Talking Heads

hope there’s some good insights

This would be a first at a TIFF question-and-answer session

Their Letterman appearance in 1983 - they even “filmed” it differently than everyone else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8oxbwx2xAI

Just have Byrne and Stipe swap each other's places, and suddenly you have two mega-legacy tours with a band that gets along.

To James Redd + Blecchs, I think the main beef was not about him being all that much worse than other frontpersons, but rather not acknowledging coauthors of collaborative material.

That is, calling co-written stuff his own, and saying something vague like "oh, well, we can correct it on the next pressing" and then not doing so.

Me, I am glad I don't need to adjudicate all this - or even have an opinion- because have the music permanently embedded my head anyway, and it will always be there. No one can take that away from me ever.

Of course I read the Frantz book. He makes some cracks about how Tom Tom Club outsold Byrne, and this was their revenge for Byrne's systematic erasure of everyone else's contributions, but. This many years onward, bringing that up again seems unseemly.

I have never spoken ill of Tina and never will.

I had not seen that Letterman clip before. I mean, I might have seen it when it aired, but not recently. Outstanding.

Byrne has such an awkward charm.

I don’t want to speak ill of her so much as I assert my profound indifference toward her

would be so cool if talking heads pulled a Bowie and put out a late in the game fantastic record and then all of them died all of a sudden lol

just kidding about the dying part, but while I agree that the hall of fame gig was a mistake I think all parties involved are probably capable of making great new music, it would just be a tremendous pain in the ass to do together and they are all old and curmudgeonly and money issues and so on

but we can dream

alas, money issues

is there a thread about old(er) acts worth seeing?

(unlike the r&r hof show where byrne seemed to be loathing it and unusually for him just going through the motions)

Byrne reportedly left his wife by simply not going home after the HOF gig, so possibly was not entirely focused on the gig at all

ah that certainly is some further context there lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBtgZE372g

just discovered this footage of them performing "love -> building on fire" in 1982 with the extended band. i'd never seen this before, it's wonderful

would love to see those four make another record. no extra musicians, no eno, no world tour, just a collaborative record full of songs. i saw them as a three-piece, then as a four-piece, saw the heatwave festival show which i think was their first appearance as a big band. admittedly "once in a lifetime" floored me then, but if i had to pick my absolute favorite TH it would be those four-piece shows.

is there a thread about old(er) acts worth seeing?

I think the correct answer is: all of them

talking heads contemporaries that are still great: OMD, Gang of Four, Sparks, Gary Numan, Tears for Fears, even Human League were pretty good a few years ago.

Not exactly contemporaries, but Pet Shop Boys bring it.

The Cure, of course

Huh. I must be the only one meh about American Utopia.

― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn),

same

don't get upset -- it's not a major disaster!

Byrne toured "the songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" to promote the album they did together 15 years ago, Everything That Happens etc. That was a great show and included many songs from the 3 TH albums that Eno was heavily involved in as well as a couple from Bush of Ghosts. Also iirc it featured some pretty cool choreography along the lines of what everyone loved about American Utopia. That scratched my TH itch and I can't imagine a reunion show would be better than that, as much love as I have for the contributions made by the other 3 members 40 years ago.

Sadly, I missed the tour Byrne did with St Vincent, but I heard good things.

It was ok. They played Road to Nowhere.

Easily one of the best shows I’ve ever seen was The Zombies getting back together in 2011. I can think of very few musicians over the age of 50 that I wouldn’t eagerly pay money to see! Also, I’ve always thought that Byrne’s recent productivity has been prodigious, and consistently worthwhile, I can’t think of many/any other musicians who are working as hard as he has been

devo were worth seeing a decade ago and will be hopefully worth seeing again tomorrow (potentially for the last time). the experience is almost improved by them being old fellas

xp yeah when you consider art installations, books, performance pieces, etc., he's wildly prolific. and always pushing forward into new projects for better (often) or worse (sometimes), which is part of why a reunion seems highly unlikely

I haven't read his biking + music books, but more than a couple of friends have recommended them.

It was ok. They played Road to Nowhere.

"Road to Nowhere" feels like a good candidate for an ominous/dirge-y Marvel trailer.

Seems like he just gave up on the Peruvian thing and the Brazilian thing or did he?

seeing Devo & the Zombies each around 2009-10 were shows where i had v low expectations and was blown away by powerful, vital performances.

even though American Utopia didnt ring my bell i've always had huge respect for the fact that DB has kept working and taking swings with new stuff. i know TH hits have never really fallen out of his setlist, but is "the songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno" tour the only openly nostalgia-type thing he's ever done in that vein, now that i think of it? and even that wasnt the most easy/obvious play, he found a way to make it relatively fresh, adding Catharine Wheel and Bush of Ghosts material into the mix and elements like the dancers & choreography, etc.

Signs on PPL of a Talking Heads: 77 deluxe edition coming for next year.

Maybe three or four CD's. First is remastered original album, second is rarities, and third-fourth (depending on length) is a live show from CBGB's on October 10, 1977. There's also a listing for an Atmos mix so there could be a Blu-ray in there too:

TALKING HEADS Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town [2024 Remaster] USRH12302148 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS New Feeling [2024 Remaster] USRH12302149 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Tentative Decisions [2024 Remaster] USRH12302150 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Happy Day [2024 Remaster] USRH12302151 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Who is It? [2024 Remaster] USRH12302152 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS No Compassion [2024 Remaster] USRH12302153 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS The Book I Read [2024 Remaster] USRH12302154 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Don't Worry About the Government [2024 Remaster] USRH12302155 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS First Week/Last Week...Carefree [2024 Remaster] USRH12302156 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Psycho Killer [2024 Remaster] USRH12302157 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Pulled Up [2024 Remaster] USRH12302158 Warner Music UK Limited 1977

