Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Encyclopedia
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is the second album made in collaboration between David Byrne
and Brian Eno
, released on August 18, 2008, by Todo Mundo
. The album explores themes of humanity versus technology and optimism in spite of bleak circumstance through the blending of electronic
and Gospel music
. Critical reception was largely positive and the album received awards for both the musical content as well as the packaging and technical production.
This album is the first joint effort between the two musicians since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
and Eno's work producing
and co-writing with Talking Heads
. Byrne and Eno worked on the tracks with collaborators in their home studios throughout 2007 and early 2008 over e-mail. The single "Strange Overtones
" was released for free to promote the album and Byrne toured through 2008 and 2009
, performing songs from this release as well as the duo's previous collaborations. This tour was later documented with the live extended play
Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno and the concert film
Ride, Rise, Roar
.
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was released with a unique marketing strategy that involved Byrne creating the vanity label
Todo Mundo and hiring Internet startup company Topspin Media
to promote the album online using word-of-mouth and Internet sales to market the music. Several formats were created to allow users to have options on how to listen to the music—from free streaming audio to a deluxe package housed in a tin.
music show The Weekender that he was working with former collaborator Brian Eno on a brand new album of "proper songs," describing it as a "completely different thing" from the experimental
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
. While the two were discussing the 2006 remix
of that album at a dinner party, Eno suggested adding lyrics and vocals to songs that he had written and intended to finish, some of which were eight years old. The duo did not initially plan on making an entire album, but as they progressed, they felt confident enough to finish a full collection of songs. Although the two had discussed making an album together for several years, this was their first sincere effort since the early 1980s.
Byrne visited Eno's London studio to listen to the rough mixes
of his demos
and the two decided to collaborate to finish writing the songs, leaving Eno and Peter Chilvers
to convert a variety of digital music
formats into MIDI
, thereby stripping out extraneous information and making them suitable for Byrne to embellish (Chilvers would be thanked in the liner notes
as "Digital Archaeologist"). The two continued to work on this and other musical projects for several months—although Byrne confessed that he was initially "terrified" at writing lyrics for the demos—and agreed that if the project was not enjoyable for both of them, they would abandon it. The duo decided to remain low-key about the project and not announce their new collaboration for fear that they may not complete an album's worth of new material, or if they ended up re-treading their previous collaborations and decided against releasing the new songs.
. The songwriting's emphasis on vocals was partially inspired by Phillip Bimstein
. In autumn 2007, Byrne took a Compact Disc
of stereo
mixes of the demos from Eno and spent a year trying to write lyrics to finish the songs, attempting to balance the simple chords
that Eno had written with the more complex ones Byrne prefers. Although it was uncharacteristic for Eno, many of the songs were written on acoustic guitar
, with the help of Steinberg Cubase
. The musicians exchanged Eno's demos with the lyrics and vocal melodies completed by Byrne over e-mail until 14 songs were recorded prior to June 2008. Eno initially gave positive feedback, which encouraged Byrne to continue writing and only became critical as the project was finishing. Toward the end of the recording, Eno sent increasingly challenging tracks to see if Byrne could complete them—the final two ended up on the album as "I Feel My Stuff" and "Poor Boy".
At the outset, Byrne was hesitant to add lyrics to the tracks because it sounded too much like folk music
. He characterized the process as very slow and full of trepidation, in part because of expectations from their previous collaboration and also due to the strict division of labor they had between writing instrumentation and vocalization. Eno only provided a few vocal sketches and suggested simple changes like adding an extra chorus. Byrne made minimal changes to the instrumentation on several tracks and avoided changing chords in the melody to suit his singing style. The duo only worked in the studio together on two occasions, including one full week and a weekend on another occasion and neither partner got a veto in the process of track selection or production
. According to Byrne, the main challenge in this writing technique "was more emotional than technical: to write simple heartfelt tunes without drawing on cliché."
He later explained, "In a nutshell, Brian wrote most of the music, and I composed most of the vocal melodies and lyrics, and then sang them." If Byrne's vocal harmonies were radical enough, Eno would revise the instrumentation to accompany it, but Byrne avoided writing instrumentation and chose to adapt to the instrumentals as written. Using a style similar to the Talking Heads album Speaking in Tongues, Byrne scatted
and murmured some lyrics before they were completed and Eno also contributed some vocal harmonization he credits as "inhuman piano" due to Byrne's preference for the sonic quality of lyrics rather than their literal meaning and his method of writing lyrics using free association. In composing lyrics for the album, Byrne attempted to write keeping in mind what would please Eno as his collaborator. He also attempted to write harmonies for Eno, who decided against singing on the album.
Both musicians continued to work on their own projects during the composition of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Byrne conducted the second season
of Big Love
and completed his collaborations with Fatboy Slim
: the musical
and album Here Lies Love
and the non-album single
"Toe Jam". Eno produced Coldplay
's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
and U2
's No Line on the Horizon. Byrne and Eno discussed the former's collaboration with Fatboy Slim and Chris Martin
of Coldplay wrote a song to the instrumental track for "One Fine Day", but acquiesced when he heard Byrne's lyrics (the band would also adapt another one of Eno's instrumental compositions that Byrne did not finish into a track on Viva la Vida.) Once that song was finished, the two began in earnest writing the rest of the tracks. Byrne initially had a long delay in writing material, but as the project progressed, he got to working several hours a day on the album and put his collaboration with Fatboy Slim on hold to finish the songs in the spring of 2008, with two of the tracks were finished at the end of the sessions. He later described the process as easy once details were sort out and summed up this method as "pure joy" and declared writing collaboratively to be easier than writing solo. He even credited the time between their last collaboration and the transatlantic distance as a strength, since it allowed the two to keep their own schedules. Eno agreed, as it gave him time to focus on a small piece of music without holding up Byrne's progress. Byrne later used a similar approach in collaborations with St. Vincent and Will Oldham
through 2010 and 2011.
The two were inspired by Gospel music
and both have described it as "electronic Gospel"—in particular the tracks "Life Is Long" and "One Fine Day". In addition to subtle Biblical
themes in the lyrics, Eno was influenced by Gospel musicality, which he initially discovered through Talking Heads while working on More Songs About Buildings and Food
by listening to "Surrender to His Will" by Reverend Maceo Woods and The Christian Tabernacle Choir. For several years leading up to this project, Eno had primarily listened to Gospel music—even joining a Gospel choir
—and was attracted to the music's unrestrained vocals and lack of pessimism as well as its inclusive nature. Eno had been thinking about Gospel for several years, but could not write lyrics to hopeful songs.
While Byrne considers the music "[un]like any contemporary gospel record that you would hear out there," it is "informed by that feeling and those kind of lyrics, which allude to hope in the face of despair." Eno also considers the album "something that combines something very human and fallible and personal, with something very electronic and mathematical sometimes." The music combines electronic and Gospel influences to "make that picture of the human still trying to survive in an increasingly complicated digital world... It's quite easy to make just digital music and it's quite easy to make just human music, but to try and make a combination is sort of, exciting, I think." Tracks such as "My Big Nurse" combine apocalypticism
and comfort, blending hopefulness and despair.
The instrumental demos were primarily written in major chord
s, which Byrne considered slightly "ominous" and surprising from Eno. In spite of this, Byrne's lyrics ended up being hopeful and spiritual, with themes of redemption—what he considers "optimism in spite of the dread." The tension between optimism and pessimism and the spiritual themes quickly emerged over the course of a year in which Byrne was writing lyrics, which he has speculated might be an antidote to being "completely pessimistic and cynical about politics and the state of the world;" for instance, "The River" is about the effects
of Hurricane Katrina
. He has also cited the political climate of the Iraq War, the beginning of the late-2000s recession, the policies of the George W. Bush administration, and his 2004 divorce from Adelle Lutz
as factors that inspired him to create uplifting music. As he explained, "I was surprised that's what came out... The tracks are very different from what I would have done myself. I lean toward things that are more complicated." Eno also thinks the album is much better than the songs he imagined when composing them solo.
Eno has also said the album is about "paint[ing] a picture of the human trying to survive in an increasingly digital world" and Byrne considered his job as lyricist to "bring more humanity" to Eno's instrumentals, which can be "cold and academic." Themes of humanity struggling with technology are apparent on several tracks and Byrne has characterized the "overall vibe" of the album as "We're going to get through this. Humanity will prevail." The lyrical content includes "a sinister inflection" but "many songs feel fairly uplifting and the overall tone is hopeful." Byrne focused on mundane events and attempted to write in a style that was "simple but not corny, basic but heartfelt." His inspiration in writing lyrics for "One Fine Day" was the story of Valentino Achak Deng as told in Dave Eggers
' What Is the What
—the two are thanked in the liner notes and Byrne had previously performed at a fundraiser for Eggers' 826 Valencia
. The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan
is emblematic of the spiritual themes of the album as they go through "all kinds of unrelenting horrors, but [are] eternally hopeful and even cheerful, in a way that defies all logic." The music on this album also expresses homesickness
—a lyrical trend that is apparent in Byrne's work with Talking Heads.
