PATRICK SIMPSON MELOMANIA #5 SCRIPT
OKAY, SO THE OTHER DAY, I WENT GROCERY SHOPPING WITH MY MOM.
[ACTUALITY AT STORE: “And uh, where are we at?
Kroger.
*laughs* I’m not going to use that. Cause it’s so bad. Sounds so fake. You know?
But it’s true!
Okay, okay…”]
SPECIFICALLY THE ONE AT RANGELINE AND CARMEL DRIVE, THIS
REALLY FANCY ONE THAT JUST OPENED LAST YEAR. IT’S GOT EVERYTHING—
A DELI WITH FRESH MEAT, EVERY TYPE OF BREAD AND CHEESE IMAGINABLE,
AND EVEN THE OCCASIONAL RIPE AVOCADO. BUT I WASN’T THERE FOR ANY
OF THAT. I WAS ACTUALLY THERE FOR SOMETHING THAT ISN’T UNIQUE TO
THIS PARTICULAR KROGER, OR EVEN ANY GROCERY STORE FOR THAT
MATTER. I WAS THERE FOR… THE MUSIC.
[“Let’s see if we can get a better listen to that…”]
YOU KNOW, THE POP AND CLASSIC ROCK THEY PLAY OVER THOSE
TINNY SPEAKERS IN BETWEEN ALL THE INTERCOM ANNOUNCEMENTS? YOU
CAN HARDLY HEAR IT UNLESS YOU’RE NEAR ONE OF THE SPEAKERS, BUT IT’S
ALWAYS THERE.
[NIGHT RANGER - SISTER CHRISTIAN (OVER SPEAKERS IN KROGER)]
IT’S SOMETHING SO COMMON THAT NO ONE REALLY PAYS ATTENTION
TO IT ANYMORE. IT’S KIND OF JUST… THERE. [MOM AT STORE: “Um, you know what, when you’re thinking of a million and one
things of what you’re gonna make for dinner, you don’t really pay attention. But like maybe the kid, who’s like, you know bored, because his mom is making him go grocery
shopping, he might be listening to it and singing along with it.”]
BY THE WAY, THAT’S NOT MY MOM, JUST A RANDOM PERSON I
APPROACHED IN ONE OF THE AISLES.
[“I’m not really paying attention to the music. Sorry.
Right, right. Why do you think they put it on, anyways?
To make you in a good mood, or just to get, you know, relax you…
Right, right...”]
OBVIOUSLY, THEY DO PUT MUSIC THERE FOR A REASON, AND IT’S
PROBABLY JUST AS SIMPLE AS THAT—TO PUT SHOPPERS IN A GOOD MOOD
AND PROVIDE ATMOSPHERE FOR THE PLACE. BUT THAT’S NOT WHERE THE
STORY STOPS.
[FADE UP DISPARITION - BLUE DREAMER IN BACKGROUND]
ON THIS EPISODE, WE’RE GOING TO LOOK DEEPLY AT HOW THIS GENRE
OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL “AMBIENT” MUSIC CAME ABOUT, THE DIFFERENT
STYLES IT’S TAKEN ON OVER THE YEARS, AND EVEN HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT
US ON A SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL. I’M PATRICK SIMPSON, AND THIS IS
MELOMANIA.
[DISPARITION - BLUE DREAMER]
SO, THE HISTORY OF AMBIENT MUSIC CAN GET A LITTLE COMPLICATED
IF YOU TRY TO MENTION EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO IT, SO I’M JUST GOING TO SIMPLIFY IT AND FOCUS ON A FEW KEY COMPOSERS. NOW, THE
FIRST GUY TO EVER COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR AMBIENT MUSIC WAS THIS
REALLY WEIRD FRENCH COMPOSER NAMED ERIK SATIE. YOU MAY KNOW HIM
FROM HIS MOST FAMOUS PIECE, THE MELANCHOLY “GYMNOPEDIES.”
[ERIK SATIE - GYMNOPEDIE NO. 1]
ANYWAYS, HE MAY SEEM LIKE A RELATIVELY SIMPLE COMPOSER FROM
HIS MOST FAMOUS PIECES, BUT HE WAS ACTUALLY A BIT OF A RADICAL. HE
DID A LOT OF STUFF THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, BUT WE’RE JUST GOING
TO DISCUSS THIS ONE PIECE, OR RATHER, SERIES OF PIECES, THAT SATIE
CALLED “MUSIQUE D’AMEUBLEMENT,” OR, IN ENGLISH, “FURNITURE MUSIC.”
