"Fickle Sun (i)" From Brian Eno's The Ship
"Fickle Sun (i)" is a track off Brian Eno's 2016 album The Ship. It is sung from the point of view of a soldier forced to fight a war (WWI) waged in the name of honor and glory for national leaders. The lyrics are a metaphor for the trend in society of leaders to sacrifice the well-being of their people in order to gain recognition, glory, or a place in history.
This resonates with me especially because of the modern political climate not just in the United States, but in the world writ large. There is a global move toward authoritarianism, toward the aggregation of political and economic power within a few individuals. Using the mechanisms of government and media, these elite often portray acts of selfishness as the polar opposite in an attempt to gain and hold power. Why have universal healthcare when we can double down on the war in Iran? They've caused the death of so many Americans, so we need vengeance. It's the noble thing to do. Why pass the Green New Deal when mining more fossil fuels will support the current economic elite? We would only be losing jobs. We can worry about the drying up of fossil fuels, the flooding of major economic centers, the mass exoduses of island nation refugees, and worldwide famine when we get there.
I am sick and tired of our leaders making long term sacrifices for short term gains.
I stand with you completely on being tired of leaders making decisions to benefit themselves when others are suffering and will continue to suffer more because of leaders' decisions. I don't understand how people can lie and make deceitful moves for personal gain. This track is beautiful. The vocals are incredible, and the way it stretches across what feels like a snowy desert of a soundtrack amplifies what I see as a feeling of desolation.
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote got me thinking about what happens to people when they become rich and powerful. It's not quite the same, but I think of social media influencers and I've been online long enough to watch people grow from a few hundred to half a million subscribers and beyond. It's shocking what happens to people and what they're willing to do to advance themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think it's difficult to make music that produces a new environment around the listener, and it's even harder when it attempts to have a rhetorical backing. The sounds are intensely raw and rash, which draw me in and intimidate me in such a strategic way- it boggles my mind that we're still making huge legislative and financial decisions without prioritizing the earth and humankind.
ReplyDeleteI find the way Eno adds a fairly simple melody over this incredibly rich textured ambience to be really powerful. To me, the melody evokes a call-and-response work song, reflecting the 'toil' and labor of those in the trenches as it were. What do you make of the big 'orchestra hit' section around 8'00"? I'm not totally convinced. Especially with all the little granular stuff going on, it seems a bit ham-fisted to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful piece. I think at times it can sound a bit dated, with the orchestra hits and vocoder, but the point still comes across. Kind of makes you think how the impending war is a disagreement between, like, 6 people, that thousands will die for.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a captivating piece. I feel like it totally depicts the weight of what you are describing about the short term gains, and how our leaders really don't think about how much these big decisions affect the lives of everyday people.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great piece, and I think the most powerful part is the relatively silent moment at the (?) 10-12 minute mark is a useful tool in the piece. At the end of these short term endless wars, this poses the question of "what will we have left?"
ReplyDeleteI'm overwhelmed by the heaviness of this piece; I can't help but to feel completely consumed and enveloped by the sound. I think hearing the single voice emerge from the sonic cloud (as Brad called it) points to the separation and connectedness of the environment to the people inside of it.
ReplyDeleteI am drawn to the meditative ambience in the background, and how it supports the simple words and melodic gesture. The distortion that picks up around the 8 minute mark leaves space for the audience to resonate in that moment and embrace just the sound, and how the build up towards the end encompasses more traditionally sounding electronic textures. I wonder why it moves in this direction from the more pastural beginnings?
ReplyDeleteI love how the eerie, ever-changing musical landscape is a contrast to the simpler melody. To me, the vocal line first bears a likeness to folk song. The chaotic non-vocal texture with it could mirror an inner sense of dread or turmoil beneath an aesthetic exterior. There is also sense of narrative development which I think lends itself to the protest element of the song.
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