By March 2008, the duo had recruited Seb Rochford
to play drums
with Byrne in New York City
. Multi-instrumentalist and previous Eno collaborator Leo Abrahams
performed guitar
, percussion instrument
s, and piano
in his London home studio and played guitar with Byrne on one occasion. Abrahams and Rochford would continue working on the tracks in Abrahams' studio through May, with all collaborations being carried on via e-mail. Other musicians worked with Byrne in New York City and Eno in London, such as frequent Byrne collaborator Mauro Refosco, Eno's daughters Darla and Irial, and Jarvis Cocker
of Pulp
, who added uncredited guitar in London. The duo attempted to record as much of the music from home studios as possible, saving the drums
and percussion for the studio. In addition to the tracks that were released, the musicians had some other instrumentals that Byrne did not complete.
Speaking at an April 2008 event in New York, Byrne confirmed the release of a new album, calling it a "record of sung songs" in contrast to the experimental music from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and later told the New York Daily News that "Brian had written a lot of music, but needed some words, which I know how to do. What's it sound like? Electronic Gospel. That's all I'm saying." Eno also explained the differences between this album and their previous one saying, "[T]his is quite different from My Life in that the intention of that album was to not use our voices at all, but instead to find voices and stick them on to the music. This new one is different – these are songs written and sung by David... They go from electronic folk
Gospel to quite indefinable areas of music."
Throughout the spring and summer, Abrahams recorded drums at his home studio and Cherif Hashizume recorded more at Cafe Music Studios, while Robert Harder at Harder Sound recorded the drums on "My Big Nurse", "Never Thought", "The Painting", and "Life Is Long". Abrahams collected all of the recordings to have them mixed and Byrne booked tour dates in anticipation of completing the album. Mixing continued through June 2008 in New York by previous Byrne collaborator Patrick Dillett at Kampo Studios, who recorded brass
and percussion. They e-mailed the mixes to Eno for final approval and sent the finalized audio to Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound for mastering
. On July 28, 2008, details of the album became public knowledge when Byrne posted on his blog
that he and Eno had finished the new album and it would be released on August 18. The album website was launched on the same day, with an a promotional video of Byrne introducing the new album.
with Richard The, Joe Shouldice, and Jared Stone; illustration by Stephan Walter; and production by Gamil Design
. Sagmeister had earlier received a Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Grammy
in 2005 for art direction
on the Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime box set and also designed the cover to Byrne's Feelings. This album would also win a Grammy in 2010 for Best Record Packaging and was also recognized by Creative Review
.
His inspiration for the packaging was based on the song "Home" and the artwork reflects an urban scene of a house by a roadside; the liner notes
provide closeups on the home and the artwork on the Compact Disc is the grass from the lawn. Sagmeister proceeded to create not only an image for the cover, but an entire three-dimensional model for the house, which was later released as the deluxe edition packaging. Upon repeated listenings to the album, he became convinced that there was a sinister element to the setting and provided clues to the "dark edge" of the scene, such as a discarded condom
wrapper in the gutter, a man looking out the window with binoculars, and a gasoline canteen in the garage.
The deluxe package comes in a tin with a microchip that plays a sound of someone walking down a hallway in the house and slamming a door when the package is opened. The urban themes of the packaging are expanded in this edition, with the album entitled "Stick" and the bonus content "Rock"; discs are designed to look like they are covered in grass. This design of a pixelated
, dimetric projection domestic scene has been compared to The Sims
.
and for purchase as a download of DRM
-free MP3s
. The duo released the album from other online digital music services starting the following month, including 7 Digital, Amazon MP3
, eMusic
, the iTunes Store
, Napster
, and the Zune Marketplace. No record label was involved in releasing the digital format and independent distributors were allowed to handle the physical product, which was released on November 25 as an enhanced CD
and a deluxe-packaged CD in a tin.
In addition, customers are entitled to lossless
FLAC versions of the album at no extra cost. By mid-December 2008, 12 percent of customers chose to download the FLAC option.
This album is catalogued as the second release from Byrne's vanity label Todo Mundo after Big Love: Hymnal
; copies of the CD were marked CD-TODO-002. The CD was released in Japan with a bonus track—"Poor Boy" (Eno & Leo Abrahams Remix)—and obi strip
in November 2008 through Beat Records
with catalogue number BRC-218. On February 17, 2009, the album was released on 180-gram vinyl LP
as LP-TODO-002.
"—was released on August 4, 2008, as a free digital download available only through the album's website. The track has been described as "a song about writing a song" and features thematic elements of humanity versus technology that are explored throughout the album. It was downloaded over 40,000 times within the first three days it was available. In September 2008, Jon Yeo created a music video for the track featuring the paintings of Brian Eno. In May 2009, the song was replaced by "One Fine Day" as a free download to promote the EP Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno.
. Positive reviews have labeled it "exceedingly pleasant" (Billboard
) "maddeningly infectious" (BBC), and "vibrant" (Tucson Weekly
.) The music has been compared to the tone of U2, Radiohead
, The Flaming Lips
, R.E.M.
's Up
, and Paul Simon
—especially his 2006 Eno collaboration Surprise
; the vocals have been declared similar to Neil Young
; and the arrangement
has been compared to The Beach Boys
. Comparisons have been made with musical genres as diverse as country music
and old school hip hop
. One weakness addressed by several reviewers is the unoriginality of the music, especially in comparison to the duo's previous collaborations.
Contrasting Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, some have found a connection between the two—as well as Eno's solo work and production of Talking Heads' Remain in Light
and Little Creatures
, which was produced by the band—in part due to the unique use of technology in the creation of both. Other commentators have emphasized the differences between the two projects considering this album to be an "antithesis," "conservative," and "less exciting," in addition to the decision to forgo African beats
and world music
on this album and focus on Western
pop songcraft. In particular, the experimental nature of the former has been contrasted with the pop music
style of this album. Audra Schroeder of The Austin Chronicle noted "Thirty years after first collaborating on the Talking Heads, these two don't have to mine the past since there's nothing that remarkable about Everything." Francis Jones summed up his review for Hot Press
by concluding "No boundaries were harmed in its making but ETHWHT is an album of unquestionably great songs" and Louise Gray of New Internationalist
declared that, "it's not got the edgy, funky bricolage that characterized the earlier album and nor does it seek that." At the same time, other reviewers have found the break with the experimental nature of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts to be positive. Jim DeRogatis
from the Chicago Sun-Times
observed:
Reviews have emphasized the contrast between optimism and foreboding on the album. In addition, several reviewers have noted parallels between this album and Byrne's Big Love: Hymnal, particularly their common spiritual themes and atmospheric moods. Resident Advisor
s review also notes the shift in Eno's recordings toward more Gospel vocals. Steve Matteo of Crawdaddy!
wrote that Eno's production dominates the album, wheres Filter
s Ken Scrudato considers the album primarily a David Byrne venture, while The Village Voice
has declared this album "more expansive and adventurous" than anything else Byrne has released in decades and Greg Kot
of The Chicago Tribune wrote that the album features "one of the strongest vocal performances of Byrne's career." Consequence of Sound
's review notes continuity between this album and Byrne's 2004 release Grown Backwards
.
s—Best Alternative Music Album
, Best Recording Package
, and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
—on December 2, 2009. On February 8, 2009, designer Stefan Sagmeister won the award for Best Recording Package at the 51st Grammy Awards
. The deluxe edition packaging was given a bronze medal by the Art Directors Club. The album was nominated for a Technical Excellence & Creativity Award
in the Record Production/Album category.
Several year-end lists included the album amongst the best releases of 2008:
DeRogatis' and Kot's reviews were featured on Sound Opinions
and the album was also placed on two individual writers' lists for No Ripcord. Two contributors to No Depression included the album on their best-of lists for 2008. The A.V. Club
commissioned celebrities to give their picks for album of the year and Tim Heidecker
chose Everything That Happens Will Happen Today describing it as "the most interesting and listenable pop record of the year, in my book." The Fader
s 2008 year in review named this one of the "Top Twelve Albums That We Thought Would Have a Bigger Impact On Our Lives", but later declared the album "career-defining." The publication dedicated their annual icon issue to Byrne in 2009 in part due to the success of this album.
Several songs from this album appeared on The Village Voice
s Pazz & Jop
singles poll for 2008—"Strange Overtones" came in at 60, "Life Is Long" placed 337, "My Big Nurse" was 350, "Everything That Happens" ended up at 748, and "I Feel My Stuff" reached 942. In addition, a vote was cast for "".
s" by September 6. A report in late December asserted that they had sold "nearly 20,000 downloads." In March 2009, Ian C. Rogers of Topspin Media
explained that 20 percent of those who listened to the album streaming chose to purchase it and 30 percent of them included a physical copy of the CD; trends that would hold through September of that year. By October 2008, Byrne explained that they had recouped their losses on the album and that sales had "paid back the recording costs and costs for building the Web site." He would later explain that this business model worked well for established acts as well as smaller bands, due to minimal production and distribution costs. Their business model also allowed them to self-release and plan a tour immediately after finishing the music production, rather than wait months for record label advancement.
