‘Thursday Afternoon’: Courtney Barnett’s favourite Brian Eno song
The landscape of alternative, electronic and experimental music today would be virtually unrecognisable without the pioneering influence of Brian Eno. From his early days of Scratch Orchestra and the art rock icons Roxy Music to his later ambient projects and activism, Eno has always had an eye for innovation and experimentation. Although he might not have enjoyed the same mainstream success as some of his contemporaries, the composer has amassed legions of adoring fans over the course of his long and illustrious career, including Courtney Barnett.
On the face of it, Eno might not be the most obvious musical influence on the work of Courtney Barnett. After all, the Sydney-born songwriter rose to prominence with a unique brand of indie slacker rock, deadpan delivery, and clear folk influences.
It was with her 2015 album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, that most people were first exposed to the distinctive tones and incredible songwriting of Barnett, but her music changed a great deal within the intervening years, constantly evolving to incorporate a much broader range of influences.
In addition to her own solo work, Barnett’s discography is also noted for its various collaborations and side projects, which allow the songwriter to explore different avenues of songwriting and composition. Among those projects, one of the most intriguing is End of the Day, a soundtrack album the songwriter originally constructed for the documentary film Anonymous Club. Reportedly, the instrumental album was entirely improvised by Barnett alongside Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint fame.
End of the Day is very different from anything Barnett had achieved previously, and that is likely down to the changing tides of the songwriter’s listening habits. Speaking to The Line of Best Fit last year, Barnett selected a few of the tracks that had influenced this move in style. Among them, of course, sat the revolutionary sounds of Brian Eno, specifically the track ‘Thursday Afternoon’.
“This is an important one,” Barnett said of the song, revealing that the Covid lockdowns were the catalyst for her Eno adoration, “I hadn’t really listened to much of his ambient music. This one really connected with me, I think, because it was lockdown, and I would just go on these long walks every day. I mean, we weren’t really allowed to do anything else, so I would just listen to it.” Upon listening to the classic Eno track, you can certainly draw parallels to Barnett’s improvised soundtrack album. “This album, in particular, had an audiovisual component,” she said, “similar to End of the Day.”
It might have taken Barnett longer than most to immerse themselves in the strange world of Brian Eno ambience, but there is certainly no going back now. “It’s an hour-long musical soundscape, so, you know, I would sit at home and meditate and listen to it,” she revealed, adding, “It just became a really important part of my musical soundscape.”
Whether or not Barnett will continue these explorations into ambient music and the experimental world within her solo work remains to be seen. Her taste has always been eclectic, and Brian Eno certainly has a large enough discography to keep Barnett’s creative juices flowing indefinitely.