[SATIE - UN SALON]
THEY WERE THESE SHORT COMPOSITIONS THAT WERE MEANT TO BE
REPEATED UNTIL THEY BECAME ULTIMATELY MEANINGLESS TO THE
LISTENER, THEREFORE MAKING THEM MUSIC THAT’S HEARD BUT NOT
LISTENED TO: THE VERY DEFINITION OF AMBIENT MUSIC. HE CALLED IT
FURNITURE MUSIC BECAUSE HE WANTED IT TO BE LIKE DECOR FOR A PLACE,
SOMETHING THAT ADDS TO THE OVERALL ATMOSPHERE BUT DOESN’T
DISTRACT, LIKE AN ABSTRACT PAINTING ON THE WALL, OR EVEN A CHAIR.
EACH PIECE WAS TITLED BY WHERE SATIE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE PLAYED,
FOR EXAMPLE, THE ONE YOU’RE HEARING RIGHT NOW IS CALLED IN ENGLISH
“A LIVING ROOM.”
[UN SALON] THE ONLY PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF FURNITURE MUSIC DURING
SATIE’S LIFETIME WAS DURING THE INTERMISSION OF A PLAY IN PARIS, 1920.
THERE WERE THREE CLARINETS, A TROMBONE, AND PIANO, AND THEY WERE
SCATTERED IN THE CORNERS OF THE ROOM, SO AS NOT TO DRAW
ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES, AND TO FILL UP THE ENTIRE ROOM WITH MUSIC.
[FADE UP CROWD NOISE]
BUT WHEN THE MUSIC STARTED…
[SATIE - CHEZ UN BISTROT]
EVERYONE QUIETED DOWN, POLITELY SAT, AND LISTENED INTENTLY,
DESPITE SATIE DESPERATELY RUSHING AROUND TELLING PEOPLE TO JUST
PRETEND THE MUSIC WASN’T THERE AND GO ABOUT THEIR NORMAL
BUSINESS. SO, IT WAS BASICALLY A FAILURE, BUT THE IDEA WAS THERE
NONETHELESS. BUT IT WOULD BE ANOTHER FIFTY YEARS BEFORE ANYONE
ELSE SERIOUSLY ATTEMPTED THEIR OWN FURNITURE MUSIC.
[CHEZ UN BISTROT]
SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE GUY WHO IS ARGUABLY THE KING OF
AMBIENT MUSIC, SOMEONE THAT HALF OF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ME
TO TALK ABOUT THIS ENTIRE TIME, WHILE THE OTHER HALF HAS PROBABLY
NEVER HEARD OF HIM: BRIAN ENO. LIKE WITH SATIE, YOU MAY NOT KNOW HIS
NAME, BUT YOU’VE CERTAINLY HEARD HIS WORK: HE’S PRODUCED
EVERYONE FROM U2, TO TALKING HEADS, TO COLDPLAY. HE EVEN MADE THE
WINDOWS 95 STARTUP SOUND.
[WINDOWS 95 STARTUP SOUND] BUT HE’S BEST KNOWN FOR BEING THE FIRST AMBIENT COMPOSER,
GOING WAY BEYOND THE SIMPLE REPETITIONS OF SATIE AND REALLY
ESTABLISHING WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF AMBIENT
MUSIC TODAY. IT ALL STARTED WHEN BRIAN ENO WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
AFTER BEING STRUCK BY A CAR BACK IN 1975. A FRIEND OF HIS CAME IN AND
PUT ON A RECORD OF 19TH CENTURY HARP MUSIC.
[GRANDE FANTAISIE ET VARIATIONS DE BRAVOURE - ELIAS PARISH-
ALVARS]
BUT HE LEFT THE VOLUME TOO LOW FOR ENO TO HEAR IT CLEARLY. HE
COULDN’T GET UP TO MAKE IT LOUDER, SO JUST HAD TO SIT AND LISTEN.
LEGEND GOES THAT HE HAD A REVELATION, LEARNING TO HEAR MUSIC IN A
TOTALLY NEW WAY, AS A FIXTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND NOT
SOMETHING TO BE PAID ATTENTION TO. THAT YEAR, HE PRODUCED WHAT
SOME WOULD CALL THE FIRST AMBIENT ALBUM EVER, AFTER SATIE OF
COURSE.
