A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · #

MY RECORD

COLLECTION

HOME· ARTISTS· ALBUMS· COUNTRY· LABELS· GENRES· WANTS

Philip Glass

This artist's work has taken up such a huge part of my musical life. I'll always remember the first time I heard his music. I was eighteen years old, not the most social guy around, I had just moved into my very first apartment, I was doing my certificate in screenplay writing at UQAM (Montreal University in Quebec) and had just started working in a music store to make ends meet. Back then I was deeply into John Zorn's work, anything he touched was gold to my ears, I loved extreme music already back then and was constantly trying to hear new things and broaden my musical horizons. I had even began listening classical music, and had recently purchased some Chopin and Tchaikovsky Best Of... collections which I found for practically nothing in a pharmacy rack next to the chocolate bars. Knowing of my love for "different" music, a friend from school lent me a copy of Glass's 1982 recording Glassworks on a worn out tape (which I believe belonged to his father) and told me to "listen to this". I was learning to play the guitar during my spare back then, with the help of a few books and tablature magazines. I bring the tape home, put it in a cheap radio/tape player I bought five years earlier in a flea market for my sister and I'm about to practice on the guitar. Can't say I was expecting much from the music and actually listened to it quite reluctantly as I knew this was not going to be some bizarre Zorn mind-fuck. There I am, with one foot on the bed and the guitar on my knee when the first sounds reach my ears... and I'm frozen there, literally frozen, I cannot move. I'm hearing these repetitive melodies and they are hypnotizing me completely. It was an incredible feeling. I just stood like that mesmerized as the songs faded into each other. I only snapped out of this daze when I finally heard the first side ending with a "click". I slowly placed my guitar on the side of the bed, switched the tape around in the stereo and fell back on my bed as the second side started... and then I waited, transfixed, for the same effects to take place. Wow! Unbelievable, this was truly what I could call a musical epiphany. I must have listened to that tape dozens of times before I finally gave it back to my friend and I was asking for more.

Of course, I almost immediately bought Glassworks at work and there I had the chance to hear other works by Philip Glass', including a few film soundtracks. My friend then lent me Einstein On The Beach which also impressed me greatly (and became my first musical purchase to cost me over 50$ even with an employee rebate!). I bought everything I could get my hands on, The Photographer, Dance Pieces, his early organ pieces (which were a bit more difficult, but this was Glass, so I couldn't just disregard them and went on to have a strong affection for them as well), his soundtracks... Everything!

This was also soon before I met my now ex-wife. I was totally into Glass' music at the time so, of course, she got to hear some of it and she fell in love with the track Opening off of Glassworks and it slowly became "our" song. I would send it to her when we reconciliated after our first separation, we would listen to it on romantic evenings, we even tried to have it play at our wedding (but that didn't work out - maybe I should have taken this as a sign that the marriage would eventually fail!? Who knows!). I sold all of my Glass records to move to Sweden with her (including Glassworks, but this was done by error since it was supposed to play at the wedding). So there I was, Glassless in Eskilstuna, Sweden for the next three years. I don't believe I've played the album more than once since I got it back and here I am about to leave again to Canada. This record (and ultimately all of Glass' work) will for always be associated with this period of my life: the colors and moods in my new apartment, the many flights and meetings with my future wife, the Sun and smells of springtime in Sweden. Everything was still open for me at the time, a whole new world of possibilities to explore and a new love to get to know; but that's all gone now, for better or for worse. All I have left is the music and whole new opportunities. Phase two starts here.

---