The album did not chart until it was physically released—a development which surprised Byrne. In the first week of December, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today reached the top spot on the College Music Journal
AAA charts and third on the CMJ Radio 200. The album entered the Billboard 200
for the week of January 17, 2009, debuting at 182 with 4,008 copies sold. It peaked the following week at 174 before dropping off the charts. It was on the Independent Albums
chart for 10 weeks, reaching 18.
While Byrne and Eno did a few interviews for the album and subsequent tour, the two attempted to market Everything That Happens Will Happen Today via word-of-mouth and Internet hype rather than a traditional marketing scheme. Eno was convinced in part because of his own preferences for digital music from the iTunes Store
rather than CDs as well as the success of Radiohead
's 2007 album In Rainbows
and the self-promotional strategies of Nine Inch Nails
for the albums Year Zero
, Ghosts I–IV
, and The Slip
. Byrne was also impressed by Radiohead's release strategy as a means of valuing music. The duo carefully avoided Internet leak
s by not giving out promotional copies of the album to journalists, but Byrne did preview the song "One Fine Day" prior to the release by performing it with a choir of senior citizens and Eno invited Mark Coles for the BBC World Service
program The Beat to his home to listen to the songs on Eno's laptop.
In 2010, several of the songs from this album—"Home", "I Feel My Stuff", "Life Is Long", "My Big Nurse", and "Strange Overtones"—were included in the Todo Mundo soundtrack album to the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps along with other David Byrne songs.
Byrne has outlined the relative merits of different distribution models with this one reflecting his "self-distribution model" in which "the artist stands to receive the largest percentage of income from sales per unit—sales of anything. A larger percentage of fewer sales, most likely, but not always. Artists doing it for themselves can actually make more money than the massive pop star, even though the sales numbers may seem minuscule by comparison." One of the motivations for creating this album over the Internet was that very article Byrne wrote for Wired
as well as Eno's belief that music fans want more than just the music on an album and prefer collectible deluxe editions of albums as well as the live performances that promote them. A month after releasing the album, Byrne was skeptical of market saturation claiming "I sense that a lot of people don't know we have a record out" and hoped to counter-balance that ignorance with his tour. He also described the digital music market as "so infinite [that] it's easy for music to get lost out there" and has noted that this business model would not work for performers who are not already established.
The duo enlisted a music marketing startup company
—Topspin Media—to design their site, delivery options for the digital music, and promotional web widget
s. Like the entirety of the recording process, the marketing was self-financed and controlled by the artists, with Topspin taking a portion of the money made from digital sales. This allowed the artists to control creative aspects of producing music as well as the overhead costs
associated with marketing an album. The company used viral marketing
techniques to collect potential customers' e-mail addresses and encourage them to post the album streaming on their blog
s. By early November, the collected e-mail addresses amounted to 37 percent of the album sales. Topspin have also created a Flickr
pool encouraging users to upload screenshot
s of the widget posted to web sites. No ads were taken out for the album.
Byrne and Eno were praised by Fast Company
for their innovative use of Internet marketing and distribution for this album as well as several other releases and the promotion of this album has been lauded as a way of undermining copyright infringement
. Key to their success was the software that Topspin Media developed and later commercially released as a bundle for other companies and artists to use, explaining that "In the first eight weeks following the launch of the David Byrne and Brian Eno self-released record, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, the Topspin platform helped us generate Direct-to-Fan
revenue at the very least the equivalent to what we would have expected from a label advance." Topspin's platform resulted in directs profits equivalent to the advance
of a record label that went directly to Byrne and Eno. Based in part on the success of marketing this album, representatives of Topspin were invited to teach a course on music marketing at Berklee College of Music
in September 2009 and Ian C. Rogers lead a panel discussion at South by Southwest
on options for independent music artists.
promote the album Illinois
as well as the Japanese films Funky Forest
and The Taste of Tea
. Byrne was initially uninvolved in the choreography, but made more suggestions as the tour went on and after he saw a live performance by Deerhoof
that incorporated dancing with instruments. He began booking tour dates before the album was completed and continued writing his book The Bicycle Diaries throughout the tour.
In planning the set lists for the tour, Byrne initially considered only promoting this album but decided to assemble songs from this album as well as his previous collaborations with Brian Eno, including the Talking Heads albums More Songs About Buildings and Food
, Fear of Music
, and Remain in Light
and Byrne's The Catherine Wheel
soundtrack. By playing music from all of their collaborations, Byrne hoped to "draw a line linking this new material with what we did 30 years ago" with the goal of clarifying the connection between all of the duo's previous work. In reviewing their past music, he found that "[t]here might be more continuity than I imagined, which I hope is going to work in my favor." Although Eno was invited to participate and early reports indicated that he would, Eno ultimately chose not to tour with Byrne, letting Byrne decide how to present this music live.
. The album features four songs recorded in December 2008 on the tour. Topspin Media offered the same digital download options to purchase the EP and the company created a second embeddable
media player to promote the album.
circuit. The debut was at South by Southwest
on March 15, 2010, where it was screened in all three media categories—film, interactive, and music. Byrne attended some British screenings for question and answer sessions.
Ride, Rise, Roar is the feature-length directorial debut by Hillman Curtis—Byrne approached him after his satisfaction with the short film that accompanies the deluxe edition of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The documentary includes concert footage, film of the planning and rehearsals for the tour, and exclusive interviews with Byrne, Eno, and the supporting musicians and dancers. Curtis was initially contacted to document the tour with no clear objective for the film and decided to focus on the collaboration between Byrne and his tour mates as well as the unique challenge of combining popular music
with modern dance
.
; all music by Byrne (vocals) and Brian Eno
(instrumentation), except "Strange Overtones" co-written by Leo Abrahams
.
Japanese release
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
"My Big Nurse"
"I Feel My Stuff"
"Everything That Happens"
"Life Is Long"
"The River"
"Strange Overtones"
"Wanted for Life"
"One Fine Day"
"Poor Boy"
"The Lighthouse"
"Never Thought"
"Walking Along the River"
"The Eyes"
"The Painting"
Other
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, released on August 18, 2008, by Todo Mundo
Todo Mundo
Todo Mundo is an independent record label founded by David Byrne in 2008. The first releases from the label were Byrne's soundtrack to season two of Big Love—Big Love: Hymnal—and his collaboration with Brian Eno Everything That Happens Will Happen Today...
. The album explores themes of humanity versus technology and optimism in spite of bleak circumstance through the blending of electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. Critical reception was largely positive and the album received awards for both the musical content as well as the packaging and technical production.
This album is the first joint effort between the two musicians since 1981's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (album)
The album was recorded entirely with analogue technology, before the advent of digital sequencing and MIDI. The sampled voices were synchronized with the instrumental tracks via trial and error, a practice that was often frustrating, but which also produced several happy accidents.Also according to...
and Eno's work producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and co-writing with Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
. Byrne and Eno worked on the tracks with collaborators in their home studios throughout 2007 and early 2008 over e-mail. The single "Strange Overtones
Strange Overtones
"Strange Overtones" is a song recorded by David Byrne and Brian Eno, written by the duo with Leo Abrahams. It was released on August 4, 2008 by means of free download as the lead single from Byrne's and Eno's second collaborative studio album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today...
" was released for free to promote the album and Byrne toured through 2008 and 2009
Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour
The Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour is a 2008–2009 promotional concert tour of music co-written by David Byrne and Brian Eno with performances by Byrne...
, performing songs from this release as well as the duo's previous collaborations. This tour was later documented with the live extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno and the concert film
Concert film
A concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by a musician ....
Ride, Rise, Roar
Ride, Rise, Roar
Ride, Rise, Roar is a documentary film chronicling the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour conducted by David Byrne in 2008–2009. The film includes concert footage, footage of the planning and rehearsals for the tour, and exclusive interviews with Byrne, Eno, and the supporting musicians and...
.
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was released with a unique marketing strategy that involved Byrne creating the vanity label
Vanity label
A vanity label is an informal name given sometimes to a record label founded as a wholly or partially owned subsidiary of another, larger and better established record label, where the subsidiary label is controlled by a successful recording artist, designed to allow this artist...
Todo Mundo and hiring Internet startup company Topspin Media
Topspin Media
Topspin Media is a technology company that provides e-commerce and marketing software & services for artists, their representatives, and their business partners...
to promote the album online using word-of-mouth and Internet sales to market the music. Several formats were created to allow users to have options on how to listen to the music—from free streaming audio to a deluxe package housed in a tin.
Background
In December 2007, David Byrne announced on the BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
music show The Weekender that he was working with former collaborator Brian Eno on a brand new album of "proper songs," describing it as a "completely different thing" from the experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (album)
The album was recorded entirely with analogue technology, before the advent of digital sequencing and MIDI. The sampled voices were synchronized with the instrumental tracks via trial and error, a practice that was often frustrating, but which also produced several happy accidents.Also according to...
. While the two were discussing the 2006 remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of that album at a dinner party, Eno suggested adding lyrics and vocals to songs that he had written and intended to finish, some of which were eight years old. The duo did not initially plan on making an entire album, but as they progressed, they felt confident enough to finish a full collection of songs. Although the two had discussed making an album together for several years, this was their first sincere effort since the early 1980s.
