Music Review: David Byrne and Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today If you're looking for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts Part II, you won't find it here. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is nothing revolutionary; as Byrne and Eno tell us themselves on their website, it is simply what happened when years of material from both artists collided and conversed, which is an event we can celebrate. This record is solid and timeless, and doesn't vaunt its importance or cling to hipster trends. Although the album feels underwhelming at times, the funk rhythms invite us to dance and the lyrics, which teeter in ambiguity between the jaded pessimism of age and the optimism that stems from acceptance, invite us to ponder life's questions...and to ponder where we put that old Remain In Light record. In opener "Home," Byrne sings "Heaven knows what keeps mankind alive," and the album continues with an ironic torch-song feel, reminiscent of the Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere." The chord progressions are classic and folk sensibility pervades, which also serves to highlight the two excellent exceptions, "I Feel My Stuff" (sounding like Mister Rogers on X) and "Poor Boy" (possibly an old blues dirge from Mars). "Life Is Long" and "Strange Overtones" will quench your thirst for the old Heads sound, while "Wanted For Life" gives you the curious feeling that Byrne is imitating his imitators. Everything That Happens may not be thumping with choppy samplings of other-worldly chants, but what the record lacks in urgency and innovation, it makes up for in catchy refrains amidst turquoise-cool grooves.
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