MGMT performed Brian Eno on the Late Show with David Letterman on 5/11/2010.
Brian Eno Lyrics
So tired
Soul searching
I followed the sounds to a cathredal
imagine my surprise to find that they were produce by Brian Eno
past the gates
quite stark
the roses trimmed and the windows dark
I see the walls through a limestone crack
not red not blue not yellow but black
and all the space left for you
if the sky was synthesized you’d probably know
he taught me many things
the wisdowm of o bleak stratagems
the prophet of a sapphire soul
presented through creative freedoms
and everything i say is true
cuz if i was telling lies it’d probably show
i can tell that he’s kind of smiling
but what does he know?
we’re always one step behind him, he’s Brian Eno
Brian Eno
when I was stuck he’d make me memorize elaborate curses
tinctures and formulas to ditch the chori and flip the verses
my whole foundation came unglued
when i tried to humanize by ambient light
dipping swords in metaphors yeah but what does he know?
he’s go the whole world behind him he’s Brian Eno
Brian Eno!
he promised pretty worlds and all the silence
I could dream of Brian peter George St John Le
Baptiste De La Salle Eno
well all alone by the oldest stone where the shade
trees grow the creature by the water feature with a
ghostly glow making sure that time’s preserved
well we reap what we sow he’s go the whole
world behind him he’s Brian Eno etc. etc.
These guys suck!
capes! why did it take so long for hipsters to discover capes? ah, the final piece is in place.
Pathetic. And these are no hipster but hippies.
I like it. After the huge success of their last album coming up with something like this is great. Less pop more humor. I like to see them having fun.
I think the line is "the wisdom of oblique strategies". I view their work as both a tribute to the music they reference and a performance art-style put-on, ala Flaming Lips. I hadn't realized this one sounds a lot like Clinic.
The album recording of this track peaks and pops a bunch, notably at the part around 2:28 in this live performance. Kind of awful for such a "big" band.
It is not easy to find a place in today's world of music. Like a lot of bands today, there's a lot talent and insight applied to making music that often comes across as unremarkable. I think we all feel that in some way. What do you?
I agree with what "loquat" said. It's about having fun. Although I do not necessarily felt that in this particular instance the band was having very much fun. Might be, that they are even more introverted than I am although I very much doubt that. As for the song: It feels like something that you would do in a mood like "Hey, let's make a new song before we all die of boredom": Nothing special but with some "catchy" moments which seem more like lucky accidents than determined and "inspired" songwriting. It is hard to create a really good song. In my experience you just have to keep on making songs, even releasing them to some sort of public, and get over the mediocre quality of most of your output. When reading solely negative comments I always get the feeling that the person who wrote it is not really a musician, but rather a self-proclaimed critic out of sheer frustration about his or her own mediocrity.
i'd rather listen to Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch.