On the topic of More Songs vs 77, I think that although nothing on More Songs quite reaches the heights of the debut, the album is more consistently great and just kinda flows better. I love little things on it like how at the end of 'Thank You For Sending..' when Byrne sings 'Show me what you can do!' the album immediately breaks into the frenetic jam at the start of 'With Our Love'.
In comparison, I consider 77 to be very backloaded, which can make the first half drag a little. Plus, the production isn't as good.
― bornbored, Friday, 17 March 2017 12:30 (seven years ago) link
I consider 77 to be very backloaded, which can make the first half drag a little.
agree, was saying so upthread, but i think they both are.
― The sandwiches looked quite dank. (contenderizer), Friday, 17 March 2017 12:40 (seven years ago) link
agree, was saying so upthread, but i think they both are
Ah, see I like 'The Good Thing', 'With Our Love' and 'The Girls Want...' too much to say the same about More Songs.
― bornbored, Friday, 17 March 2017 13:03 (seven years ago) link
Ballot sent! Didn't vote for anything from the last 3 albums. 'Cool Water' from Naked was a contender but didn't make the cut.
― Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 17 March 2017 13:20 (seven years ago) link
voted!
― ArchCarrier, Friday, 17 March 2017 13:42 (seven years ago) link
I'm just gonna chew on my ballot for another week and obsessively tweak the order of the songs
― sleeve, Friday, 17 March 2017 14:04 (seven years ago) link
Interesting thing I just recalled re: Belew. I saw that Byrne tour behind the "Everything That Happens ... " album, where the entire setlist was more or less stuff from that album or stuff from the TH/Eno albums. Byrne was the only guitarist, but on, say, the "Remain in Light" stuff, he pulled off all the Belew-isms pretty well!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 March 2017 14:17 (seven years ago) link
Along those lines, relistening to More Songs and yeah, might still be my favorite. Totally don't get this as a mere continuation of the first album.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 March 2017 14:20 (seven years ago) link
Who Is It? is such a jam.
I like the debut more with each re-listen--I might vote for five of its songs.
― neva missa lost, wednesday nights on abc (voodoo chili), Friday, 17 March 2017 14:26 (seven years ago) link
David Byrne is a very good and underrated guitarist. I was watching the Chronology DVD and even on those early shows he's fucking killing it. Always thought it was down to Harrison or Belew because he doesn't play all that much guitar on SMS, but yeah he's nailing it while singing and that's not terribly easy.
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:00 (seven years ago) link
I just love Byrne's delivery throughout Artists Only. 'You can't see it till it's FIN-ISHED'
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:06 (seven years ago) link
dog latin otm. I never realized what a monster guitarist he was until I saw the Rome '80 (I think) video. And his playing never gets talked about/he never gets asked about it.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:10 (seven years ago) link
I'd easily rank him as one of my top 50 rhythm and lead guitarists. Check out his lead playing in the SMS "Crossyed and Painless" or well he does the rhythm chink-chink thing.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:19 (seven years ago) link
Another really funny bit on that DVD is this excruciating US TV performance/interview where the host (probably someone famous but who I don't know) asks a load of closed questions like 'Would you describe yourself as a shy person?'(To which David simply says 'Yes I guess so') and keeps referring to TH as 'You people'
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:19 (seven years ago) link
the name of this band is talking heads is really as good as everyone says it is, huh
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:24 (seven years ago) link
yeah, esp disc 2
― The sandwiches looked quite dank. (contenderizer), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:26 (seven years ago) link
I really need the expanded version of that, only have the 2LP
― sleeve, Friday, 17 March 2017 15:29 (seven years ago) link
― willem, Friday, 17 March 2017 15:41 (seven years ago) link
The main reason Uh Oh enthused me at the time was a return to a more freewheeling eh-fuck-it Byrne guitar mode, after years of restraint.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:46 (seven years ago) link
Wait, you're not thinking of the bit where he interviews himself?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 March 2017 15:49 (seven years ago) link
No no it's a sparkly Letterman-style show from the late-70s/early-80s. The interviewer is wearing a smart spangly suit. I couldn't tell you who he is because I don't know my US TV hosts very well but my god he's a terrible interviewer. All closed questions. Tina treats him very icily and the rest of the band are just baffled and awkward as anything.
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:55 (seven years ago) link
Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2PblNCo1Ok
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 15:59 (seven years ago) link
it's just ugh.. like how do you mess this up worse?
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 16:02 (seven years ago) link
lmao that interview is great. "organically shy" is a great fake talking heads song title
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 16:06 (seven years ago) link
'Organically shy' sounds like a description of Aspergers I guess.
