Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures

by Chilly Gonzales

A love letter to Enya.

Chilly Gonzales is one of the most exciting Musicians of our times. Worldwide he fills concert halls, singing in slippers and bathrobe. His piano play changes between jazz and neo classics as he represents a rapper's attitude. In his audio book about Enya he asks himself: Does music has to be smart or should it touch the heart? Ones opinion about Enya, the woman with the voice of an angel, who awarded uncountable golden records, might differ. Chilly Gonzales is absolutely thrilled by the gentle sounds of the mysterious musician.

Genres: Music, Audiobook, Nonfiction

76 pages, Paperback

Published October 16, 2020

Reviews

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sehr viel Chilly, sehr wenig Enya - aber trotzdem (oder gerade deswegen?) unterhaltsam und lehrreich. Ausführliche Rezension folgt.

[Meike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chilly Gonzales says it outright in this little book: He wanted to write about a female musician to focus his thoughts and use the foil of a fellow artist to contemplate his own musical development - so while he does sing Enya's praises, this is a text about Chilly (which is totally alrigt considering the idea of the KiWi music library: To write a personal long-form essay that describes how the author was influenced by a musician or band). So while I don't care the least bit about Enya, I really enjoyed listening to Chilly explaining to me why the idea of distinction in the arts is crap and why catchy music is the shit - also when you're a pianist (like him).

It's not that I always fully agree with him, but this guy is just so fun and cool, it's great to follow his standpoints. And for people who listen to the audio book: After the German version, there is also the complete book read in English by Chilly himself - so fast forward, people!

We need more installments of the KiWi music library - and I already have fun fun fun ideas!! :-)

[Mélanie]

Ça m’a rappelé une émission de radio à Radio-Can où il monologuait sur la musique de Noël. Je l’écouterais/le lirais pendant des heures! Ce gars-là est drôle et intelligent, un peu péteux aussi, mais toujours captivant.

[An sheep · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish this book was actually about Enya.

The author congratulates himself on being the first author in the series to write about a woman, but then spends most of the book talking about himself.

[Cathy Beauséjour · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'adore la façon dont Chilly Gonzales nous parle de musique!

[Sarah Gruber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witzig, smart und unglaublich gekonnt geschrieben.
Was kann Chilly González eigentlich NICHT?!

[Galactic Hero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting essay about musical taste, full of Chilly's signature charm wit. No doubt: he is as self-aware, articulate, and brimming with opinions on music as the best of them. And I enjoyed my brief time reading it, and it's great that Chilly keeps things brief and doesn't wear out his welcome, but, well, it's a little slim. To the point of being downright misleading.

There are no page numbers, but the website advertises it at 72 pages. Yes, but they are 72 tiny little pages. And I just flipped through, and 22 of them are either blank or chapter titles or inside-jacket-type material. This package has been really puffed out and padded out to try to justify its full-length-book price and I found that off putting. Happy to support Chilly, happy to have read it, understand the independent publishing game isn't easy, but think he could have done more to make this seem less of a ripoff.

[yellowdog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sail away Sail away Sail away

Chilly Gonzales über Enya

KIWIs Musikbibliothek überrascht ein weiteres mal. Das vom exzentrischen Pianisten Chilly Gonzales kein glattes Buch kommen würde, war aber klar. Sein energiegeladenes Wesen überträgt sich auch in das Buch.

Die New Age-Ikone Enya war in den 80/90. Jahren sehr erfolgreich und ihr Orinoco Flow (Sail away Sail away Sail away) kennt auch heute noch fast jeder.

Chilly Gonzales erzählt dann letztlich mehr von seinen musikalischen Vorlieben als von Enya. Über Wurzeln Enyas und der keltischen Kultur sagt er nichts, Auch Clannad wird nie erwähnt.
Von diesem leicht ignoranten Aspekt abgesehen, bleibt aber ein unterhaltsames kurzes Buch.