[BRIAN ENO - DISCREET MUSIC]
IT WAS CALLED DISCREET MUSIC. IT’S SIMILAR TO SATIE’S FURNITURE
MUSIC IN THAT IT’S NOT MEANT TO BE FOCUSED ON, BUT IT GOES WAY
BEYOND THAT SIMPLE NOTION TO ALSO STRIVE TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE’S
MOODS AND HELP CALM THEM.
THREE YEARS LATER ENO WOULD CODIFY THIS NEW GENRE AS
“AMBIENT,” WITH THE ALBUM AMBIENT 1: MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS.
[ENO - MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS] AS YOU MIGHT HAVE GUESSED FROM THE TITLE, IT’S MEANT TO BE
PLAYED IN AIRPORTS TO HELP RELAX TRAVELERS. IT’S THE PERFECT
ANTITHESIS TO THE CONSTANT BUZZ AND MOVEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH
AIRPORTS.
[MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS]
SO, WE’VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW AMBIENT MUSIC IS NOT ONLY
SUPPOSED TO BE A KIND OF SONIC DECOR FOR A PLACE, BUT ALSO
ACTUALLY AFFECT THE BEHAVIOR OF PEOPLE WITHOUT THEM EVEN
KNOWING IT. BUT IS IT TRUE THAT MUSIC CAN HAVE THAT KIND OF EFFECT
EVEN WHEN IT’S JUST IN THE BACKGROUND?
[LAUREN SERVOS INTERVIEW: “I do think that ambient music does affect
you.”]
WELL ACTUALLY, THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING YES, AT LEAST FROM
LAUREN SERVOS.
[“My name is Lauren Servos and I’m a board certified music therapist. As a music
therapist I’ve got specific training as a therapist and a musician and how to use the two
together to help patients improve their lives.”]
OBVIOUSLY, SHE KNOWS A LOT ABOUT HOW MUSIC CAN AFFECT US.
[“Music is special because it really does affect your whole brain, people have
done brain scans while people are listening to music, and different types of music, it
lights up all areas of the brain, not just one side or one area.”]
AND AMBIENT MUSIC IS NO EXCEPTION. [“Oh, I think it could definitely help and affect people. I’m trying to think of which airport it
is that has that big tunnel in it, maybe is it, uh I can’t, is it the Chicago airport?”]
IT’S ACTUALLY THE DETROIT AIRPORT.
[“That has a big tunnel to connect the terminals, and it’s got lights and music…”]
[DETROIT AIRPORT TUNNEL]
[“Um, that are, it just makes it a fascinating ride through this tunnel that could be
terrifying if it was just dark and silent. So I look forward to going through that colorful,
pretty tunnel every time I go to that airport.”]
[DETROIT AIRPORT TUNNEL]
SO THE NEXT TIME YOU’RE IN A GROCERY STORE, HEARING SISTER
CHRISTIAN OVER THE SPEAKERS, MAYBE STOP FOR A SECOND, JUST A
SECOND, BUT STOP FOR A SECOND, AND APPRECIATE IT, BECAUSE THERE’S
A LOT MORE THAT WENT INTO MAKING THAT HAPPEN THAN YOU WOULD
THINK.
[MUZAK - STIMULUS PROGRESSION]
MELOMANIA IS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY ME, PATRICK SIMPSON.
THE TRACKS THAT I USED ARE, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE, DISPARITION’S
BLUE DREAMER, ERIK SATIE’S GYMNOPEDIE NUMBER ONE, UN SALON, AND
CHEZ UN BISTROT, ELIAS PARISH-ALVARS’ GRANDE FANTAISIE ET VARIATIONS
DE BRAVOURE, AND PLEASE FORGIVE MY BUTCHERING OF THAT FRENCH,
BRIAN ENO’S DISCREET MUSIC AND MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS, AND THIS OF
COURSE IS MUZAK, THE TRUE EPITOME OF AMBIENT MUSIC. MELOMANIA IS A PRODUCTION OF 91.3 WHJE, BROADCASTING FROM BEAUTIFUL, DOWNTOWN,
CARMEL INDIANA. THANKS FOR LISTENING.
[STIMULUS PROGRESSION FADES OUT]