In other news 'Blind' off of Naked came on the radio while I as driving the other day and it sounded FANTASTIC
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 16:12 (seven years ago) link
Finally listened to True Stories - dang, not bad! I think it's on a level with Little Creatures, with less high highs. "Dream Operator" is really pretty. Hilarious to hear that "Radiohead" isn't one of their weird moody songs a la "Warning Sign", but more like something They Might Be Giants would have cooked up
― Vinnie, Friday, 17 March 2017 16:21 (seven years ago) link
xxp - From Bowman's book:
In March, the band appeared on that old warhorse American Bandstand to play “Take Me to the River.” They didn’t exactly play it. David sang the song, but Talking Heads pantomimed at their instruments.(...)When Talking Heads finished “playing” “Take Me to the River,” Dick Clark padded over to chat with David, but the singer went somewhere else inside his head. He froze up.The show was live. Now Dick Clark could do a back flip and land on his feet. He didn’t let David’s freeze-up freeze him. Dick Clark passed the microphone over to Tina.She was shocked. No one ever talked to her. Dick Clark asked, “Tina, is David always this way?” Tina answered immediately. She remembered something Yann’s girlfriend, Julie, had said about David—David was “organically shy.” So that’s what Tina said, “David is organically shy.” That broke the ice.
― ArchCarrier, Friday, 17 March 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link
That Bowman book is sadly horrible. I couldn't make it much further than the first couple of chapters. The whole book is written just like that passage. It almost reads in Dick Clark's delivery.
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Friday, 17 March 2017 16:34 (seven years ago) link
The show was live.
American Bandstand hadn't been broadcast live since the early '60s.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:16 (seven years ago) link
I was thinking the same thing. It certainly wasn't live when I watched it at 11:30 on Saturday mornings.
― pplains, Friday, 17 March 2017 17:26 (seven years ago) link
I won't be doing the poll as it seems complicated with sending ballots etc but I feel my picks would be different to most anyway.
Briefly:best TH album - Nakedcelebrated TH album I don't care much for (in fact half of it irritates me very much esp. lyrically) - Remain in LightByrne better solo than in Talking Heads? - indeed, as I hear it he grew considerably better both as songwriter and singer in the '90s, but no one ever talks about any of those solo records, or songs.best DB albums for me - Feelings and davidbyrne, plus Rei Momo. Both accompanying tours outstanding as well.I stopped following his career around 2004, would like to resume checking out his output one day.
― Max Florian, Friday, 17 March 2017 17:35 (seven years ago) link
Damn.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:42 (seven years ago) link
you should vote, max!
― Karl Malone, Friday, 17 March 2017 17:42 (seven years ago) link
If you can send an email, you can vote. Nothing complicated about it.
― ArchCarrier, Friday, 17 March 2017 17:45 (seven years ago) link
whoa that sure is an opinion max
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:48 (seven years ago) link
If your first TH-associated album was Rei Momo and your third was Naked, which was my case, you'd be forgiven for being shocked with the first five albums.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:51 (seven years ago) link
I stuck Naked in the car yesterday -- woof. "The Facts of Life" sounds like a boomer experimenting with technology (think John Fogerty or Graham Nash). The second side is unforgivable except for "Cool Water" (maybe).
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:56 (seven years ago) link
^^^ otm. I'm old enough that T Heads were one of those bands where I was on board from album one. I'm sure appreciation or irritation with certain parts of the chronology depends in large part on where you started. xp
― You're going to see a lot of love. Okay? Thank you. (Dan Peterson), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:57 (seven years ago) link
Huh, I like a lot of "Naked." But it definitely has more in common with "Rei Momo" than anything that came before. I wonder what the rest of the band really had to do with it? Anyway, "(Nothing But) Flowers" is all-time, as is the anecdote in Sand in the Vaseline that they went to pick up some hot shot African guitarist to play on the record but accidentally picked up some other random African guitarist, who turned out to be great.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 March 2017 18:34 (seven years ago) link
the live "born under punches" is a brain melter
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 18:50 (seven years ago) link
hi, Brad
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 18:54 (seven years ago) link
"Born Under Punches" - Yeah, I rarely make footnotes on my lists, but Bee's gonna see a big asterisk and "THE LIVE VERSION, NOT THE OTHER ONE" on my ballot.
― pplains, Friday, 17 March 2017 18:57 (seven years ago) link
both are irreducible knots but the live one's a little looser gets this kind of "how are they holding this together" aura
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 18:58 (seven years ago) link
"crosseyed" is probably where i'm gonna insist on live versions
and i know it's not allowed but i feel like voting for "new feeling" and "a clean break" together
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Friday, 17 March 2017 18:59 (seven years ago) link
I won't slag too much on the post-hiatus material, but I will say I liked the band better when it was a contemporary of Television rather than They Might Be Giants.
― pplains, Friday, 17 March 2017 18:59 (seven years ago) link
"New Feeling" ended up surprisingly high on my first run-through
― sleeve, Friday, 17 March 2017 19:00 (seven years ago) link
what post-hiatus material?
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 19:01 (seven years ago) link
Heads album?
― sleeve, Friday, 17 March 2017 19:01 (seven years ago) link
I reviewed it for my college paper, after which I poured gasoline on the promo copy.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 19:04 (seven years ago) link