Byrne visited Eno's London studio to listen to the rough mixes
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
of his demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and the two decided to collaborate to finish writing the songs, leaving Eno and Peter Chilvers
Peter Chilvers (musician)
Peter Chilvers is a Cambridgeshire-based British musician and composer best known as a collaborator with Brian Eno and Tim Bowness.Chilvers is one of the three co-founders of the Burning Shed online record label, with Tim Bowness and Pete Morgan....
to convert a variety of digital music
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
formats into MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
, thereby stripping out extraneous information and making them suitable for Byrne to embellish (Chilvers would be thanked in the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
as "Digital Archaeologist"). The two continued to work on this and other musical projects for several months—although Byrne confessed that he was initially "terrified" at writing lyrics for the demos—and agreed that if the project was not enjoyable for both of them, they would abandon it. The duo decided to remain low-key about the project and not announce their new collaboration for fear that they may not complete an album's worth of new material, or if they ended up re-treading their previous collaborations and decided against releasing the new songs.
Composition
Eno had several musical compositions, but could not write lyrics to accompany them, whereas Byrne had several lyrics with no accompaniment. Eno wanted to make the vocals the "central event" of the music by pairing Gospel singing with unexpected electronic music that also included elements of West African musicMusic of West Africa
West Africa stretches from the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Ocean. The region's musical heritage includes a variety of popular music styles, especially from the countries of Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Sierra Leone and Nigeria...
. The songwriting's emphasis on vocals was partially inspired by Phillip Bimstein
Phillip Bimstein
Phillip Bimstein is an American alternative classical music composer and politician.-History:After majoring in music theory and composition at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, in the 1980s Bimstein led the new wave band Phil 'n' the Blanks, whose three albums and six videos were featured on...
. In autumn 2007, Byrne took a Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
mixes of the demos from Eno and spent a year trying to write lyrics to finish the songs, attempting to balance the simple chords
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
that Eno had written with the more complex ones Byrne prefers. Although it was uncharacteristic for Eno, many of the songs were written on acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, with the help of Steinberg Cubase
Steinberg Cubase
Cubase is a music software product developed by Steinberg for music recording, arranging and editing as part of a Digital Audio Workstation. It is one of the oldest DAWs to still enjoy widespread use...
. The musicians exchanged Eno's demos with the lyrics and vocal melodies completed by Byrne over e-mail until 14 songs were recorded prior to June 2008. Eno initially gave positive feedback, which encouraged Byrne to continue writing and only became critical as the project was finishing. Toward the end of the recording, Eno sent increasingly challenging tracks to see if Byrne could complete them—the final two ended up on the album as "I Feel My Stuff" and "Poor Boy".
At the outset, Byrne was hesitant to add lyrics to the tracks because it sounded too much like folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. He characterized the process as very slow and full of trepidation, in part because of expectations from their previous collaboration and also due to the strict division of labor they had between writing instrumentation and vocalization. Eno only provided a few vocal sketches and suggested simple changes like adding an extra chorus. Byrne made minimal changes to the instrumentation on several tracks and avoided changing chords in the melody to suit his singing style. The duo only worked in the studio together on two occasions, including one full week and a weekend on another occasion and neither partner got a veto in the process of track selection or production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. According to Byrne, the main challenge in this writing technique "was more emotional than technical: to write simple heartfelt tunes without drawing on cliché."
He later explained, "In a nutshell, Brian wrote most of the music, and I composed most of the vocal melodies and lyrics, and then sang them." If Byrne's vocal harmonies were radical enough, Eno would revise the instrumentation to accompany it, but Byrne avoided writing instrumentation and chose to adapt to the instrumentals as written. Using a style similar to the Talking Heads album Speaking in Tongues, Byrne scatted
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
and murmured some lyrics before they were completed and Eno also contributed some vocal harmonization he credits as "inhuman piano" due to Byrne's preference for the sonic quality of lyrics rather than their literal meaning and his method of writing lyrics using free association. In composing lyrics for the album, Byrne attempted to write keeping in mind what would please Eno as his collaborator. He also attempted to write harmonies for Eno, who decided against singing on the album.
Both musicians continued to work on their own projects during the composition of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Byrne conducted the second season
Big Love: Hymnal
Big Love: Hymnal – Music Written for the HBO Series Plus Other Recent Compositions is a soundtrack album by David Byrne including music composed for the HBO television drama Big Love released on August 19, 2008...
of Big Love
Big Love
Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
and completed his collaborations with Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
: the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and album Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave...
and the non-album single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Toe Jam". Eno produced Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life"...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's No Line on the Horizon. Byrne and Eno discussed the former's collaboration with Fatboy Slim and Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
of Coldplay wrote a song to the instrumental track for "One Fine Day", but acquiesced when he heard Byrne's lyrics (the band would also adapt another one of Eno's instrumental compositions that Byrne did not finish into a track on Viva la Vida.) Once that song was finished, the two began in earnest writing the rest of the tracks. Byrne initially had a long delay in writing material, but as the project progressed, he got to working several hours a day on the album and put his collaboration with Fatboy Slim on hold to finish the songs in the spring of 2008, with two of the tracks were finished at the end of the sessions. He later described the process as easy once details were sort out and summed up this method as "pure joy" and declared writing collaboratively to be easier than writing solo. He even credited the time between their last collaboration and the transatlantic distance as a strength, since it allowed the two to keep their own schedules. Eno agreed, as it gave him time to focus on a small piece of music without holding up Byrne's progress. Byrne later used a similar approach in collaborations with St. Vincent and Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
through 2010 and 2011.
Themes
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and both have described it as "electronic Gospel"—in particular the tracks "Life Is Long" and "One Fine Day". In addition to subtle Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
themes in the lyrics, Eno was influenced by Gospel musicality, which he initially discovered through Talking Heads while working on More Songs About Buildings and Food
More Songs about Buildings and Food
More Songs About Buildings and Food is Talking Heads' second album, the first of a string of three co-produced by Brian Eno. The album was significantly more popular than their first, Talking Heads: 77...
by listening to "Surrender to His Will" by Reverend Maceo Woods and The Christian Tabernacle Choir. For several years leading up to this project, Eno had primarily listened to Gospel music—even joining a Gospel choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
—and was attracted to the music's unrestrained vocals and lack of pessimism as well as its inclusive nature. Eno had been thinking about Gospel for several years, but could not write lyrics to hopeful songs.
While Byrne considers the music "[un]like any contemporary gospel record that you would hear out there," it is "informed by that feeling and those kind of lyrics, which allude to hope in the face of despair." Eno also considers the album "something that combines something very human and fallible and personal, with something very electronic and mathematical sometimes." The music combines electronic and Gospel influences to "make that picture of the human still trying to survive in an increasingly complicated digital world... It's quite easy to make just digital music and it's quite easy to make just human music, but to try and make a combination is sort of, exciting, I think." Tracks such as "My Big Nurse" combine apocalypticism
Apocalypticism
Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revelation of God's will, but now usually refers to belief that the world will come to an end time very soon, even within one's own lifetime...
and comfort, blending hopefulness and despair.
The instrumental demos were primarily written in major chord
Major chord
In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major triad...
s, which Byrne considered slightly "ominous" and surprising from Eno. In spite of this, Byrne's lyrics ended up being hopeful and spiritual, with themes of redemption—what he considers "optimism in spite of the dread." The tension between optimism and pessimism and the spiritual themes quickly emerged over the course of a year in which Byrne was writing lyrics, which he has speculated might be an antidote to being "completely pessimistic and cynical about politics and the state of the world;" for instance, "The River" is about the effects
Hurricane Katrina effects by region
This article covers the Hurricane Katrina effects by region, within the United States and Canada. The effects of Hurricane Katrina, in August 2005, were catastrophic and widespread. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, leaving 1836 people dead, and a further 705 missing....
of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He has also cited the political climate of the Iraq War, the beginning of the late-2000s recession, the policies of the George W. Bush administration, and his 2004 divorce from Adelle Lutz
Adelle Lutz
Adelle Lutz is a costume designer, model and actress.Lutz is a daughter of a Japanese mother, Mona Lutz and a German father, Walter E. Lutz. She was the wife of David Byrne, but divorced in 2004 with a daughter, Malu Valentine...
as factors that inspired him to create uplifting music. As he explained, "I was surprised that's what came out... The tracks are very different from what I would have done myself. I lean toward things that are more complicated." Eno also thinks the album is much better than the songs he imagined when composing them solo.
Eno has also said the album is about "paint[ing] a picture of the human trying to survive in an increasingly digital world" and Byrne considered his job as lyricist to "bring more humanity" to Eno's instrumentals, which can be "cold and academic." Themes of humanity struggling with technology are apparent on several tracks and Byrne has characterized the "overall vibe" of the album as "We're going to get through this. Humanity will prevail." The lyrical content includes "a sinister inflection" but "many songs feel fairly uplifting and the overall tone is hopeful." Byrne focused on mundane events and attempted to write in a style that was "simple but not corny, basic but heartfelt." His inspiration in writing lyrics for "One Fine Day" was the story of Valentino Achak Deng as told in Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
' What Is the What
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng
What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.-Plot summary:...
