iirc in Frantz's book he frames their discussion abt songwriter credit as a moment when, not long after "learning how publishing works" (how long after? CF doesnt say) Byrne approached him about being the sole lyric writer bc he felt uncomfortable singing words he didnt write - not an unheard-of thing among singers ime, but in Frantz's telling Byrne is obv lying and it's a sinister deception in order to greedily capture publishing money. but idk listening to frantz's lyrics in the years since TH i cant say as i blame byrne.
nb: i've always taken Frantz's malevolent depictions of Byrne with a grain of salt, obv i'm sure he was not the worlds most chill collaborator but i've always assumed the truth is somewhere in between (espec since Byrne has historically held back from dishing dirt from his side.) I felt Frantz's book to be particularly cruel imho, especially if you look with modern eyes on Byrne in his youth as someone navigating neurodivergence/autism spectrum issues in an era when that was considered a punchline. Frantz makes sure to include seemingly every time someone said anything bad about Byrne, incl many stories about people mocking his body & appearance, which felt ott. lots of bits like "here were me and tina drinking and partying with such-and-such famous person, but then david embarrassed us by leaving without saying goodbye, what a weird asshole!"
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Friday, 17 June 2022 15:29 (one year ago) link
like, not impossible for me to imagine a more sympathetic reading where byrne, as he grows more self confident, decides he doesnt need to keep accepting poetry tips from his pushy jock drummer
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Friday, 17 June 2022 15:32 (one year ago) link
boy, "Perfect World" and "Walk It Down" are nothing songs, eh?
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 August 2023 18:33 (eight months ago) link
Still reeling from learning that the lyric is not "And she could see an earmuff factory."
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 24 August 2023 18:35 (eight months ago) link
And it should be any earmuffs factory, so you can get some thinking done in that dry ice factory over there.
― Hideous Lump, Thursday, 24 August 2023 18:48 (eight months ago) link
*an earmuff*
I haven’t listened to this in forever, but I remember liking Walk it Down fine. Sounds like a True Stories song.
Perfect World is nowhere in my memory.
― Cow_Art, Thursday, 24 August 2023 19:45 (eight months ago) link
Perfect World is my favourite song on the album, talking of mishearing lyrics I thought for a time that Byrne was singing "I'm staring in your face, your photograph mind" rather than "you'll photograph mine"
― soref, Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:13 (eight months ago) link
My least favorite Talking Heads album.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:38 (eight months ago) link
OH THAT SONG! Yes, that’s a good song.
Television Man is my least favorite on this one.
Road to Nowhere is my fave.
― Cow_Art, Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:38 (eight months ago) link
― Josh in Chicago,
Less than True Stories?
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 August 2023 20:44 (eight months ago) link
i had no idea this won Pazz & Jop in 1985, that was a big surprise!
Christgau's essay suggests it was kind of a consensus default - like there was no one album that grabbed a broad spectrum of critics that particular year. I can see what he means - Hüsker Dü and Tom Waits had the best albums IMHO and so did the Replacements (though Tim could have been the best if it was better mixed and included two key outtakes) but they were all selling in pretty small numbers (Rain Dogs wouldn't go gold until 2013) and no album that sold only a few hundred thousand copies in 1985 was going to top P&J. That's not because critics cared about sales, but if it wasn't reaching that many people in general, I think that translated into reaching less voting members who would push it to the very top.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 24 August 2023 21:41 (eight months ago) link
Also I actually like this album quite a bit! It's the "least" of their studio LP's at that point, but it's still an excellent one IMHO and closes out a classic run. The next and final two had enjoyable singles, but that was it.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 24 August 2023 21:43 (eight months ago) link
At the time, I thought the band was trying to recreate itself in a kinder, gentler image. The album has aged pretty well, but I hardly ever listen to it. I would pick "Stay Up Late," just because it's hilarious.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 24 August 2023 22:31 (eight months ago) link
"(Nothing But) Flowers" >>>>>>>> "And She Was"
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:28 (eight months ago) link
otm
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:29 (eight months ago) link
Ha, I don't even count "True Stories." I'm not even sure I've *heard* "True Stories," which is strange, given this is one of my favorite bands of all time. But that's just how it is.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:41 (eight months ago) link
The film True Stories has its moments, e.g., the Spalding Gray monologue.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:43 (eight months ago) link
I have a fuzzy memory of local Chicago weekend show (I believe ABC7) covering how much various 85’ Super Bowl champ Chicago Bears players picked it amongst their faves for the year. Complete with montage footage - wish I could remember the particular song.
― BlackIronPrison, Friday, 25 August 2023 00:02 (eight months ago) link
True Stories (album) is 80% great. "Hey Now" is the only one I'm really compelled to skip. It has more good songs than Little Creatures.
― Cow_Art, Friday, 25 August 2023 01:44 (eight months ago) link
True Stories (album & movie) is Byrne going deep into the "Big Country" and coming out with an album about it. Once I realized Terry Allen was part of the project in some way, it unlocked for me. It's certainly not perfect; the different outfits that the Heads try on don't always fit so well, but it's more fun than the albums before and after.
― Cow_Art, Friday, 25 August 2023 01:55 (eight months ago) link
John Goodman is excellent in it
― brimstead, Friday, 25 August 2023 01:59 (eight months ago) link
Scott Miller, choosing his songs of 1985, writes of the latter:
The very catchy West African-sounding chorus requires that you sit through the verse, whose cookie-cutter '80s funk typifies the later Talking Heads who would never drift far from the primarily one-chord, slice-of-life success of "Once In a Lifetime". But I always enjoy listening to it,
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 26 August 2023 05:02 (eight months ago) link