I had wanted a tape recorder since I was tiny. I thought it was a magic thing. I never got one until just before I went to art school. Brian Eno on art
At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then considered as the noblest art. Brian Eno on art
The smart thing in the art world is to have one good idea and never have another. Brian Eno on art
One of the things you're doing when you make art, apart from entertaining yourself and other people, is trying to see what ways of working feel good, what feels right. Brian Eno on art
It's not the destination that matters. It's the change of scene. Brian Eno on change
I think most artists would be happy to have bigger audiences rather than smaller ones. It doesn't mean that they are going to change their work in order necessarily to get it, but they're happy if they do get it. Brian Eno on change
I take sounds and change them into words. Brian Eno on change
The basis of computer work is predicated on the idea that only the brain makes decisions and only the index finger does the work. Brian Eno on computers
Everybody is entertained to death. Brian Eno on death
I've had quite a lot of luck with dreams. I've often awoken in the night with a phrase or even a whole song in my head. Brian Eno on dreams
We are increasingly likely to find ourselves in places with background music. No composers have thought to write for these modern spaces, which represent 30% of our musical experience. Brian Eno on experience
Sometimes you recognize that there is a category of human experience that has not been identified but everyone knows about it. That is when I find a term to describe it. Brian Eno on experience
I felt extremely uncomfortable as the focal point, in the spotlight. I really like the behind the scenes role, because all my freedom is there. Brian Eno on freedom
I would like to see a future where artists think that they have a right to contemplate things like global warming. Brian Eno on future
Something I've realized lately, to my shock, is that I am an optimist, in that I think humans are almost infinitely capable of self-change and self-modification, and that we really can build the future that we want if we're smart about it. Brian Eno on future
I've noticed a terrible thing, which is I will agree to anything if it's far enough in the future. Brian Eno on future
When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings - to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue. Brian Eno on great
The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular. Brian Eno on history
When our governments want to sell us a course of action, they do it by making sure it's the only thing on the agenda, the only thing everyone's talking about. And they pre-load the ensuing discussion with highly selected images, devious and prejudicial language, dubious linkages, weak or false 'intelligence' and selected 'leaks.' Brian Eno on intelligence
One of the interesting things about having little musical knowledge is that you generate surprising results sometimes you move to places you wouldn't if you knew better. Brian Eno on knowledge