Talking Heads
David Byrne
Vocals, Guitar
Tina Weymouth
Bass, Various
Chris Frantz
Drums
Jerry Harrison
Guitar, Various
Location: New York, New York, USA
Genre: Punk, New Wave, Post-Punk
Years Active: 1975 - 1991; 2002
Meaning of the Name: Term used in TV. Refers to people framed from the shoulders up.
Way of Working: Collaborative
Associated: Tom Tom Club
Essential Releases
More Songs About
Buildings and Food
(1978)
Introduced funk elements. First album produced by Brian Eno.
Fear of Music (1979)
Darker, rhythm-based album. Anxious.
Remain in Light (1980)
Masterpiece. Combines the polyrhythms of funk with influences from early hip hop.
Speaking in
Tongues (1983)
More commercial. Contains the hit single 'Burning Down the House'.
Talking Heads were a band defined by a contradiction between primitive urges and technological sophistication. Their work suggested that the dividing line between the two was thinner than commonly assumed, and provided a unifying sound of a world marching in step.
Nowhere is this dichotomy more palpable than on their post-punk masterpiece: Remain in Light (1980). Recorded in various locations, including the sun-soaked Bahamas and the concrete grit of New York City, the album represents a fusion of First and Third World influences.
The result was a revolution in texture. Producer Brian Eno, fresh from his work with Roxy Music, applied his trademark "Enossification" to the album, brightening instruments and using the studio as an extra member of the band. Yet, the most striking innovation was the repetitive loops that were played by human hands.
Where a machine would produce a sterile, technically perfect identical repetition, the band's rhythm section played each individual loop themselves, creating microscopic variations in timing and velocity that made it felt alive. The result was a dense, interlocking urban jungle of sound, at once ancient and futuristic, electric and acoustic.
Lyrically, the band served as a mirror to the anxieties of the late 1970s and early 80s. If the optimism of the Kennedy era had curdled into the cynicism of Nixon and the Cold War, Talking Heads provided the soundtrack to the fallout.
On 'Born Under Punches', vocalist David Byrne adopts the persona of "government man," exploring the erosion of trust in public institutions. The lyrics oscillate between the oppressor and the oppressed, capturing the mood of a populace beaten down by recession and the looming shadow of the Vietnam War.
Such a tendency was also present on earlier tracks such as 'Don't Worry About the Government' (1977), that offered a scathing satire of suburban complacency that was decades ahead of its time. Byrne's lyrics on the latter depict a self-centred protagonist comfortable in his luxury, oblivious to the environmental and social decay outside his window, that is eerily similar to modern concerns about climate change and creeping authoritarianism.
"My building has every convenience. It's gonna make life easy for me."Talking Heads also expressed these ideas visually. The cover of Remain in Light features the members' faces obscured by red, pixelated masks. It is a striking juxtaposition: computer manipulation used to evoke tribal face paint, questioning whether the modern Westerner is truly distinct from more "primitive" cultures.
This theatricality culminated in the Stop Making Sense era and Byrne’s infamous "Big Suit." A garment of comical proportions that swallowed him whole. It made him look like a child playing dress-up in his father's clothes. While comically absurd, the suit was a potent metaphor for the hollowness of 1980s consumerism and status-seeking. It suggested that the pursuit of material wealth is an ill-fitting costume, unnatural and restrictive.
Ultimately, Talking Heads succeeded because they embodied the anxieties of the time, instead of merely critiquing them. They took the paranoia and gave it a rhythm.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
85
Mental Impact
85
Originality
95
Artistry
90
Authenticity
85
Live
100
Production
90
Musicianship
90
Singing
70
Songwriting
90
Danceability
70
Fun
65
Consistency
75
Range
95
Cool
60
Charisma
70
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications >>>
- Talking Heads: 77 - Silver in the UK
- More Songs About Buildings and Food - Gold in the US & the UK
- Fear of Music - Gold in the US; Silver in the UK
- Remain in Light - Gold in the US, Canada & the UK
- Speaking in Tongues - Platinum in the US & Canada; Silver in the UK
- Little Creatures - x2 Platinum in the US; Gold in the UK
- True Stories - Gold in the US & the UK
- Naked - Gold in the US & the UK
Charts >>>
- Remain in Light - Number 6 in Canada
- Speaking in Tongues - Number 7 in Canada
- Little Creatures - Number 2 in Australia; Number 4 in Canada; Number 10 in the UK
- True Stories - Number 2 in Australia; Number 7 in the UK
- Naked - Number 3 in the UK
Critics >>>
- Melody Maker - Fear of Music - Albums of the Year 1979: 1st
- Melody Maker - Remain in Light - Albums of the Year 1980: 1st
- NME - More Songs About Buildings and Food - Albums of the Year 1978: 4th
- NME - Fear of Music - Albums of the Year 1979: 1st
- Pitchfork - More Songs About Buildings and Food - Best Albums of the '70s (2006): 45th
- Pitchfork - Remain in Light - Top 100 Albums of the '80s: 2nd
- Sounds - Remain in Light - Albums of the Year 1980: 1st
- The Los Angeles Times - Fear of Music - Albums of the Year 1979: 1st
- Rolling Stone - Remain in Light - The Best Albums of the 1980s (1989): 4th
- Rolling Stone - Speaking in Tongues - The Best Albums of the 1980s (1989): 54th