—the two are thanked in the liner notes and Byrne had previously performed at a fundraiser for Eggers' 826 Valencia
826 Valencia
826 Valencia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.-Overview:...
. The story of the Lost Boys of Sudan
Lost Boys of Sudan
The Lost Boys of Sudan is the name given to the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War , about 2.5 million killed and millions were displaced...
is emblematic of the spiritual themes of the album as they go through "all kinds of unrelenting horrors, but [are] eternally hopeful and even cheerful, in a way that defies all logic." The music on this album also expresses homesickness
Homesickness
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects....
—a lyrical trend that is apparent in Byrne's work with Talking Heads.
Production
Seb Rochford
Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
to play drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
with Byrne in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Multi-instrumentalist and previous Eno collaborator Leo Abrahams
Leo Abrahams
Leo Abrahams is a British musician, composer, and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as...
performed guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, percussion instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
s, and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in his London home studio and played guitar with Byrne on one occasion. Abrahams and Rochford would continue working on the tracks in Abrahams' studio through May, with all collaborations being carried on via e-mail. Other musicians worked with Byrne in New York City and Eno in London, such as frequent Byrne collaborator Mauro Refosco, Eno's daughters Darla and Irial, and Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
of Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
, who added uncredited guitar in London. The duo attempted to record as much of the music from home studios as possible, saving the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussion for the studio. In addition to the tracks that were released, the musicians had some other instrumentals that Byrne did not complete.
Speaking at an April 2008 event in New York, Byrne confirmed the release of a new album, calling it a "record of sung songs" in contrast to the experimental music from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and later told the New York Daily News that "Brian had written a lot of music, but needed some words, which I know how to do. What's it sound like? Electronic Gospel. That's all I'm saying." Eno also explained the differences between this album and their previous one saying, "[T]his is quite different from My Life in that the intention of that album was to not use our voices at all, but instead to find voices and stick them on to the music. This new one is different – these are songs written and sung by David... They go from electronic folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Gospel to quite indefinable areas of music."
Throughout the spring and summer, Abrahams recorded drums at his home studio and Cherif Hashizume recorded more at Cafe Music Studios, while Robert Harder at Harder Sound recorded the drums on "My Big Nurse", "Never Thought", "The Painting", and "Life Is Long". Abrahams collected all of the recordings to have them mixed and Byrne booked tour dates in anticipation of completing the album. Mixing continued through June 2008 in New York by previous Byrne collaborator Patrick Dillett at Kampo Studios, who recorded brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
and percussion. They e-mailed the mixes to Eno for final approval and sent the finalized audio to Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound for mastering
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
. On July 28, 2008, details of the album became public knowledge when Byrne posted on his blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that he and Eno had finished the new album and it would be released on August 18. The album website was launched on the same day, with an a promotional video of Byrne introducing the new album.
Design
The physical releases of the album came with graphics and packaging designed by Stefan SagmeisterStefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer. He has his own design firm—Sagmeister Inc.—in New York City. He has designed album covers for Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith and Pat Metheny.-Biography:Sagmeister studied graphic design at the...
with Richard The, Joe Shouldice, and Jared Stone; illustration by Stephan Walter; and production by Gamil Design
Gamil Design
Gamil Design Inc. is a product and graphic design company located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is best known for the fact that many users of Gmail have mistyped and arrived at the company's web site . Gamil also designs products for customers around the world, most of them sports-related .-About...
. Sagmeister had earlier received a Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
The Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package has been presented since 1995. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1995 to 1997 the award was known as Best Recording Package - Boxed...
Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 2005 for art direction
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
on the Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime box set and also designed the cover to Byrne's Feelings. This album would also win a Grammy in 2010 for Best Record Packaging and was also recognized by Creative Review
Creative Review
Creative Review is a monthly magazine targeted on the commercial arts and design scene. Creative Review has a circulation of around 20,000 readers. In general it focuses content on media originating in United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, showcasing some of the best contemporary...
.
His inspiration for the packaging was based on the song "Home" and the artwork reflects an urban scene of a house by a roadside; the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
provide closeups on the home and the artwork on the Compact Disc is the grass from the lawn. Sagmeister proceeded to create not only an image for the cover, but an entire three-dimensional model for the house, which was later released as the deluxe edition packaging. Upon repeated listenings to the album, he became convinced that there was a sinister element to the setting and provided clues to the "dark edge" of the scene, such as a discarded condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
wrapper in the gutter, a man looking out the window with binoculars, and a gasoline canteen in the garage.
The deluxe package comes in a tin with a microchip that plays a sound of someone walking down a hallway in the house and slamming a door when the package is opened. The urban themes of the packaging are expanded in this edition, with the album entitled "Stick" and the bonus content "Rock"; discs are designed to look like they are covered in grass. This design of a pixelated
Pixelation
In computer graphics, pixelation is an effect caused by displaying a bitmap or a section of a bitmap at such a large size that individual pixels, small single-colored square display elements that comprise the bitmap, are visible to the eye...
, dimetric projection domestic scene has been compared to The Sims
The Sims
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
.
Release
The album was self-released on August 18, 2008, exclusively through the album's website. It was made available there free for streamingStreaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
and for purchase as a download of DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free MP3s
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
. The duo released the album from other online digital music services starting the following month, including 7 Digital, Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 is an online music store owned and operated by Amazon.com. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from the four major music labels , as well as many independents...
, eMusic
EMusic
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City with an office in London and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....
, the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, Napster
Napster (pay service)
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a file sharing service. For more information about its founding mission as a free file sharing service, see Napster.-History:...
, and the Zune Marketplace. No record label was involved in releasing the digital format and independent distributors were allowed to handle the physical product, which was released on November 25 as an enhanced CD
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
and a deluxe-packaged CD in a tin.
Formats and release history
Initially, three distinct versions of the album were released:- Digital only – as 320 kbit/s MP3s, with a 17-page PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
digital bookletDigital bookletDigital booklets are the digital equivalent of liner notes that often accompany digital music purchases. They are most commonly distributed in Portable Document Format. One well-known distributor of digital booklets with digital purchases is the iTunes Store; the first instance of this on the...
designed by Stefan SagmeisterStefan SagmeisterStefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer. He has his own design firm—Sagmeister Inc.—in New York City. He has designed album covers for Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith and Pat Metheny.-Biography:Sagmeister studied graphic design at the...
. - Digital album with CD – everything included above as well as an Enhanced CD; initial orders were mailed to customers by November 30, 2008.
- Deluxe CD – everything from both packages above as well as a bonus disc with four exclusive songs, a short film about the album directed by Hillman CurtisHillman CurtisDavid Hillman Curtis is an American new media designer, author, and filmmaker. Curtis is the Principal and Chief Creative Officer of hillmancurtis.com, inc., a digital design and film production firm in New York City. Previously, he was design director for Macromedia...
, and a screensaverScreensaverA screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
. The discs were housed in a three-dimensional version of the packaging that also contained expanded liner notes, a dieDiceA die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
with obscure phrases such as "A Dirty Bird" and "The Human Brain" printed on it, and a red and white capsule fit for human consumption. Delays caused this version to be shipped in December 2008.
In addition, customers are entitled to lossless
Lossless data compression
Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. The term lossless is in contrast to lossy data compression, which only allows an approximation of the original data to be reconstructed, in exchange...
FLAC versions of the album at no extra cost. By mid-December 2008, 12 percent of customers chose to download the FLAC option.
This album is catalogued as the second release from Byrne's vanity label Todo Mundo after Big Love: Hymnal
Big Love: Hymnal
Big Love: Hymnal – Music Written for the HBO Series Plus Other Recent Compositions is a soundtrack album by David Byrne including music composed for the HBO television drama Big Love released on August 19, 2008...
; copies of the CD were marked CD-TODO-002. The CD was released in Japan with a bonus track—"Poor Boy" (Eno & Leo Abrahams Remix)—and obi strip
Obi strip
An is a strip of paper looped around a book or other product. This extends the term obi used for Japanese clothing; it is written with the same kanji. It is also referred to as a , or more narrowly as .-For books:...
in November 2008 through Beat Records
Beat Records
Beat Records was an independent record label started by California night club promoter Stephen Zepeda . Beat Records had record releases by Gary Valentine Lachman , The Furys, and The Plimsouls . It spanned the 1978 to 1980 time period of Los Angeles rock...
with catalogue number BRC-218. On February 17, 2009, the album was released on 180-gram vinyl LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
as LP-TODO-002.
Singles
The first single off the album—"Strange OvertonesStrange Overtones
"Strange Overtones" is a song recorded by David Byrne and Brian Eno, written by the duo with Leo Abrahams. It was released on August 4, 2008 by means of free download as the lead single from Byrne's and Eno's second collaborative studio album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today...
"—was released on August 4, 2008, as a free digital download available only through the album's website. The track has been described as "a song about writing a song" and features thematic elements of humanity versus technology that are explored throughout the album. It was downloaded over 40,000 times within the first three days it was available. In September 2008, Jon Yeo created a music video for the track featuring the paintings of Brian Eno. In May 2009, the song was replaced by "One Fine Day" as a free download to promote the EP Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno.
