Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

Published in 1984

Wikipedia

I love the Talking Heads.  I do not love the Talking Heads albums.  I don't know why, but they have never attached themselves to me in the same way that a lot of other albums have.  I think that there is a huge amount of talent in the band, I think the songs are catchy as fuck, and some of the stuff that they create is stronger than most of the stuff that I like, but they have never latched on for me.

This might be the album that I finally get into them on.  I've sampled, here and there, but the ever present pressure of space has overwhelmed any large downloads of their work, and album by album, I haven't found something to get me to fandom.  However, this might be the one.

First off, this one has a killer track list.  Burning Down the house is a dance classic, and can still get people doing rediculous 80's dances to this day.  As LCD Soundsystem so aptly puts it, borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 80's is in full effect when you play that song.  However, This Must Be The Place may be my favorite off of this album, because it really makes me delighted just to hear it.  It's one of the few songs that never fails to make me stop and sing along.  It lives in eternal earworm company there.

Once in a Lifetime is another of those eternal songs, that you will always listen to and love.  Man, I think the more I listen to this album, the more I come around on it.  Okay, I think this is going on the iPod at this point, and this is my second listen.  This might be the one.

It is a long album, and to justify that, I am listening to the special extended edition to the album.  The length is not wasted, however.  The length augments it, giving it room to breathe, and allowing it to develop into something more, as opposed to finishing the thought too early.

This might be why I haven't gotten into the Talking Heads before this point.  I've always enjoyed economy in my music.  The exceptions being Arcade Fire and Kanye and probably Incubus, but there is something about the economy of music that I really appreciate.  However, I think as I grow older, I come to appreciate the complexity of music, and the layered qualities filter into us more.

This is the rare live album that doesn't treat the audience as another instrument.  It allows the band to play off of the audience without mic-ing them to death, and makes the band create something that is beautiful to hear live, because it is being heard live, but without the enforced fun that a live album can rely on.

This is a good album, and it deserves to be listened to more.  So I will,  I like it, I don't love it yet, but I can see it growing on me.

"How about Cody?" "No, it has to be something regal." "How about Cody II?"
Matt