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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor George Skapsi at California State
University, Northridge, for his enthusiasm with regard to the study of music, which did much
to whet my appetite for further work.
This book grew out of my doctoral dissertation research conducted in the Music Department
at the University of California, Berkeley. I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of faculty
members there: John Swackhamer, whose broad view of contemporary music and sense of
humor helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel, Bonnie Wade, whose interest in a wide
range of world music has always been refreshing, and who supervised an independent study
that led ultimately to this book, Anthony Newcomb, who gamely steered my research through
its early stages, Christopher Brown, who with good cheer and open-mindedness took on a
fruitful advisory role, Olly Wilson, whose course in Afro-American music was one of the
highlights of my studies at Berkeley, and whose continuing scholarly and personal involve-
ment with that tradition set a valuable example for me, and Philip Brett, my dissertation ad-
viser, who was a delight to work with, offering many valuable suggestions, and whose firm
editorial guidance taught me much about writing itself.
Professor Charles Hamm of Dartmouth College served as an active yet unofficial reader and
adviser from the very earliest stages of the dissertation, and for his penetrating comments,
informed by a lifetime's study of popular music, I am grateful.
I do not know exactly how to express my deep feelings of admiration and obligation towards
Robert Fripp, the most effective teacher with whom I have ever had the privilege of studying
music, whose Guitar Craft XII seminar in 1986 opened up many a door for me, and who was
primarily responsible for leading me to undertake a study of his colleague Eno's work.
I would also like to thank Professor Howard DeWitt of Ohlone College, who lightened the
research load considerably through his encyclopedic knowledge of rock'n'roll and massive
record collection, Charles Amirkhanian, Joshua Kosman, and Joe Paulino, who supported the
project from early on and were kind enough to loan me a number of obscure records and
tapes, Lin Barkass and Anthea Norman-Taylor at Eno's management firm, Opal Ltd., London,
who answered my queries about Eno in a timely fashion and supplied several pertinent arti-
cles and brochures, and Betsy Uhrig of Faber & Faber for her warmth and editorial assistance
in the preparation of the final manuscript.
This book could not have been written without the constant support of my wife, Kristina Hol-
land, who agreeably proofread typescripts and put up with long stretches of anti-social behav-
ior on my part. Finally, I must thank my daughter Lilia, now six years old and no great Eno
fan, for helping me keep everything in perspective. After repeatedly playing Eno records on
the home stereo and running on about how wonderfully "mysterious" the music is, I asked her
one day if she liked it. "Turn it off!" she said. "It makes me feel like I am a mystery."