[Sabrina Chapadjiev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fucking love Chilly Gonzalez.

Full on art love. I'm sure he'd be a pain in the ass otherwise, but he's an obsessive musician. Technically as sound as any musician, but he gets to the bone with this treatise, which is about the importance of music as a connection rather than snobbery.

Is it written great? About as good as these last two sentences. He uses Enya as a way to explore his own relationship with art (using a women as a prop/muse for your own idolatry is fairly interesting) but I don't think he's aware of that. He just uses her work as entry to his own - missing some pretty key points about women in music and all of that - but why would he even investigate that? He has no clue.

Regardless, I don't begrudge him this glaring and convenient misunderstanding - but it's like a white guy is like, 'Omg - music is supposed to be used to connect!' and even though I'm now turning on my relationship with the book here - I don't mind - because his revelation is so basic and important, that it really rings through this whole book.

Do you need to buy this book? Maybe if you're me and you love him and need to remember to get insdie the music and not play on top of it, but otherwise - he recorded the book and I think it's online. Simply - this book is simple - misdirected, all over the place, problematic, privileged, but important in this age where people use music for the wrong reasons all the time.

I love Chilly. I hope this makes sense. I'm sick right now. Deal.

[Juliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Taste starts out as an involuntary reaction.” Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures is a wry and searching essay by musician / aficionado Chilly Gonzales; using his love of Enya as its jumping-off point, the essay explores notions of taste and discernment, and what they say about us as well as the music we consume, whether with love, condemnation, secrecy or frivolity. Chilly Gonzales expertly picks apart “this consensus vs taste dilemma”, and takes to task “the monolith of accepted taste” — he is fundamentally uninterested in what popular culture or society or critical circles consider to be good, and more in the individual’s ability to refine and articulate their taste — both what they like and, critically, what they do not. He is succinct: “So that’s what constitutes a guilty pleasure: openly, unashamedly capitalist pop music with no apology. Songs that are trying to be loved, maybe even to the point of desperation.” But he is quick to interrogate all that is established and accepted, from what is or isn’t ‘guilty’ in pleasure, to what music can or should do, at its best: “This idea of music that sounds good while you eat or party or take a bath, versus music that you give your full attention to. […] It’s not that all music falls into these two categories. The goal of music should be to function on both levels.” Both a personal love-letter to Enya and a pursuit of artistic understanding, Chilly Gonzales offers up an engaging work of great cultural value.

[Vlad Mihai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very personal essay on music feels unedited and similar to a living room conversation. Very straight-forward and funny. Chilly talks about the haunting power of a lullaby, the soothing and maternal quality of music. The ultimate test for a song is “how does it sound when it’s sung by your mother”.

He talks about the importance of a connection with the audience, being believable vs having technical skill or musical knowledge. He touches notions of musical taste and how it develops - what you hate sharpens your taste more than what you like, embracing your goosebumps when you really love something, guilty pleasures and why mainstream is actually cool.

He goes deep in analyzing Enya’s success and her “godmotherly ethereal airy voice”. She overlays vocals on compositions with no drums, only timpani, synth strings and cymbal subtle gestures.

“The idea that music that sounds good while you eat or party or take a bath, versus music that you give your full attention to. It’s not that all music falls into these two categories. The goal of music should be to function on both levels. It’s like with people. Some you can shoot the shit with, make jokes with, entertain each other. Some people you can have deeper conversations with, explore subjects that are uncomfortable, judgement-free intimacy. But the best people are the ones you can do both with.”

[Aiman Abdel-Samad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Todo el mundo conoce a Enya, aunque haya quien diga que no" — Chilly Gonzales.

Fui muy feliz en mis primeros años cuando conocí su música, una música de nana que arrulla, que transporta al recuerdo al que uno regresa para sentir seguridad. El placer no culpable. Por eso compré este libro inmediatamente lo vi en una vitrina.

