I first became aware of the Heads back in the late 70s when I got a hold of their second album (“More Songs About Buildings and Food”). I dove hard into their then limited catalogue, then drifted away from their music for several years.
Flash forward to the 90s, when I listened to “Naked” and would listen to virtually nothing else for some time. During the intervening years, I knew their hits – and they had a few huge ones – but little else. So once again, I bought up the albums I was missing and re-discovered Byrne’s genius.
Next, several more years rolled by as I explored other musicians and genres. But here I am again today, once again bitten with the Talking Heads bug. I’m listening to their stuff as if it’s the first time I’m hearing it, and I am amazed at the intensity with which these tunes grab me. Yesterday I watched “Stop Making Sense” (which had somehow previously escaped my attention) and was completely blown away. Damn, that is one entertaining concert film.
I know very little of Byrne’s solo work; if anyone has recommendations; I am all….um….ears.
mmm
I knew absolutely nothing about the Talking Heads until a friend took me to Stop Making Sense on the night it opened in Chapel Hill. I was blown away. Great film.
I was a big fan of the albums, and got to see them on the “Stop Making Sense” tour at Red Rocks outside of Denver. One of the top two or three concerts I’ve ever seen.
Was over at a friend’s place last night and the subject of TH came up. The 20-something daughter of one of the guests had never heard of them. I was properly gobsmacked. Yet another reminder of advancing age, I guess.
An amazing band. Smart, arty, weird, and very funky, with so many good deep cuts. David Byrne is one of my favorite rock frontmen and I’m a big fan of Tina Weymouth’s bass playing. Stop Making Sense is a great piece of art, and The Name of This Band… stands on its own as an outstanding live album.
I read somewhere that Weymouth only learned to play the bass because Chris Frantz - her boyfriend and the band’s drummer - encouraged her to take it up because they could not find a bass player.
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Does anyone know details about the break up of the band? I remember reading that Byrne and Weymouth had a big falling out and lots of unpleasantries were exchanged.
mmm
Download some more. I’d start with Born Under Punches, Crosseyed and Painless, and Naive Melody. Unless you got one of those names wrong it sounds like you have one song twice. The chorus of Once in a Lifetime includes the line “Same as it ever was.”
Swamp is another favorite around here. For a while, my girlfriend and I would sing the chorus to each other (the “hi-hi-hi-hi-hi” part) when she got nervous before a rehearsal or a performance. Papa Legba is probably her favorite and Pull Up the Roots is another one of mine.
Stop Making Sense and True Stories were both fun movies that I want to own when I have the cash.
Favourite songs off the top of my (talking) head?
And She Was, Psycho Killer, Wild Wild Life, Burning Down the House, Road to Nowhere, Take Me to the River, Once in a Lifetime, Creatures of Love.
I still have True Stories and Little Creatures in vinyl, haven’t owned a record player in a couple of decades - one day I’ll have cash and I’ll get that record player with the usb attachment and, just you watch out, that’s all I’m saying…
Since mmm is asking for recommendations of Byrne’s solo stuff, it’s time to mention the Byrne/Eno collaboration “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”. Very percussive, experimental and highly influential.
I really love the David Byrne / Brian Eno album “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”. For me it’s the perfect combination of Eno-ambience with Talking Heads-funk.
I keep meaning to pick up Byrne and Eno’s 2008 collaboration “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today”, but I never end up getting around to it. Has anyone here heard it?
I never got around to buying Everything That Happens (although I bet this thread will prompt me to do it), but I did see Byrne on tour twice when he was promoting the album. In performance at least, the songs aren’t much like the Eno-Talking Heads material or Bush of Ghosts. What I heard reminded me more of True Stories. They’re less funky, more straightforward, and have more of an uplifting character. Byrne said gospel music was a major influence.
I’d start with Born Under Punches, Crosseyed and Painless, and Naive Melody. Unless you got one of those names wrong it sounds like you have one song twice. The chorus of Once in a Lifetime includes the line “Same as it ever was.”