TALKING HEADS Sugar on My Tongue [2024 Remaster] USRH12302159 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS I Want to Live [2024 Remaster] USRH12302160 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Love Goes to a Building on Fire [2024 Remaster] USRH12302161 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS I Wish You Wouldn't Say That [2024 Remaster] USRH12302162 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302163 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town (Alternate Pop Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302164 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS New Feeling (Alternate Pop Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302165 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Pulled Up (Alternate Pop Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302166 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Stay Hungry (1977 Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302167 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS First Week/Last Week...Carefree (Acoustic Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302168 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS I Feel It in My Heart [2024 Remaster] USRH12302169 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Psycho Killer (Alternate Version) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302170 Warner Music UK Limited 1977

TALKING HEADS Love Goes to a Building on Fire (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302171 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Uh-Oh, Love Come to Town (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302172 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Don't Worry About the Government (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302173 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Take Me to the River (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302174 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS The Book I Read (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302175 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS New Feeling (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302176 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS A Clean Break (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302177 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS No Compassion (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302178 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302179 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Who Is It? (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302180 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Pulled Up (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302181 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town (Version 2) [Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977] [2024 Remaster] USRH12302182 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Psycho Killer (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302183 Warner Music UK Limited 2024
TALKING HEADS Stay Hungry (Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 10/10/1977) [2024 Remaster] USRH12302184 Warner Music UK Limited 2024

TALKING HEADS Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town [Atmos Mix] USRH12302185 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS New Feeling [Atmos Mix] USRH12302186 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Tentative Decisions [Atmos Mix] USRH12302187 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Happy Day [Atmos Mix] USRH12302188 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Who is It? [Atmos Mix] USRH12302189 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS No Compassion [Atmos Mix] USRH12302190 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS The Book I Read [Atmos Mix] USRH12302191 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Don't Worry About the Government [Atmos Mix] USRH12302192 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS First Week/Last Week...Carefree [Atmos Mix] USRH12302193 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Psycho Killer [Atmos Mix] USRH12302194 Warner Music UK Limited 1977
TALKING HEADS Pulled Up [Atmos Mix] USRH12302195 Warner Music UK Limited 1977

Cool news… take my money, as they say

Seems like he just gave up on the Peruvian thing and the Brazilian thing or did he?

it really only lasted one album (which I love). maybe parts of Uh Oh too.

xp (assuming it’s a good remaster)

that TH77 set looks very very nice

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e3c6e748f12bc000ac9aff82462ff5f0/199b6f5e09a5822d-2e/s1280x1920/6dc1b5193ff9915f82c1da06500a421fcd50a48e.jpg

Aw, man. I'm excited for this but my wallet just groaned at 7 or 8 box sets.

I haven't seen that particular CBGBs date pop up before, exciting! It's really fortunate that they happen to be so well-served when it comes to live recordings.

not super germane to the conversation but seeing A Clean Break there reminded me that it's often my favourite Talking Heads song and when he hits that big note it always produces involuntary tears. I'd take my own skin off to see that live in any era

IIRC deluxe reissues of the catalogue were floated in the early '00s and then canned in favor of the 5.1 remixes after rarities leaked. This was why a bunch of odds and ends came out as an iTunes exclusive, but not on the eventual reissues (and maybe partly because the CD layer of dualdiscs maxed out at an hour or so). Thus I'm not holding my breath for the above set, even if these are different times viz. concerns about piracy.

Also I'm kinda puzzled as to what exactly the second disc of the set is (why not include the full '75 CBS demos?).

the second disc is just non-album tracks/alternate mixes etc. from that time? a pretty normal thing to include in a deluxe reissue. the only stuff that's unreleased as far as i know is the 'alternate pop' versions of "uh oh love comes to town" and "pulled up" - i expect "new feeling" is the 'alternate version' from the 2006 itunes compilation which had a horn section in the mix.

idk anything about the leaked rarities from the 00s though, so maybe those are already floating around? are those detailed anywhere

yep that "New Feeling" version was actually released as a b-side back in the day

Yeah Disc 2 looks great to me… the four rarities from Sand in the Vaseline (which are a big deal in my life) plus a bunch of other stuff related to the album. I figure everyone either already has the full 1975 demos in some form or doesn’t need them on disc.

Talking Heads never really released b-sides, but Andy Zax said years ago that in the process of compiling the Once in a Lifetime box set that he came across scores of unreleased songs that Byrne wouldn’t sign off on releasing. Maybe he’s changed his tune? They have new management or are going to sell their publishing? Who knows

At the nadir of the Heads' uncoolness in the early '90s I bought Sand in the Vaseline upon release: revelatory.

“Lifetime Piling Up” and “Sax and Violins” are absolutely stellar

and "Gangster of Love," "Popsicle," "Sugar on My Tongue," and...

Popsicle rules.

ah the alternate mix of "uh oh love comes to town" is on the once in a lifetime boxset, so it's only the alternate "pulled up" that's previously unreleased

I think “Sax and Violins” is my fave of the last songs. I love how it starts off Until The End Of The World

xpost "Sugar on My Tongue" the Trick Daddy version is excellent and not surprisingly sounds a lot more like sex...

the second disc is just non-album tracks/alternate mixes etc. from that time? a pretty normal thing to include in a deluxe reissue. the only stuff that's unreleased as far as i know is the 'alternate pop' versions of "uh oh love comes to town" and "pulled up" - i expect "new feeling" is the 'alternate version' from the 2006 itunes compilation which had a horn section in the mix.

idk anything about the leaked rarities from the 00s though, so maybe those are already floating around? are those detailed anywhere

the last songs were tantalizingly great, you almost felt like "oh wait, maybe they really can be amazing again".

Most of them consisted of backing tracks recorded years earlier, though.