New Research: Eleanor Friedberger
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Captain Beefheart
12 min read
Eleanor specifically mentions listening to Captain Beefheart's 'Clear Spot' album as a major creative influence that sparked new directions in her collaboration with Matt. Understanding Beefheart's avant-garde approach to rock music provides essential context for The Fiery Furnaces' experimental sound.
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Jeff Buckley
2 min read
Eleanor references Jeff Buckley and his documentary when defending the artistry of interpreting others' songs rather than writing your own. Buckley's tragic story and his legendary interpretive performances (especially 'Hallelujah') illuminate her point about singers who perform others' material.
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Concept album
14 min read
The Fiery Furnaces' 'Blueberry Boat' is described as an ambitious, conceptual work with elaborate stories and abnormal structures. Understanding the history and evolution of concept albums from The Who to Pink Floyd contextualizes what makes their approach distinctive.
Eleanor Friedberger is one of the most singular voices in indie rock. Best known for her work with The Fiery Furnaces, the avant-garde group she founded with her brother Matthew in 2000, Eleanor is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and solo artist with an incredibly distinct sound and style.
The records Eleanor makes with her brother are adventurous, often conceptual works full of unexpected sounds, abnormal structures, and absurdist lyrics that make little fever dreams out of indie-rock songs. The band has always made the kind of rare albums that seem to give you something new with each listen. While Eleanor’s solo albums rein in that free-wheeling nature and lean into her brilliant sense of melody, they still apply the same art-first approach that’s made The Fiery Furnaces’ work so interesting (and often polarizing).
The Fiery Furnaces recently reissued their ambitious second record, 2004’s Blueberry Boat, and have resumed playing live for the first time in years. Filmmaker and Chance Operations collaborator (and longtime Eleanor Friedberger admirer) Jessica Edwards recently saw the reinvigorated band perform at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY. Jessica sat down with Eleanor to discuss how her process changes between projects, how constraints can actually work for you, and the magic trick to staying inspired and motivated to create.
Jessica: Let’s start at the beginning.
Eleanor: When we started the Fiery Furnaces, I had actually recruited Matthew to be in my band, which I had already started with a friend. Our first album, Gallowsbird Bark, is a classic first album in that we had our whole lives to make it, so it was perfect. I would’ve been happy if we had just stopped there, but with the second one, Blueberry Boat, my brother saw the potential in what this thing could be. He really took it and ran with it once he saw how people were responding and he treated me like an actor in whatever he created. The real win was that I could translate and put across whatever he came up with to the listener.
We talked so little about where the elaborate stories in those albums even came from. I was always reluctant to ask him more about them because I wouldn’t have been able to do my job if I knew too much. Sometimes when I’m performing, I have out-of-body experiences where I’m like “What the fuck am I
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