Like these spaces you create make more sense to the core of being a human than the facade of being bombarded with constant advertisement and news and noise. Bette A: It’s why I write. I feel like the narrative of the place you're in or the narrative that's put on you by the media can become so dominant that you don't really see the clear picture anymore. Right now in our Western world, in the past week, all of us have had one thought about Donald Trump, about Melania, about maybe Kim Kardashian, because it's been put in our minds. The speed that this is coming at us is really high and it's all alarming, and to detach from it is so hard. When you're in an office environment or in any kind of environment, the narrative of that place also becomes your narrative, and can pollute your experience of reality. It's very hard to stay within that core of yourself. Ever since I was a young child, I wrote stories. If I was confused by something Bette A: That’s the thing that Brian and I connected over. We both feel really strongly that there is no difference between your dad writing fun poems or your mom taking you out on adventures outside or my grandma thinking for half an hour which wool she wants to pick for the pillow. There's no difference between that and the people who make operas and paintings and the so-called “high art." It just has a different skill level, a different appreciation level, but it's completely the same. People don't feel included when the conversation is about art, but it’s about all of us. We all do art all the time. I think our education system drops the ball where we don't explain to kids what art is for. It's our self-expression. It's enjoyable in the moment. It's a way to engage with our feelings. That's why when kids hit age 9 or 10, which they call "the rational age" in developmental psychology. They want to know: What is it for? They have to learn to read to learn more, to ride their bike so they can get to school. I's unclear what art is for. So then they start judging it by the wrong standards — Am I the best singer in my class? Will I stand on a stage later in life and will people clap? Are my drawings photo realistic? And you hear people when they're 40 or 50 say, "Oh, I loved singing, but I stopped. I don't know why." Nobody tells you what it was for. It was for you! You enjoyed it, and that was enough. Art is useful for the purpose of engaging with your feelings and it can sometimes be really clear to you and sometimes it can be a mystery. Birdy: And we don't always need the answers! I think that's the bane of our existence in this form of life as we know it — always trying to figure shit out and sometimes shit is not meant to be figured out. Bette A: Just enjoy that moment of mystique. When I wrote the stories on the record, The Endless House and on the other side, The Other Village, I sent The Other Village to a few people. My sister who's a scientist got back to me and she said, “This is about science. This story is a critique on science.” And I was kind of baffled by this. Another friend got back to me and said, "You wrote this story as a warning for me that I shouldn't fall in love with someone else, and if I do, I shouldn't explore it." And my publisher said, "This story is about Trump's America." And so three really different interpretations, but apparently the story had enough room for people to engage with it and actually feel like it was about something. So I think that some art can be a great vessel for your feelings and create a container for you to see it more clearly, and there we have to cherish that ambiguity and mystique and possibility. Yes, I could also write a non-fiction essay, but I write these stories so then you can put yourself in it if I do it well. I like that art leaves room for this mutating truth. Birdy: Maybe I'm just a total weirdo, but these stories you wrote, these otherworldly fantastical worlds that couldn't happen in reality on these records, I feel they are more of a reality than what we're living in currently. No. 147 or I had a lot of feelings, I turned all the characters in the event into animals. And it was a way of getting rid of all the rubbish and getting closer to a core of what was happening. So in that sense I agree with you that it feels truer. I personally like stories that get rid of all those details and go into the core of those feelings that we have and the way we relate to each other. What does it mean to be among others? What does it mean to fear others? How can you protect yourself and still be open? Those are the kind of questions that occupy my mind. And that's not saying that we shouldn't read the news. I mean, we need to know what's going on. I use stories to get somewhere without all the clutter in my brain. Birdy: There’s a quote from one of my favorite musicians, Trent Reznor: “Art is resistance.” Intentionality, slowness, as you say, is radical. It’s an act of rebellion. Bette A: I love that. I think slowing down is dangerous now because it will remind you of what actually matters to you. You're actually not afraid of immigrants. They never really hurt your life in any way for most people. What if you slow down? What are you afraid of? What is giving you that unease? Diving deeper is dangerous for the people who want to control the narrative because then we figure out it's actually other things that bother us. And I think that's why art now feels almost like resistance and like a radical act, because art allows you to think your own thoughts, to feel your own feelings. LIMITED COPIES OF SLOW STORIES: A COLLABORATION OF STORYTELLING, MUSIC, AND ART ARE AVAILABLE AT: UNNAMEDPRESS.COM/VINYL/P/SLOW-STORIES-VINYL SEE MORE FROM BETTE A. & BRIAN ENO: BETTE-A.COM | HEROINESMOVEMENT.COM BRIAN-ENO.NET | EARTHPERCENT.ORG PHOTO BY NATSUKO HAMADA
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