Critical reception
Critical reception was mostly positive; the album has an average score of 75 percent based on 24 reviews aggregated by MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Positive reviews have labeled it "exceedingly pleasant" (Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
) "maddeningly infectious" (BBC), and "vibrant" (Tucson Weekly
Tucson Weekly
The Tucson Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area of about 900,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies...
.) The music has been compared to the tone of U2, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
, R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
's Up
Up (R.E.M. album)
Up is the 11th album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was the band's first album without original drummer Bill Berry, who left the group amicably in October 1997 to pursue his own interests. In his place, R.E.M...
, and Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
—especially his 2006 Eno collaboration Surprise
Surprise (Paul Simon album)
Surprise is the eleventh studio album by American musician Paul Simon, released in May 2006.-History:After the relative success of You're the One, which was released in late 2000 finding Simon back to the Top 20 of the American charts after ten years of absence and also receiving a Grammy...
; the vocals have been declared similar to Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
; and the arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
has been compared to The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
. Comparisons have been made with musical genres as diverse as country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and old school hip hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
. One weakness addressed by several reviewers is the unoriginality of the music, especially in comparison to the duo's previous collaborations.
Contrasting Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, some have found a connection between the two—as well as Eno's solo work and production of Talking Heads' Remain in Light
Remain in Light
Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 8 October 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator...
and Little Creatures
Little Creatures (album)
Little Creatures is the sixth album by Talking Heads, released in 1985. The album examined themes of Americana and incorporated elements of country music, with many songs featuring the steel guitar...
, which was produced by the band—in part due to the unique use of technology in the creation of both. Other commentators have emphasized the differences between the two projects considering this album to be an "antithesis," "conservative," and "less exciting," in addition to the decision to forgo African beats
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
on this album and focus on Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
pop songcraft. In particular, the experimental nature of the former has been contrasted with the pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
style of this album. Audra Schroeder of The Austin Chronicle noted "Thirty years after first collaborating on the Talking Heads, these two don't have to mine the past since there's nothing that remarkable about Everything." Francis Jones summed up his review for Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
by concluding "No boundaries were harmed in its making but ETHWHT is an album of unquestionably great songs" and Louise Gray of New Internationalist
New Internationalist
New Internationalist is a magazine from New Internationalist Publications, a co-operative-run publisher based in Oxford, England. It has editorial and sales offices in Toronto, Canada; Adelaide, Australia; Christchurch, New Zealand; and New York, USA....
declared that, "it's not got the edgy, funky bricolage that characterized the earlier album and nor does it seek that." At the same time, other reviewers have found the break with the experimental nature of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts to be positive. Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
from the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
observed:
- "[E]ven 27 years ago, there was nothing all that original or appealing about an ethnologically-minded mix of various world rhythms and random vocal snippets captured via shortwaveShortwaveShortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
radio. Anyone who claims these boys invented samplingSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
clearly never heard CanCan (band)Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
or musique concreteMusique concrèteMusique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
. Right off the bat, 'Everything That Happens Will Happen Today' is a much more accessible, enjoyable and arguably better album than 'My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'--at least if you care about conventional pop/rockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
songcraft."
Reviews have emphasized the contrast between optimism and foreboding on the album. In addition, several reviewers have noted parallels between this album and Byrne's Big Love: Hymnal, particularly their common spiritual themes and atmospheric moods. Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor is an online electronic music magazine dedicated to the global dance music scene. The website won a People's Voice award in the 12th Annual Webby Awards in 2008.-Site History:...
s review also notes the shift in Eno's recordings toward more Gospel vocals. Steve Matteo of Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
wrote that Eno's production dominates the album, wheres Filter
Filter (magazine)
FILTER, the publication that promises us that "Good music will prevail," is a seasonal American music and off-beat entertainment magazine. It features commentary and photos of up-and-coming musicians and filmmakers ranging from actors to writer-directors...
s Ken Scrudato considers the album primarily a David Byrne venture, while The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
has declared this album "more expansive and adventurous" than anything else Byrne has released in decades and Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
of The Chicago Tribune wrote that the album features "one of the strongest vocal performances of Byrne's career." Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
's review notes continuity between this album and Byrne's 2004 release Grown Backwards
Grown Backwards
Grown Backwards is an album by David Byrne, released March 16, 2004.-Track listing:All tracks written by David Byrne, except where noted.#"Glass, Concrete & Stone" – 4:13...
.
Awards
The album was nominated for three Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s—Best Alternative Music Album
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative rock genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
, Best Recording Package
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
, and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
The Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package has been presented since 1995. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1995 to 1997 the award was known as Best Recording Package - Boxed...
—on December 2, 2009. On February 8, 2009, designer Stefan Sagmeister won the award for Best Recording Package at the 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
. The deluxe edition packaging was given a bronze medal by the Art Directors Club. The album was nominated for a Technical Excellence & Creativity Award
TEC Awards
The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings and concerts...
in the Record Production/Album category.
Several year-end lists included the album amongst the best releases of 2008:
| Publisher | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC News ABC News ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company... |
The 50 Best Albums of 2008 | 2009 | 46 |
| Allmusic | AllMusic's Favorite Rock Albums of 2008 | 2008 | Unranked, out of 25 |
| Amazon.com Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and... editors' picks |
Amazon Music: Best of 2008 | 2009 | 62 |
| The Buffalo News The Buffalo News The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:... |
Best Albums (2000–2010) | 2010 | Honorable mention |
| Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Sun-Times The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city... (Jim DeRogatis Jim DeRogatis James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time... ) |
The Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 2 |
| The Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is... (Greg Kot Greg Kot Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues... ) |
Top Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 10 |
| Magnet Magnet (magazine) Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,... |
Magnet's Top 25 Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 25 |
| No Ripcord No Ripcord No Ripcord is an online music and film magazine based in Sheffield, England.-History:The website was originally created in April 1999 by editor-in-chief David Coleman and A.M. Booth... |
Top 50 Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 38 |
| Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock... |
The 50 Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 41 |
| Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... |
Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | 42 |
| Rough Trade Shop Rough Trade Shop Rough Trade are two independent record shops based in London, UK.The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Portobello Road district of west London. In 1978 the shop spawned the famous Rough Trade Records, which was to go on to be home to bands from The Smiths to The... |
Albums of the Year | 2008 | 37 |
| Seattle Weekly Seattle Weekly Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly... |
What We Listened to in 2009 | 2009 | Unranked, out of 13 artists |
| Uncut UNCUT (magazine) Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections... |
Top 50 of 2008 | 2008 | 48 |
| The Village Voice The Village Voice The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City... |
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics... 2008 Albums |
2008 | 29 |
| The Word | Top Albums of 2008 | 2009 | 10 |
DeRogatis' and Kot's reviews were featured on Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions is a radio talk show focusing on rock music. It airs Friday night at 8 PM CST and Saturday morning at 11 AM CST on Chicago Public Radio. The show is hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot and features interviews with musicians and industry figures as well as featuring current music...
and the album was also placed on two individual writers' lists for No Ripcord. Two contributors to No Depression included the album on their best-of lists for 2008. The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
commissioned celebrities to give their picks for album of the year and Tim Heidecker
Tim Heidecker
Tim Heidecker is an American actor, comedian, musician, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric...
chose Everything That Happens Will Happen Today describing it as "the most interesting and listenable pop record of the year, in my book." The Fader
The Fader
The FADER, or FADER, is an United States-based music/culture/fashion magazine that covers hip-hop, reggae, independent rock, pop and dance music from around the world.-Overview:...
s 2008 year in review named this one of the "Top Twelve Albums That We Thought Would Have a Bigger Impact On Our Lives", but later declared the album "career-defining." The publication dedicated their annual icon issue to Byrne in 2009 in part due to the success of this album.
Several songs from this album appeared on The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
s Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
singles poll for 2008—"Strange Overtones" came in at 60, "Life Is Long" placed 337, "My Big Nurse" was 350, "Everything That Happens" ended up at 748, and "I Feel My Stuff" reached 942. In addition, a vote was cast for "".
Sales figures and chart performance
Although the artists have not released sales figures, they have indicated that the album was purchased across the globe during the first 24 hours it was available and that the servers hosting the album delivered "several terabyteTerabyte
The terabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix tera means 1012 in the International System of Units , and therefore 1 terabyte is , or 1 trillion bytes, or 1000 gigabytes. 1 terabyte in binary prefixes is 0.9095 tebibytes, or 931.32 gibibytes...
s" by September 6. A report in late December asserted that they had sold "nearly 20,000 downloads." In March 2009, Ian C. Rogers of Topspin Media
Topspin Media
Topspin Media is a technology company that provides e-commerce and marketing software & services for artists, their representatives, and their business partners...
explained that 20 percent of those who listened to the album streaming chose to purchase it and 30 percent of them included a physical copy of the CD; trends that would hold through September of that year. By October 2008, Byrne explained that they had recouped their losses on the album and that sales had "paid back the recording costs and costs for building the Web site." He would later explain that this business model worked well for established acts as well as smaller bands, due to minimal production and distribution costs. Their business model also allowed them to self-release and plan a tour immediately after finishing the music production, rather than wait months for record label advancement.
