Nick Edwards from Gutterbreakz has a longish article on noise which culminates in a glowing review of a 4 CD set of Pan Sonic, a Finnish band I had never heard of. It all sounds extremely exciting.

Agony Shorthand recommends Glum as a starting point for Giant Sand in a good summary of the output of Howe Gelb & friends. A good choice but I think Chore of Enchantment is a better primer as it is more tuneful and easier to get into.

A couple of books I want to read again:

• Paul Auster - New York Trilogy
• Jack Kerouac - Big Sur
• Dostoevskij - The Brothers Karamassov
• Sten Nadolny - Netzkarte
• Richard Brautigan - So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away
• Ernst Herhaus - Kapitulation
• Milan Kundera - Immortality
• Günter Ohnemus - 67 Ansichten einer Frau
• Albert Camus - L'Etranger
• Raymond Carver - Short Stories

Just tell me a number bigger than ten in the comments so that I can start rereading the first book, will you?

The second track on Eno's 1st album is another three minute affair. Though not suited as a single this time. I guess it is allowed to call this piece an oddity. In the first minute Eno turns into his stilted opera singer like sprechgesang. Not my cup of tea at all. Unbearable and a real turn-off.

But then in the second minute Eno suddenly decides to stop pronouncing his absurdities and we can hear something like a dialogue between electronic rubber ducks. This is a release after Eno's gravely intoned weird lyrics. I could listen to the duck discussion for hours.

After 40 seconds or so it is over though and there is a strong rhythmic sound arriving which reminds me of a jew's harp as it seems to come from inside the mouth. This gets louder and louder and a percussion orchestra joins in turning the last minute into an African drumming jam session with some slight echoes of sitar. Very nice and totally unexpected after the totally false start of this ditty.

It all finishes with some kind of sine tone which then melds into the next track without transition.

1. Isn't this the most horrid cover in the history of recorded music?

2. Wouldn't the still life without the framed photograph and without the "Eno" writing in rainbow colours be just about ok?

3. Doesn't Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle alias Brian Eno look like a certain Christa Päffgen from Cologne aka Nico on the photo?