the intro to Baba O'Riley), better sign up Rick Wakeman too.

Keith Emerson, you hear this shit? I know you did, stop hiding behind that monstrosity of an organ.

Tangerine Dream, you're on this list. Ja, ja sind sie hier eingeschaltet. 

Steve Reich, where'd you get the idea for your "pulses" and all that stuff on Music For 18 Musicians?

Philip Glass- you're so on the list (you're probably the only one to admit it...)

These are all the people that directly benefited from Terry Riley's work. Now you can benefit from it, too. Click the link below the album cover...

Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air (1969; Columbia Records)