The album did not chart until it was physically released—a development which surprised Byrne. In the first week of December, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today reached the top spot on the College Music Journal
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
AAA charts and third on the CMJ Radio 200. The album entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
for the week of January 17, 2009, debuting at 182 with 4,008 copies sold. It peaked the following week at 174 before dropping off the charts. It was on the Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
chart for 10 weeks, reaching 18.
| Region | Sales charts (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| France | 127 | |
| Region | Sales charts (2009) | Peak position |
| Belgium | Belgian (Wallonian) Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
58 |
| New Zealand | Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
31 |
| United States | US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
174 |
Promotion
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
rather than CDs as well as the success of Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's 2007 album In Rainbows
In Rainbows
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
and the self-promotional strategies of Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
for the albums Year Zero
Year Zero (album)
Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on April 17, 2007, by Interscope Records. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote the album's music and lyrics while touring in support of the group's previous release, With Teeth...
, Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV is the sixth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on March 2, 2008. The team behind the project included Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, studio-collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, and instrumental contributions from Alessandro Cortini,...
, and The Slip
The Slip (album)
The Slip is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on July 22, 2008. It was the fourth consecutive Nine Inch Nails release to be produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder...
. Byrne was also impressed by Radiohead's release strategy as a means of valuing music. The duo carefully avoided Internet leak
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
s by not giving out promotional copies of the album to journalists, but Byrne did preview the song "One Fine Day" prior to the release by performing it with a choir of senior citizens and Eno invited Mark Coles for the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
program The Beat to his home to listen to the songs on Eno's laptop.
In 2010, several of the songs from this album—"Home", "I Feel My Stuff", "Life Is Long", "My Big Nurse", and "Strange Overtones"—were included in the Todo Mundo soundtrack album to the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps along with other David Byrne songs.
Marketing
Byrne and Eno have both expressed their displeasure with the music industry and traditional models of marketing music, with Eno calling the music business an "exciting mess" and saying:- "The music industry... were selling [physical products, such as CDs] quite expensively actually, that fostered a generally quite lazy attitude within record companies... Suddenly now we have a quite different situation which it seems to me, artists understand much better than record companies do... [Y]oung artists are very comfortable with starting their careers on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
or MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
or something like that—and they're way ahead of the record companies in some respects."
Byrne has outlined the relative merits of different distribution models with this one reflecting his "self-distribution model" in which "the artist stands to receive the largest percentage of income from sales per unit—sales of anything. A larger percentage of fewer sales, most likely, but not always. Artists doing it for themselves can actually make more money than the massive pop star, even though the sales numbers may seem minuscule by comparison." One of the motivations for creating this album over the Internet was that very article Byrne wrote for Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
as well as Eno's belief that music fans want more than just the music on an album and prefer collectible deluxe editions of albums as well as the live performances that promote them. A month after releasing the album, Byrne was skeptical of market saturation claiming "I sense that a lot of people don't know we have a record out" and hoped to counter-balance that ignorance with his tour. He also described the digital music market as "so infinite [that] it's easy for music to get lost out there" and has noted that this business model would not work for performers who are not already established.
The duo enlisted a music marketing startup company
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
—Topspin Media—to design their site, delivery options for the digital music, and promotional web widget
Web widget
In computing a web widget is a software widget for the web. It's a small application that can be installed and executed within a web page by an end user. They are derived from the idea of code reuse. Other terms used to describe web widgets include: portlet, gadget, badge, module, webjit, capsule,...
s. Like the entirety of the recording process, the marketing was self-financed and controlled by the artists, with Topspin taking a portion of the money made from digital sales. This allowed the artists to control creative aspects of producing music as well as the overhead costs
Overhead (business)
In business, overhead or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of operating a business...
associated with marketing an album. The company used viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
techniques to collect potential customers' e-mail addresses and encourage them to post the album streaming on their blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s. By early November, the collected e-mail addresses amounted to 37 percent of the album sales. Topspin have also created a Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
pool encouraging users to upload screenshot
Screenshot
A screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
s of the widget posted to web sites. No ads were taken out for the album.
Byrne and Eno were praised by Fast Company
Fast Company (magazine)
Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
for their innovative use of Internet marketing and distribution for this album as well as several other releases and the promotion of this album has been lauded as a way of undermining copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. Key to their success was the software that Topspin Media developed and later commercially released as a bundle for other companies and artists to use, explaining that "In the first eight weeks following the launch of the David Byrne and Brian Eno self-released record, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, the Topspin platform helped us generate Direct-to-Fan
Direct-to-Fan
Direct-to-Fan is a business model used by independent musicians, independent music labels, music marketing professionals, promoters, and others in the music industry...
revenue at the very least the equivalent to what we would have expected from a label advance." Topspin's platform resulted in directs profits equivalent to the advance
Advance payment
An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid in advance for goods or services, while the balance included in the invoice will only follow the delivery. It is called a prepaid expense in accrual accounting.-See also:*Advance against royalties*Pay or...
of a record label that went directly to Byrne and Eno. Based in part on the success of marketing this album, representatives of Topspin were invited to teach a course on music marketing at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in September 2009 and Ian C. Rogers lead a panel discussion at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
on options for independent music artists.
Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour
Byrne assembled a band to tour for the album, performing music throughout the latter half of 2008 and early 2009 across North America, Europe, and Australasia. He hired more singers than he had on previous tours to reproduce the complex vocal harmonies of the album and was inspired to bring along dancers after seeing Sufjan StevensSufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
promote the album Illinois
Illinois (album)
Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, Illinois features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois...
as well as the Japanese films Funky Forest
Funky Forest
Funky Forest: The First Contact, also known as Naisu no mori: The First Contact or Funky Forest: The First Encounter is a 2005 Japanese movie written and directed by Katsuhito Ishii, Hajimine Ishimine and Shunichiro Miki...
and The Taste of Tea
The Taste of Tea
is the third film by Japanese writer and director Katsuhito Ishii. The film has been referred to as a "surreal" version of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander. It was a selection of the Cannes Film Festival.-Synopsis:...
. Byrne was initially uninvolved in the choreography, but made more suggestions as the tour went on and after he saw a live performance by Deerhoof
Deerhoof
Deerhoof is a musical group consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich, Ed Rodriguez and Greg Saunier.-Origins:In 1992, Greg Saunier, having recently graduated with a degree in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, joined a short-lived San Francisco quartet called Nitre Pit, on...
that incorporated dancing with instruments. He began booking tour dates before the album was completed and continued writing his book The Bicycle Diaries throughout the tour.
In planning the set lists for the tour, Byrne initially considered only promoting this album but decided to assemble songs from this album as well as his previous collaborations with Brian Eno, including the Talking Heads albums More Songs About Buildings and Food
More Songs about Buildings and Food
More Songs About Buildings and Food is Talking Heads' second album, the first of a string of three co-produced by Brian Eno. The album was significantly more popular than their first, Talking Heads: 77...
, Fear of Music
Fear of Music (album)
Fear of Music is the third studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 3 August 1979 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in New York City between April and May 1979 and was produced by the quartet and Brian Eno. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the United...
, and Remain in Light
Remain in Light
Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 8 October 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator...
and Byrne's The Catherine Wheel
The Catherine Wheel (album)
The Catherine Wheel is David Byrne's musical score commissioned by Twyla Tharp for her dance project. The Catherine Wheel premiered September 22, 1981, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City....
soundtrack. By playing music from all of their collaborations, Byrne hoped to "draw a line linking this new material with what we did 30 years ago" with the goal of clarifying the connection between all of the duo's previous work. In reviewing their past music, he found that "[t]here might be more continuity than I imagined, which I hope is going to work in my favor." Although Eno was invited to participate and early reports indicated that he would, Eno ultimately chose not to tour with Byrne, letting Byrne decide how to present this music live.
Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour
On May 11, 2009, the live EP Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno was released digitally through Todo Mundo to benefit Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. The album features four songs recorded in December 2008 on the tour. Topspin Media offered the same digital download options to purchase the EP and the company created a second embeddable
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
media player to promote the album.
Ride, Rise, Roar
On February 11, 2010, it was announced that a documentary film entitled Ride, Rise, Roar chronicling the tour would be released to the 2010 film festivalFilm festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
circuit. The debut was at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
on March 15, 2010, where it was screened in all three media categories—film, interactive, and music. Byrne attended some British screenings for question and answer sessions.
Ride, Rise, Roar is the feature-length directorial debut by Hillman Curtis—Byrne approached him after his satisfaction with the short film that accompanies the deluxe edition of Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The documentary includes concert footage, film of the planning and rehearsals for the tour, and exclusive interviews with Byrne, Eno, and the supporting musicians and dancers. Curtis was initially contacted to document the tour with no clear objective for the film and decided to focus on the collaboration between Byrne and his tour mates as well as the unique challenge of combining popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
with modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
.
Track listing
All lyrics written by David ByrneDavid Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
; all music by Byrne (vocals) and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(instrumentation), except "Strange Overtones" co-written by Leo Abrahams
Leo Abrahams
Leo Abrahams is a British musician, composer, and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as...