La música de Enya es tan única que es un género en sí misma. Su voz, a veces sin letra, o con letras en idiomas ficticios (como el quenya creado por JRR Tolkien y usado para la banda sonora del Señor de los Anillos) dice tantas cosas que sus canciones hablan por sí mismas. Por eso, Enya es tal vez la única cantante que se da el lujo de no hacer giras ni entrevistas ni booms mediáticos –en vivo o en televisión– y ser a la vez una de las cantantes más exitosas.
Y más solitarias. Vive feliz en su castillo en Irlanda junto con sus 10 gatos y cuida de las hijas de Nicky y Roma Ryan, sus productores, amigos y también vecinos. Artículo de El País de España.

Bonus: no conocía a Chilly Gonzales. Fantástico pianista.

[Texturas · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Qué libro! Un caramelo fresco y picante, breve y lleno de autenticidad.

Me ha encantado la manera de expresarse del autor, con tintes de arrogante simpático y divertido egocéntrico (o ex egocéntrico, ya que habla de muchos pensamientos suyos del pasado).

Este breve ensayo es una mezcla de autobiografía sobre sus equivocados pensamientos del pasado y sus egocéntricos deseos de éxito, y de su admiración por Enya y la manera que ella tiene de crear, de concebir la música y de decir que no a todo lo que supuestamente debería aceptar un músico.

He disfrutado muchísimo encontrando tanta sinceridad "a tripa abierta" en un libro tan breve (76 páginas). Admiro que el autor sea capaz de reconocer tantas falsas creencias de su pasado y compartirlas.
Para mí ha sido realmente inspirador sobre todo por la manera de relatarlo todo, con tantas frases aparentemente sencillas pero cargadas de sentido que invitan a reflexionar sobre qué es "la buena música" y nuestra opinión sincera sobre ella y sobre lo que nos emociona de verdad.

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zwei Sterne fand ich visuell irgendwie nicht passend, aber vom Eindruck her war das Buch für mich eben "it was ok". Ich fand die Qualität des Textes schon gut, aber der Inhalt fiel mir schwierig. Ich habe mich die ganze Zeit so gefühlt, als ob ein auf mich herabschauender Snob über Musik erzählen würde, die ich, mit meinem bescheidenen und einfachen Geschmack nie verstehen würde. Diesen Eindruck verstärkte auch die Stimme und der etwas passiv-aggressive Ton auf dem von Malakoff Kowalski gelesenen Audiobuch. Schlechte Kombi eben.

Der Vorwurf wurde hier schon gemacht – dass eben einen Autor, der IM Buch darüber spricht, wie er endlich über eine Frau schreiben darf, in einer Serie, die bisher nur über Männer erzählt, aber wo war denn diese Frau in diesem Buch? Da, wo der Autor endlich bisschen mehr über sie erzählt, endet schon das Buch. Davor aber ganz viele Gedanken über (kommerzielle, populäre, coole) Musik, die auch paar steile Thesen enthalten und vllt gute Diskussionen starten könnten, aber unterhaltsam fand ich das Buch nicht so richtig.

[Jordy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A personal essay written by one of my favourite artists about an artist who I probably should have known about sooner.

After reading this quick book (57 pages), I feel much more educated about Chilly Gonzales's life than I do about Enya's music. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the skillful writing of Gonzales as he shares his expert opinions on music through an engaging and comedic voice. The entire book felt like I was reading the transcript of a conversation between friends (not in a bad, podcast-type of way).

The reason I only gave 3 stars was because I thought the book lacked substance that would have made everything more cohesive and comprehensive. At times, it was difficult to differentiate whether I was reading an autobiography or a book about Enya. Also 16$ for someone's draft of a personal essay lead to it losing a star in my review lol.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilly Gonzales is every bit as entertaining a writer as performer, an interesting and thoughtful essay about taste. A short companion piece of sorts to the fantastic Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste

The audiobook is available on Spotify too - https://open.spotify.com/album/4TNVba... - Chilly's own English narration starts from track 23.

