The Talking Heads Experiment

So, in 2012 I listened to every album by XTC, followed that up in 2013 by listening to every album by REM and just recently polished off the 2014 artist - listening to every album by Talking Heads.

I openly admit that in all these undertakings I probably should have known more about the bands to begin with but that's the whole point. Musical Education. I knew "Psycho Killer", I knew "Burning Down the House", "This Must Be The Place" and others but hadn't really immersed myself in the catalog of works. It's a fascinatingly short discography - starting in 1977 with Talking Heads: 77 and ending in 1988 with Naked. For me, they seemed to be able to maintain a fairly consistent approach to the music they made. It's less about the pop song structure and more about a building groove - usually peppered with something just a little off kilter or surprising.

My affections tend to skew towards the middle of their career - Speaking in Tongues and Remain in Light hit on all the right spots for me (and, despite it being a compiled concert, Stop Making Sense is entirely badass). Maybe these tracks are the more accessible of their catalog but I think the idea that the band was able to continuously inject their personal style into everything and still have the music be reachable all is really quite an accomplishment. I mean, "Making Flippy Floppy" and "Crosseyed and Painless" should be on everyone's Favorites List.

I will admit that getting through this one took me quite a bit longer than I expected. Part of this is just the sheer amount of options available to listen to at any time these days, part of it is because I wanted to really soak in the albums and part of it is just laziness. However, that being said, it was a rather rewarding listen and I feel like I have a better honed respect for what they were doing and why David Byrne is, rightfully, on the artistic pedestal that he is on today (humbly I might add).

Many many years ago I purchased Sand in the Vaseline, a Talking Heads Best Of. While I appreciate the compilation now, I really must recommend not indulging in such a thing. These songs are best heard in their album context and, I promise, you'll discover some new gems along the way.