songs that weren't a bands biggest hit, but have gone on to be their legacy song and biggest iTunes seller

of course it's a popular wedding song, who can be unmoved by the romantic memory of david byrne dancing with a floor lamp

when i got into talking heads TMBTP was the one song, aside from once in a lifetime and road to nowhere, that i recognized from having heard it on the radio as a kid.

this is def one of the bigger shifts and weirder ones to someone like me who knew "burning down the house" from references in FoxTrot comics before i ever heard of the band. certainly knew that one and "take me to the river" and "and she was" and even "wild wild life" long before TMBTP or Psycho Killer.

I posted this 6 years ago in a Talking Heads "Speaking in Tongues" Poll thread: In the continuing Great-American-Songbook-ization of "This Must Be the Place," husband-and-wife cabaret stars John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey's recent show opens with a duet/medley of "TMBTP" and the Beatles' "Two of Us."

of course it's a popular wedding song, who can be unmoved by the romantic memory of david byrne dancing with a floor lamp

It was the first dance for me and my wife Olive Oyl.

Well blow me down

From a UK perspective the three most recognisable Talking Heads songs (as in, recognisable to people who haven't heard of I Zimbra or whatever) are Once In A Lifetime, Psycho Killer and Road To Nowhere. Probably because they were either hits (PS & RTN) or the early breakthrough song (PK). This Must Be The Place etc kind of deeper cuts, relatively speaking.

It was on Shawn Colvin's covers album in 1994, and some versions out there resemble hers more than the Heads's.

Once In A Lifetime, Psycho Killer and Road To Nowhere

These + "Burning Down the House" were the ones I always thought of as their biggest songs.

I've been amazed at how big a radio/Muzak staple "And She Was" has become.

“Nothing But Flowers” felt inescapable at the time but really hasn’t entered the radio canon

the new yorker on this must be the place in 2012:

Thirty years old this year, the song has slowly but surely embedded itself in the American songbook. You can’t walk into a good bar between Williamsburg and Silver Lake without an even shot that it will come on the stereo in some iteration. Lately, it’s been covered by Arcade Fire, MGMT, and the jam band The String Cheese Incident, among others. There are books named for it. Hip brides march down the aisle to it. It’s quoted in mawkish editorials. And last year, “This Must Be the Place” was made into a movie.

"home is where i want to be but i guess i'm already there"--a literal description of hitting in baseball.

― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Friday, April 26, 2019 8:30 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

posts like this are why i love ilx

I remember being a Talking Heads fan and not being really aware of TMBTL being "a great song" and having it slowly introduce itself to me. Wasn't there a second theatrical release of Stop Making Sense around 2003 or something?

This thread is funny also, Trainspotting really was that soundtrack I guess!

My wife fell in love with TMBTP after hearing an Iron & Wine cover of it

Huh, the earliest cover of it, aside from Shawn Colvin in 1994, was Arcade Fire in 2005. I absolutely introduced that song to Win

I played it at a wedding two weeks ago.

Sean Hayes: https://youtu.be/2xiHWKdNZto

This version is notable for how committed the guitar player is to replicating all the keyboard bits exactly. I just wanna tell him "dude, relax, it's not a sacred relic."

"home is where i want to be but i guess i'm already there"--a literal description of hitting in baseball.

― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Friday, April 26, 2019 8:30 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

posts like this are why i love ilx

― american bradass (BradNelson), Saturday, April 27, 2019 9:19 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

<3

I didn’t know all this business about “This Must Be the Place”… interesting, it’s a pretty understated song to become a new “standard.”

It's a nice love song if you cherry-pick the words that support your thesis and ignore the words that don't. The same can be said of the Mueller report tbf.

"Sing into my mouth" has always meant a lot to me

the song has like 7 hooks, I'm amazed it wasn't recognized as one of their greatest achievements until relatively recently

I think the vocals don’t start until like a 1:00 in, which is another unusual feature for a popular song.

More songfacts: same three chords the whole way through, despite the varied vocal melody. There was some wacky instrument-switching (Tina on guitar and David on keys etc.)...

each instrument/voice is introduced incrementally, as in "Just Like Heaven," which occupies the same space in the culture as TMBTP

Wow... feel like fgti/Arcade Fire had a lot to do with the resurgence of that song... and making Talking Heads into an Important Band for the young '00s indie set as well

um

I Know, Right?

There was some wacky instrument-switching (Tina on guitar and David on keys etc.)...

I may be misremembering, but isn't the playing of unfamiliar instruments part of the reason for calling it "Naive Melody"?

ok, mid 00s. jeez.

The SMS/live version of TMBTP with Jerry on minimoog key-bass & Alex Weir on guitar absolutely destroys the LP version.

/startrekman

Most-played Sonic Youth songs on Spotify, in order:
Teen Age Riot, Superstar, Kool Thing, Incinerate (!). Highest modern rock chart placements, in order: 100%, Kool Thing, Bull in the Heather, Teenage Riot, Superstar

Was "Incinerate" in a movie or something? I do really like it but I had no idea it was this popular. Is this "Superstar" thing about Juno? "Teen Age Riot" was in one of those Rock Band video games, right?

Don’t know about a game, but I do feel like “Teen Age Riot” has become their signature song over time.

(Or to put it another way — the first three hits you listed feel very “of their time,” but not timeless...)

Teen age Riot was the first of thir time and timless song i heard

Tbc, I wasn't extremely surprised about "Teen Age Riot"; I just thought it was a good example for the thread. I was surprised about "Incinerate" and to a slightly lesser extent about the Carpenters cover.

I would have assume top three 100% Bull in the heather Superstar

The popularity of the Carpenters cover is definitely due to Juno

I'll grant that reaching #26 on the alternative/modern rock chart in 1994 probably meant more in terms of popularity/exposure than reaching #20 in the same chart in 1989.

Just checked up on Beck, and--no surprise--"Loser" is far and away his biggest Spotify song (141 mil spins). HOWEVER, his next biggest songs are: "Dreams" (almost 46 mil); "Morning" (31 mil); "Wow" (30 mil); and "Up All Night" (26 mil). "Where It's At" lags behind w/14 mil*, "Devil's Haircut" at 12, and "Debra" at almost 12.

*Apparently the Odelay track totals are combined from the reg and deluxe editions.

And just because, I looked up Jeff Beck, whose top track is "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", which I wouldn't have thought would be that big.

ok how tf is a) "I Need My Girl" the most popular song by The National and b) how does it have 81 million plays? that's nearly 50 million more than their next biggest song (don't look at their top ten, it's full of new songs)

must've been a movie or a show

...or multiple curated playlists.

The gap between it and their other songs isn't as big, but a similar thing has happened with Sleater-Kinney & "Modern Girl".

And just because, I looked up Jeff Beck, whose top track is "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", which I wouldn't have thought would be that big.

What would you expect his top track to be?

must've been a movie or a show

― flappy bird, Thursday, June 13, 2019 4:03 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it was on the soundtrack to the Entourage movie lol

(not that I think this explains it)

XP Probably "Freeway Jam" or a Rod-era track.

Oh, that is interesting that it has more than twice as many plays as "People Get Ready", although idk how much life that one had outside the 80s. I don't see Truth on Spotify. I guess it didn't strike me as surprising that a Stevie Wonder song would be Beck's most-played song but Blow by Blow is almost what I listen to most by him, by far.

almost = also