Wow big surprise. Local internet girl likes Talking Heads. I'm pretty sure I came outta the womb loving "This Must be the Place," but eventually I saw the light and realised how good the rest of their discography, as well as David Byrne's solo stuff, is too. Nowadays, I would say that I have faked and maked my way to relative social proficiency with a few tricks and hacks to carry me through to the point that this is a skill that I am fairly confident in (at least in irl interactions lmao), but as someone who was put into TWO remedial social programs by my school in 8th grade, stopped talking for a year as a young child, has been likened by my closest friends to an alien sent to earth trying to figure out what humans act like on the fly, found my mother's books on "raising a girl on the spectrum" (or whtever) when I was younger, etc etc, I feel a special affinity for Talking Heads' music and especially for David Byrne. Big fan of that old man lol
Here is where i have stuck some of my thoughts on music and other projects, various songs and
videos and other links etc and a collection of TH graphics i've made. the magazine/book +
lyric clippings down below after the album reviews are draggable and resizeable and can be hovered over to see their original source. feel free to use my pixel art + stamps/gifs (and my
cd pics if you for some reason want those lol). There is a webdeck player at the bottom of the page with some youtube video playlists btw...
(also, on my hands and knees begging u to view this page at 100% zoom. This thing is held together with twine and spit and will crumble if hit with the ol' cmmd +)
Talking Heads: 77 1977 (can you believe?)
What a great debut album. The songs are fairly simple compared to later TH songs but
are still very fun to listen to, and really, the ideas in the songs are what make this
album so great. It of course has the classic "Psycho Killer"
but don't overlook some other great songs just because they aren't as flashy!
My picks:
1. *Psycho Killer*
2. Sugar on my Tongue (it's not on the original release of the album, but still)
3. Book I Read
More Songs about Buildings and Food 1978
I went too many years not realising that Local Native's "Warning Sign" was a cover of Talking Heads!
(both versions are great btw). Speaking of covers, TH's cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" is without a
doutbt the standout from this album.
My picks:
1. *Take Me to the River*
2. The Girls Want to Be With the Girls
3. Artists Only (honourable mention for Warning Sign)
Fear of Music 1979
very high highs, very mid lows sorry. this album is so so so good but like,,
2 songs bump this from 1st to 3rd place for me...
it does have a Lot of my absolute favourite songs (listed below) but also upon a recent re-listen
i found myself thinking how various live performances of those songs were always slightlyyy better.
I think "Mind" has to be my #2 TH song of all time. can definitely hear an overall
sound in this album that gets really polished up in
Remain in Light, which is very satisfying
My picks:
1. *Mind*
2. *City*
3. *I Zimbra* (honourable mentions for Life During Wartime AND for Drugs. too many good songs)
Remain in Light 1980
What's that post about hearing a song/album/artist and not being super into it but then rediscovering it
later and wondering how tf it didn't change your life before and that sometimes music is about finding it at
the right time?
That's this album for me lol. When I was
getting into TH for realsies I gave it another listen and god damn. not sure how the opening track alone didn't
change the trajectory of my life when i heard it before but i'm glad i appreciate it now.
My picks:
1. *Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)*
2. *Once in a lifetime*
3. Houses in Motion (honourable mention for Seen and Not Seen)
Speaking in Tongues 1983
The everyman's favourite Talking Heads album, and probably mine too tbh. I really enjoy
the kind of vibe that Fear of Music and Remain in Light brought (like I said, RiL is the perfect progression of FoM), but this one is full of the sound that I grew up associating with Talking Heads and is just hit after hit. And, of course, it
ends with my #1 TH song: "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)." a 10/10. For years it's been my go-to
song when i feel like i am actually going to explode from fear *thumbs up*. never fails
(it's also good for when i'm already happy but could be even happier lol. versatile!)
My picks:
1. *This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)*
2. *Pull Up the Roots*
3. Girlfriend is better (honourable mentions for Making Flippy Floppy and Moon Rocks)
Stop Making Sense (Live) 1984
There are very few artists that I like whose live stuff is consistently as good or better than their
studio recordings (shout out to Grizzly Bear woohoo) but oh man TH does it. This doesn't mean that
the live renditions always match the version you know, but it will still be great.
I know that this is a CD, but as an owner of the DVD performance, this is also visually fantastic.
My picks: (I know they're repeats and are like,, their most well-known songs. so sue me)
1. *This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)*
2. Life During Wartime
3. Once in a Lifetime
Little Creatures 1985
It has Road to Nowhere, so that's gotta count for something. It just isn't really my thing. sorry :(
the music videos from this album are top tier though! This is the album I've had longest since it's what my
parents had, and so I've had a lot of time for some of the tracks to grow on me (lookin at you, Perfect World), but
this is not an album I put on often..
My picks:
1. *Road to Nowhere*
2. And She Was
3. Perfect World
True Stories 1986
True Stories is a fantastic movie. Both the narrative and visual aspects of it are extremely
pleasing and I am looking forward to rewatching it many times (here's
an internet archive link (w/ spanish subtitles)) If you don't know the movie (but are still on this page then damn hi thanks), it's where I got the scenes for the stamps to the right where David Byrne is wearing a cowboy hat. That said, I literally never listen to any
songs from this album. In a way, maybe this doesn't even count as a Talking Heads album... I mean,
it does have all the members, but still...
My picks:
1. Wild Wild Life
2. City of Dreams
3. Love for Sale
Naked 1988
I'll say it. Blind is a top 10 TH song. take that. There are a few good track here but
i don't think it's an unpopular opinion to say that this isn't my favourite album. it is decent though
*thumbs up*
My picks:
1. *Blind*
2. The Democratic Circus
3. Mr. Jones
Solo David stuff
this man has so many damn solo albums i do not have the time to go through them all on this page but
i will list my top 10 David Byrne songs because they really can't be overlooked. yeah
a lot of them are like the main tracks from their respective albums but that's
just kinda evidence that theyre good if u really think about it... everyone say ty DB
My picks:
1. Make Believe Mambo - Rei Momo, 1989
2. Angels - David Byrne, 1994
3. Glass, Concrete & Stone - Grown Backwards, 2004
4. Like Humans Do - Look into the Eyeball, 2001
5. Who - Love This Giant (DB & St. Vincent), 2012
6. A Self-Made Man - David Byrne, 1994
7. Strange Overtones - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (DB & Brain Eno), 2008
8. Lazurus - Love This Giant (DB & St. Vincent), 2012
9. Miss America - Feelings, 1998
10. Strange Ritual - David Byrne, 1994