Talking Heads

idk I love discussing the wealth of musicians. It fascinates me.

I am interested in the wealth accrued by musicians through their work, but I'm allergic to investigating any family ties to money. I've seen, once those connections are made, attempts to delegitimise the work of an artist (Arca, i.e.); these attempts at delegitimisation appear to be pursued more fastidiously when the artist is not "a white guy". I know first-hand that some of the wealthiest, and "trust funded" creatives hide it well-enough that they escape scrutiny; it's not part of the discussion of their arc. I also know first-hand that certain creatives have highly visible connections to scion-wealth but benefit not-at-all from that connection. idk. I guess I generally feel that a creative should be allowed to disclose this kind of stuff at their own discretion.

That said, Tina's dad does seem like an interesting character

I am interested in the wealth accrued by musicians through their work, but I'm allergic to investigating any family ties to money. I've seen, once those connections are made, attempts to delegitimise the work of an artist (Arca, i.e.); these attempts at delegitimisation appear to be pursued more fastidiously when the artist is not "a white guy".

yeah ugh this is some bullshit: the starving artist cliche. I hate this. If you suck, no family wealth will disguise it.

Obviously I can't know what it's like to have been in an incredibly famous, popular, and beloved band, but I'm gonna speculate anyway, I feel like if it were me I would really *want* to get back on stage and *visibly see* that people are still overjoyed to hear the songs I wrote, played, and sang 40 years ago. It's one thing to know it in the abstract, another thing for the people to be right there in front of you cheering.

Or do you think if you've already spent years living that lifestyle you get used to it and it's no big deal to be cheered, just another day at the office?

these attempts at delegitimisation appear to be pursued more fastidiously when the artist is not "a white guy"

pretty much every young female artist whose parent(s) have, say, so much as an entertainment- or media-adjacent career is called a "nep0 baby" by a certain online contingent these days, so... yeah

How about if it involves dealing with David Byrne as part of the deal?

xpost

The tribute album seems like such a weird throwback. Has there ever been a great Talking Heads cover, fr?

Plenty of decent to great pastiches (King Crimson, LCD Soundsystem, probably tons in the '80s), but I can't think of a good cover.

I am sure they are doing OK now but it may be that quite a lot of their money went up his nose.

― Washington Post Malone (Ye Mad Puffin)

that was the thing i was thinking - cocaine habits are expensive. they don't necessarily bankrupt a person, though, and they do seem to be doing pretty well

fgti otm about people who aren't white guys getting more scrutiny. privilege absolutely makes a difference in life, and money is _definitely_ a form of privilege. it's a tough thing to navigate... not wanting to cover it up but also not wanting to flaunt it. plus it's a relative thing and it gets taken as absolute.

personally, i don't have to worry about money to the extent that a lot of my friends (many of whom are either homeless or on the verge of being homeless) do, and that definitely helps. it's very possible that if i did have to worry about money on top of all the other shit i worry about, i'd have killed myself by now.

The tribute album seems like such a weird throwback. Has there ever been a great Talking Heads cover, fr?

Plenty of decent to great pastiches (King Crimson, LCD Soundsystem, probably tons in the '80s), but I can't think of a good cover.

― Jordan s/t (Jordan)

that's easy, slippery people by the staple singers

i also like Yasuyuki Okamura's version of "burning down the house"

Living Colour's "Memories Can't Wait."

oh wait, trick daddy, "sugar sugar gimme some", that's a great one too

living colour's "memories can't wait"

angelique kidjo did a fucking great cover of the entire _remain in light_ album

So did Phish

*ducks*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d3BVds9eDk

Real talk though, I like Phish's Cities better than the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWmLI72Iv-8

So did Phish

I don't care for Phish, but I liked their live "Remain in Light" recording I heard.

Money stuff, who has it, who doesn't, it's just water cooler talk, but banal though it may be, it does often factor into reunions. Pixies, I know Joey literally said it was the difference between an OK and a great school district for his kid. LCD, iirc Nancy Whang literally said she needed the money. Pavement, I think at least a couple of them said it was all about the money. This isn't a bad thing, mind, nor is it greedy, it's just practical stuff, which is why I appreciate these kind of discussions in the context of people we often consider idols. Rock stars - they're just like us, you know?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7zQAifuyM8

Thanks for the kind responses, it felt like an oddly precarious post to make

My friend and I are chatting on this topic and he offered this simple counterpoint: “I think it’s good for people to know who’s rich” heh

I wonder if there will ever be a streaming-era example of an artist whose reputation grows over time such that they'll be able to do a late career nostalgia/cash-in tour. Maybe if it's based on a surprise algorithmic hit or Stranger Things-esque placement.

