The Artist/Album: Brian Eno, Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks (EG, 1983)
A Short Review: We’ve been trying to tear through Rick Moody’s rather absurd/rambling Four Fingers of Death book for the past month or so, and while we’re about 100 pages from the finish line, we prefer the first half of his two-part doorstop by far. Mostly because its ill-fated Mars mission reminds us of the paranoid humanoid vibes that permeate 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This ambient Eno album–rounded out by Daniel Lanois and Brian’s brother Roger–arrived 15 years after Kubrick’s instant classic, and yet it’d sync up perfectly with every last frame. Which makes sense; Apollo was originally meant as the soundtrack to a narration-free documentary on NASA’s moon missions. It was eventually ruined by test screenings and testicle-less edits, though, so you’re better off putting Kubrick on mute and hitting play if you want the full experience here.
Available At: Amazon · Insound · iTunes