.
- "Home" –
- "My Big Nurse" –
- "I Feel My Stuff" –
- "Everything That Happens" –
- "Life Is Long" –
- "The River" –
- "Strange OvertonesStrange Overtones"Strange Overtones" is a song recorded by David Byrne and Brian Eno, written by the duo with Leo Abrahams. It was released on August 4, 2008 by means of free download as the lead single from Byrne's and Eno's second collaborative studio album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today...
" – - "Wanted for Life" –
- "One Fine Day" –
- "Poor Boy" –
- "The Lighthouse" –
Japanese release
- "Poor Boy" (Eno & Leo Abrahams Remix) –
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
- "Never Thought" –
- "Walking Along the River" –
- "The Eyes" –
- "The Painting" –
Personnel
"Home"- Leo AbrahamsLeo AbrahamsLeo Abrahams is a British musician, composer, and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as...
– acousticAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitar soloGuitar soloIn popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such... - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, electric drumsElectronic drumAn electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...
, Kaoss PadKaoss PadThe Kaoss Pad is a touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor for audio and musical instruments, made by Korg.The Kaoss Pad's touchpad can be used to control its internal effects engine, which can be applied to a line-in signal or to samples recorded from the line-in...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitars - Seb RochfordSeb RochfordSebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
– live drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
"My Big Nurse"
- Leo Abrahams – acoustic and electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, percussion - David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, Steinberg virtual guitarSteinberg CubaseCubase is a music software product developed by Steinberg for music recording, arranging and editing as part of a Digital Audio Workstation. It is one of the oldest DAWs to still enjoy widespread use...
, electric guitar - Steve JonesSteve Jones (musician)Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
– fast pullsPull-offA pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Performance and effect:...
guitar - Seb Rochford – live drums
"I Feel My Stuff"
- Leo Abrahams – guitar, solo guitar
- David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – bass guitars, electric drums, "inhuman piano" vocalizations, guitar, keyboards, brass, backing vocals, trapsBass trapBass Traps are acoustic energy absorbers which are designed to damp low frequency sound energy with the goal of attaining a flatter low frequency room response by reducing LF resonances in rooms. They are commonly used in recording studios, mastering rooms, home theatres and other rooms built to...
- Tim HarriesTim HarriesTim Harries is a British bass player.Harries studied music at the University of York, graduating in 1981 before going on to study Double Bass with Tom Martin at the Guildhall School of Music...
– melody bass - Phil ManzaneraPhil ManzaneraPhil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
– drone guitarDrone musicDrone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics... - Seb Rochford – live drums
"Everything That Happens"
- Leo Abrahams – piano, coin guitar
- David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, keyboards, water guitars, stellar voice
"Life Is Long"
- Leo Abrahams – guitar, upright piano, percussion
- David Byrne – vocals
- Barry Danielian – brassBrass instrumentA brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, backing vocals, stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, OmnichordOmnichordThe Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument, introduced in 1981 and manufactured by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate, and buttons for major, minor, and diminished chords...
piano, guitar - Steve Jones – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Dan Levine – brass and arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
- Dave Mann – brass
- Paul Shapiro – brass
"The River"
- Leo Abrahams – hurdy gurdyHurdy gurdyThe hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
, baritone guitarBaritone guitarThe baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm... - David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
- Mauro Refosco – murky pandeiroPandeiroThe pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum.There are two important distinctions between a pandeiro and the common tambourine. The tension of the head on the pandeiro can be tuned, allowing the player a choice of high and low notes...
, cricket shakerShaker (percussion)The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them—moving them back and forth rather than striking them. Most may also be struck for a greater accent on certain...
, reco recoGüiroThe güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...
, peddler's rattleRattle (percussion)A rattle is a percussion instrument. It consists of a hollow body filled with small uniform solid objects, like sand or nuts. Rhythmical shaking of this instrument produces repetitive, rather dry timbre noises. In some kinds of music, a rattle assumes the role of the metronome, as an alternative to...
"Strange Overtones"
- Leo Abrahams – guitars, bass guitar, Dubreq StylophoneDubreq StylophoneThe Stylophone is a miniature stylus-operated synthesizer invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis and going in to production in 1968. It consists of a metal keyboard played by touching it with a stylus — each note being connected to a voltage-controlled oscillator via a different-value resistor -...
, programming - David Byrne – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Brian Eno – backing vocals, organ solo, Omnichord piano, keyboards, programming
- Steve Jones – delayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
guitar - Mauro Refosco – bongoBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all.... - Seb Rochford – live drums
- Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
– frame drumFrame drumA frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical...
soloDrum soloA drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance....
"Wanted for Life"
- Leo Abrahams – guitars, bass guitar, backing vocals, percussion
- David Byrne – vocals
- Barry Danielian – treated brass
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, backing vocals, snout keyboard, guitar, electric drums
- Dan Levine – treated brass
- Dave Mann – treated brass
- Seb Rochford – live drums
- Paul Shapiro – treated brass
"One Fine Day"
- Leo Abrahams – acoustic guitar, bass guitar
- David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, backing vocals, Steinberg virtual guitar, electric guitars, programming
- Steve Jones – melody guitar
- Mauro Refosco – zabumbaZabumbaA zabumba is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing.The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is made of wood and may utilize either skin or plastic drum...
, cahonCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
, tamborimTamborimA tamborim is a small, round Brazilian frame drum of Portuguese and African origin.The frame is 6" in width and may be made of metal, plastic, or wood. The head is typically made of nylon and is normally very tightly tuned in order to ensure a high, sharp timbre and a minimum of sustain...
, conga, shaker - Seb Rochford – live drums
"Poor Boy"
- Leo Abrahams – high bass
- David Byrne – vocals, guitars
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, electric drums, programming, guitars, keyboards, brass
- Seb Rochford – live drums
"The Lighthouse"
- Leo Abrahams – bass guitar, thunder guitar
- David Byrne – vocals, guitars, ebow guitars, clavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, piano, surduSurdoFor the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....
, percussion - Brian Eno – bass guitar, guitar treatments, keys, programming
- Seb Rochford – live drums
"Never Thought"
- Leo Abrahams – ebow, acoustic guitar, piano, percussion
- David Byrne – vocals, ebow guitars
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and rhythm guitars, programming, "inhuman piano" vocalizations, backing vocals - Melanie Hall QC – female backing vocals
- Robert Wyatt – Handsonic drum
"Walking Along the River"
- David Byrne – vocals, piano
- Brian Eno – bass guitar, electric guitars, keyboards, electric drums, Omnichord piano, percussion, backing vocals
- Darla Eno – vocals
- Irial Eno – vocals
- Seb Rochford – live drums
"The Eyes"
- Leo Abrahams – reverse guitarsBackmaskingBackmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward...
, bass guitar - David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – guitars, keys, Omnichord piano, piano, backing vocals
"The Painting"
- Leo Abrahams – guitars, bass guitar, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, solo guitar - David Byrne – vocals
- Brian Eno – guitar, shakers, programming, keys
- Mauro Refosco – zabumba, timbalTimbalFor Cuban and Latin drum, see timbalesThe Timbal is an instrument derived from the Caxambu drum. Slightly conical and of varying sizes, it is usually light in weight and made of lacquered wood or metal with a tunable nylon head. The drum is most often found in Bahia, originating in Salvador,...
- Seb Rochford – live drums
Other
- Greg Calbi – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
at Sterling Sound, New York City - Jarvis CockerJarvis CockerJarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
– guitar - Patrick Dillett – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, live brass and percussion recording at Kampo Studios, New York City - Robert Harder – live drum recording at Harder Sound
- Cherif Hashizume – live drum recording at Cafe Music Studios
- Sagmeister, Inc.Stefan SagmeisterStefan Sagmeister is a New York-based graphic designer and typographer. He has his own design firm—Sagmeister Inc.—in New York City. He has designed album covers for Lou Reed, OK Go, The Rolling Stones, David Byrne, Aerosmith and Pat Metheny.-Biography:Sagmeister studied graphic design at the...
– design - Stephan Walter – illustration
See also
- 2008 in music2008 in music2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
- More Songs About Buildings and FoodMore Songs about Buildings and FoodMore Songs About Buildings and Food is Talking Heads' second album, the first of a string of three co-produced by Brian Eno. The album was significantly more popular than their first, Talking Heads: 77...
(1978) - Fear of MusicFear of Music (album)Fear of Music is the third studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 3 August 1979 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in New York City between April and May 1979 and was produced by the quartet and Brian Eno. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the United...
(1979) - Remain in LightRemain in LightRemain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 8 October 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator...
(1980) - My Life in the Bush of GhostsMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts (album)The album was recorded entirely with analogue technology, before the advent of digital sequencing and MIDI. The sampled voices were synchronized with the instrumental tracks via trial and error, a practice that was often frustrating, but which also produced several happy accidents.Also according to...
(1981) - The Catherine WheelThe Catherine Wheel (album)The Catherine Wheel is David Byrne's musical score commissioned by Twyla Tharp for her dance project. The Catherine Wheel premiered September 22, 1981, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City....
(1981)