Duster!
https://www.songkick.com/artists/9637879-duster

I guess I was thinking of artists starting after say post-2015, starting after the '90s music industry and the blog era.

Real talk though, I like Phish's Cities better than the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWmLI72Iv-8

― peace, man, Friday, 2 February 2024 17:45 (twenty-six minutes ago) link

this is a joke, right?

Many xps, Related topic (not quite the same topic) I figure it wasn't that hard for Julian Lennon, Sean Lennon, or Jakob Dylan to get record deals. Just sayin.

I think Jakob Dylan claimed that the association hurt him more than it helped, but I do find that hard to believe…

Not least because he took his dad's fake last name. Fiction Plane sure got some opportunities, but a least Joe Sumner wasn't going by Sting, Jr. Same also with Inhaler/Elijah Hewson.

Bob legally changed his name, Josh...

was gonna say

I guess that's true, but Jakob could have changed *his* name, lol.

Pseudonym guys like Bono, Sting, et al., I assume by now they are legally both their birth names and invented names, right? Like, who do people make their checks out to?

jakob dylan: think it hurt his credibility, dunno about hurting his ability to get an album made initially. maybe.

I would have respected Jakob Zimmerman for sure

https://www.theonion.com/the-edge-still-introducing-self-as-such-1819567752

Other Dylan kids!

Jesse Dylan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Dylan (filmmaker, did the cover of Tom Waits' "Bone Machine"!)
Maria Dylan Himmelman (movie producer, married to Peter!)
Sam Dylan (photographer?)
Desiree Gabrielle Dennis-Dylan (once secret!)
Anna Dylan ("among the least visible")

when it comes to "psycho killer" covers the coneheads is my jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to106Yj7MGU

and yes, i will rep for phish, _particularly_ their covers, since the songs they write tend to be cringe in the extreme (apparently they wrote a song that is called "gotta jibboo". that might be the best song in the world. i will never know.)

here's them playing "crosseyed and painless" for over half an hour in 2017. things of note:

1. crosseyed and painless is a much better song than, say, "tweezer"
2. they can, in fact, play "crosseyed and painless" extremely well, particularly consider they're a four-piece
3. i mean either you like jams or they don't. i personally do like their jams, and since they've spent decades developing a collective understanding of how to play with each other, they're perhaps the best there is at what they do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw6iltPJvBQ

you will be unsurprised to learn “gotta jiboo” is horrible, but is an excellent jam vehicle

I think they've done it a few times, the whole album? Here's one of them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upG2-48o1IQ

Looks like they have some extra players

Coneheads rule <3

A Stop Making Sense cover album is coming out soon
https://consequence.net/2024/01/paramore-a24-stop-making-sense-tribute/amp/

I wonder if there have ever been any covers of Talking Heads before

here's them playing "crosseyed and painless" for over half an hour in 2017. things of note:

Yeah, no. I'm open to lots of different kinds of things (really! stop laughing!) but jam bands, particularly Phish and the Disco Biscuits, are the hardest of hard nos. I shared office space with Relix magazine for almost four years and the things I heard in that time...I swear I could find a lawyer that would take my case.

I refuse to click on any of these Phish videos

It's OK, the'll still be playing if you ever get around to them.

I like this cover of Listening Wind by the Specials circa 2021 (rip Terry)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4bxtfjE0FY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oXIxXm3DyE

here's something orders of magnitude worse than phish's noodling

the phish full remain in light cover is quite strong, the separate 30-minute "crosseyed and painless" loses me pretty quickly though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhs2vVXEHwg

you will be unsurprised to learn “gotta jiboo” is horrible, but is an excellent jam vehicle

― ivy.

yeah one of the things i do like is this site called "phish just jams" that cuts out the song portions and just has them jamming.

and to be clear, i'm absolutely not saying "hey you have to listen to this sick jam". this is just music that a lot of people are _not going to like_. i don't think it's the best music ever, by any stretch of the imagination, but i do _like_ it.

i like phish in general. i mean if we're talking about privilege in music, i think their early years have some interesting stuff in them. ivy, do you know about richard wright, who wrote "halley's comet"? (he was going under a different name and pronouns when he wrote it.)

What the FUCK, Smashing Pumpkins. God damn this was so bad I couldn't stop watching it. Holy hell . Why take a song as rhythmically interesting and groovy as Once In A Lifetime and reduce it to absolute turgid slop. I've managed to avoid the Pumpkins for a long time since they were good, I had no idea it had gotten that bad. Shit.

that's a cover they were doing back in 2000 and have inexplicably revived more recently

how soon we forget Tom Jones + The Cardigans

I know I forgot that, if I ever knew about it

note to self if I see this thread on browser: check it the Delakota mix is still good