“Unlike the dark passions, awe is a pro-social emotion. It can encourage attitudes of generosity and altruism; of selflessness, empathy, and compassion. The sense that we are part of something vast and meaningful can create bonds of connection.”
• An essay on Brian Eno’s legacy.
“It’s possible, today, to go through life without hearing a single thing by massively popular artists. Music is no longer part of the transistored air the way it was when Eno started out in Roxy Music, or even when he first produced U2 in 1984. Social media is the new ambience, and its keynote is disputation, not singalong. On television the new buzz word is ‘immersive’, with a soundtrack to match. A few examples I recently took down from onscreen subtitles: Serene music, continuously … Dark music playing softly … Contemplative music playing … Sombre vocalising. Eno’s beloved ambient music has seeded everywhere, but possibly not as he envisaged.”
“There are periods when we want the days to blend together, and, conversely, experiences that we want to dwell on, so that they stand above the days in which they’re contained. But there’s power in the daily rhythm, too, and it can be good to make the most of how it shapes us.”
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