When is Ambient not Boring?

So Richard D. James is a genius. This is not news for those of you that listen to electronic music. I'm listening to Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II today while painting, and it's brilliant. IMO, it's exactly what ambient music should be. These tunes have a wide range of emotions, a much wider range then the blissful melancholy of Eno's best ambient. No, these tunes float and pulse and even occasionally pound, but all the while remaining true to a cohesive vision. I don't have the musical vocabulary to describe what I'm hearing, but here are some impressions I jotted down for ya (note that the tracks are all untitled, so I used the titles from Wikipedia):

• [shiny metal rods]: lollipop pistons in a Stomp production


• The spooky Mass of [matchsticks] (when you'd expect the music to exult, it flattens into a minor chord, like the end of the Falling theme in Twin Peaks)


• The eerie dance of [ropes]


• An echoy spirit dance takes place in [windowsill]


• The calm lullaby of [hexagon]


• The repetition in [radiator] gets really old really quickly


• The warm bath of [rhubarb] starts out so soothing but gets progressively colder as time passes: musical entropy


• The evil calliope music in [rusty metal] is not soothed by the creepy Jack in the box laughter


• [tassels]: Radio interference as music

It's important to note that not all of the songs are great. As mentioned above, [radiator] gets really boring. Another example is [domino] which is just too statically abrasive for my tastes. But the majority really do
stake out a sound space that paints a unique picture. it's not for everyone; in fact, it's the epitome of what my brother would call "weird Todd music". But if you're willing and patient to let the music open up to you, give it a spin.

UPDATE: Forgot to link to Music in my Mind where you can get the album yourself.