Singers: Talking Heads
You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife, and you may ask yourself, Well, how did I get here? Uploaded by img124.imageshack.us.
It’s not unusual for bands to be formed by people who are in school together. A clue to what made Talking Heads so unique is where they went to school – the Rhode Island School of Design. They were as unique in their performance as in their sound.
David Byrne photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Uploaded by iwant.on.ca.
Much of the credit for that has to go to lead singer David Byrne. The Talking Heads came along during the height of the music video, when prime rotation on MTV could make or break a song. The videos of the group’s “Once In A Lifetime”
The group’s lyrics also appealed to an audience that craved creativity. Here are a couple of examples. First, from “Life During Wartime”:
I got some groceries, some peanut butter
to last a couple of days
But I ain’t got no speakers
ain’t got no headphones
ain’t got no records to play
And from “Once in a Lifetime”:
You may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself
‘Well, how did I get here?’
Director Jonathan Demme filmed one of the band’s concerts, and released it as Stop Making Sense
For a band that had a limited number of chart singles, Talking Heads was a major part of the new wave music scene and still influence artists today. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. From Phish to Radiohead, the innovative music of Talking Heads continues to influence the music scene. But nothing is better than hearing – and seeing – them for yourself:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REJ2qdZ_LRU]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw9IR5dlGDs
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXgMhnI3QOI]
aaah. one of the best groups in modern music. they were true artists in every respect of the word and demonstrated this by not limiting the “art” simply to their music. They are at times overwhelming to watch because there is just so much going on in their performances, not just the music and the lyrics. Byrne in particular was a trailblazer back then and was bringing high concept art, philosphy and ideas to the masses.
Saw them for $1.50 in the Rose Room of the Student Activity Center at Rutgers U. a few months after their first album TH 77 came out. I’ll never forget David Byrne standing on his tip toes as he yelped out the lyrics to a small but enthusiastic audience who was hungry for something other than disco and the other crap that dominated pop music at the time. Byrne apologized for not playing any more encores because “they didnt know any more songs”. You got a clear sense of the talent that they would likely go on to achieve bigger and better things.