[Víctor Pastor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pudiendo haber sido realmente un tratado sobre los "Placeres no culpables" o nuestros verdaderos gustos musicales, es mas bien una autobiografía ( el mismo lo reconoce en un punto ) para ensalzar su talento y sus conocimientos musicales usando a Enya como "tapadera". Si hasta el al final admite que cuando estaba escribiendo esto no tenia mucha idea sobre ella ! Quizas que el titulo original en aleman sea "Chilly Gonzales sobre Enya" y no el que el traductor ha decidido poner crea toda esta confusión. La premisa es interesante, pero solo habla sobre el tema en unas 20 paginas.

[Carlos Úbeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertidisimo ensayo de Chilly Gonzales que, más que explicar su admiración por Enya, utiliza la misma como excusa para explayarse -en mi opinión, con mucho acierto- sobre temas como el gusto musical, los dogmas, el esnobismo, la independencia, el mucho o poco valor de las melodías, los ritmos o las letras… Muy disfrutable especialmente en su versión audiolibro leído por el propio Gonzales con su tan entendible como expresiva prosodia.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chilly’s a talented writer, but this book is way more about Chilly than it is about the elusive one-of-a-kind musician whose name graces its cover. If you can get past the literary bait-and-switch, you’ll find a well-written mini-book on creativity and individuality, with a plea to like what you like despite what critics or society insist is “the best.” The quickness of the read just gives fans more time to get back to wishing for a proper Enya biography somewhere down the line.

[Katie Balic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious, feels like having a conversation with him. I get the feeling he didn't want to edit it too much. Feels like he did months of thinking for this and then wrote it all in one sitting. Says Beach house is his favourite band and that was cohesive as heck for me. My two favourite artists loving each other-sense is made.

[Mark Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Chilly's musical career, this has lots of interesting thoughts on music, taste, subjectivity, and style that can be applied to any form of media.
That said, there really isn't much analysis or anything on Enya at all. It is also quite a short read, and the writing style is pretty meandering. This reads like something you give to your ghostwriter before they write the actual book...

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was enjoyable, and you know basically correct - but I could have done with it being a bit longer. Chilly's a great writer and a great point of view. So though he covered his subject I could have had the same length again on this. Recommended though.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The proof that memoirs/autobiographies/selfportraits (Enya is but an icon here) do not need to be long to be incisive, insightful, empathetic (after all, it is written for others to read) and brilliant, or close to it.

[Tim Ubels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chilly meanders his way through his thoughts on lullabies, defining your personal tastes by what you don't like, the lose of joy when your creation leaves your control and hits the mainstream. Felt like a rough draft of a good 33 1/3, but the ideas could use a little fleshing out.

[Sarenne Wallbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant way to spend an hour or so of a rainy summer Sunday. Gonzalez is witty and fun, and I appreciated his perspectives on the options of artistry, our strange battle between personal and public taste, and the power of constraints on creativity. I would have gladly continued reading, but he left too much 'space' for us to "fill with our own emotional reactions" here. 3 stars as this really could have been a blog post.

[AdiTurbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to listen to Enya all the time as a teenager, and can't forget the first time I heard her ethereal voice. I always thought she was underrated, and now I understand why, and that I was right in thinking so. I also now feel less alone in this, so thanks, Chilly!

[Mkb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two thirds amid this short book are excellent. I feel by the last part most of the best observations have been made. Very clever and lots of observations one might be tempted to transcribe in a notebook for subsequent perusal.

[Christopher Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, sharp, amusing. Everything one would expect the debut written work of Chilly Gonzales to be.

[Michelmariek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lu dans une voiture au retour d'une semaine dans le sud. Une ouverture intéressante à ce que sont les goûts musicaux et ce que l'on peut en apprendre sur nous

[Anaplaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

“This world isn’t perfect, so we all scurry around beneath the long-cast shadow of musical consensus”.

[The book, meh. Beautiful cover by Craig Oldham and edition by Rough Trade, though].