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Favorites: Talking Heads (1984-1987)

1983, SPAC

More of my J. Eric Smith-inspired Favorite Songs by Favorite Bands, an impossible task I’m doing anyway.

I saw Talking Heads on their stop at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, north of Albany, NY in 1983. It was of the two or three best concerts I’ve seen in my lifetime. Oddly, I have never seen, in its entirety, the well-regarded Stop Making Sense movie made from that tour.

The then-current album in 1983 was Speaking in Tongues. It’s the only album of theirs I have on both vinyl and compact disc. Interestingly, the tracks have different running times, with the cuts on the CD going longer. It was one of those gimmicks that record companies were using at the time to get people to buy into the new CD technology. It remains my favorite album by the group.

Eventually, I acquired all of the studio albums on vinyl. My only CD, besides SiT, is the 1992 compilation Sand in the Vaseline. Here’s a quiz I did some years ago, based on their songs.

Tunes

Mu: Wild Wild Life.
Lambda: Slippery People. “How do you do?”
Kappa: City of Dreams.
Iota: Blind.
Theta: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody). “I guess I must be having fun.” This is a song that takes me back to a specific time and place in upstate New York.
Eta: Psycho Killer Qu’est-ce que c’est

Zeta: Take Me to the River . If I were ever to sing Karaoke, it might be this version of the Al Green classic.
Epsilon: Crosseyed and Painless. The album Remain in Light is an aural canvas, and picking a “favorite song” is difficult.
Delta: Making Flippy Floppy. “Nothing is complete.” I love saying the repeated FL sound.
Gamma: Burning Down the House . “I’m…an…or..din.ar..y..guy.” Yeah, right. The first single from SiT.
Beta: Road to Nowhere. ‘Give us time to work it out.” “I wanted to write a song that presented a resigned, even joyful look at doom,” recalls David Byrne.
Alpha: Once in a Lifetime. “My God, what have I done?!” The lead single from Talking Heads’ fourth studio album, Remain in Light. The inspiration from Afrobeat is apparent.

Favorites: Peter Gabriel, ex-Genesis

jeux sans frontières

peter gabriel.so I’m revisiting J. Eric Smith’s favorite songs by favorite band question. He broke it up by segments of his life. For me:

The Beatles (1965-1969) – without a doubt. I joined the Capitol Record Club in 1965 or 1966 and bought Beatles VI. Then I got all of the back albums and the subsequent ones through Revolver. Well except Yesterday and Today, which I got for $2.99 at the Rexall drug store. Sgt. Pepper, I purchased from W.T. Grant for the outrageous price of $3.67. (I don’t know where I got it, but the Let It Be album was $4.99!)

My favorite songs in 2011, which probably hasn’t much changed: 13-4; 3-1.

The Rolling Stones (1970-1972) – when the Beatles were breaking up, I turned my attention to that other leading British invasion band. Frankly, I thought most of their early albums were not very good. They had a couple of hits plus a bunch of filler. It wasn’t until Aftermath that I thought they started to put together coherent packages. like the Beatles, their record label in the US often repackaged what the band intended.

Then they put out my favorite albums of theirs, Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers.
My favorite songs (2013).

Stevie Wonder (1973-1976) – you could argue that Stevie Wonder is not a band. 1) Don’t care, and 2) the way he creates such a full sound, maybe he is. His albums captivated me as early as Where I’m Coming From (1971), through Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
My favorite songs (2020).
If I were to pick a group in this time frame, it might be the Who or CSNY.

Paul Simon (1977-1980) – My obsession with Paul goes back to his period with Artie.
My favorite songs (2011).
If I had to pick a band, it’d probably be Led Zeppelin.

Post Genesis

Peter Gabriel (1981-1984) – I really discovered Gabriel with his third album (Melt) in 1980, which is probably on my island list. I quickly picked up the first two albums and several of his subsequent ones.

I shall admit that I wasn’t particularly familiar with his stint in the group Genesis until my local radio station WQBK played the title song of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway incessantly.

Making this list was brutal. I could almost pick every song from Melt and half the songs from So. From 10-1, approximately:

Don’t Give Up (featuring Kate Bush) 3 – I love the changing rhythms of this song, as well as the title message. There’s a cover of this by Willie Nelson featuring Sinéad O’Connor.
Big Time – lives on the bassline, and I always love that!
And Through the Wire 3
Solsbury Hill – Gabriel has said, “It’s about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get … It’s about letting go.”
Games Without Frontiers 3- “She’s so funky, yeah.” No that’s not right- “jeux sans frontières.”

Sledgehammer – it was the video, which makes this song seem faster than it actually is.
I Don’t Remember 3 – I relate to this too well.
Not One of Us 3 – Lots of people relate to this too well.
Here Comes the Flood it’s the remake. Shaking The Tree – 16 Golden Greats. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed.
Biko 3 – one of the most important songs ever written in popular music. It started the process of shedding light on the apartheid of South Africa in a very tangible way.

If I were to pick an actual group from the early 1980s, it’d probably be The Police or The Clash.

July rambling: The True True Truth

Blind Tom Wiggins and Ulysses Simpson Kay – black composers

arguments-against-wearing-a-parachute — Arguments against wearing a parachute.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 Unported License

Who Are Those Guys? – Customs and Border Protection agents in Portland, OR.

Why Hundreds of Mathematicians Are Boycotting Predictive Policing.

Looming Immigration Services Shutdown May Fuel Voter Suppression in 2020.

Apologies that aren’t apologies, 2020 edition.

They’re trying to kill the Postal Service so they can privatize it.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: China & Uighurs.

The Cancel Culture Debate.

Methane is mysteriously leaking from the sea floor in Antarctica, edging global heating to a point of no return.

The Truth About Micromanagers.

People who like embarrassing or angering others find social media more addictive.

Violin Makers’ Dark Future.

Patriotic Millionaires.

The Lincoln Project ads: How It Starts and Trumpfeld and The Wall and New.

The No Cars Experiment.

Why You Should Travel Without a Smartphone.

The Sisyphean Quest to Bring Back Discontinued Foods.

An Oral History of Big Mouth Billy Bass.

How the Ice Cream Truck Made Summer Cool.

I am spiritually Finnish.

Actor John Saxon, RIP.

Gone With the Wind’ star Olivia de Havilland dies at 104.

The sons and daughters of John Wayne, John Lennon, Caitlyn Jenner, and others tell what it was like to grow up with a world-famous dad .

Rotten Tomatoes: 100 Worst Movies Of All Time. I’ve seen zero of them, FWIW.

Race

Rep. John Lewis wasn’t seen as a hero from the beginning — and there’s a lesson in that. Plus Barack Obama delivers his eulogy.

A new word in my vocab: misogynoir, where racism and sexism meet.

The health disparities of systemic racism.

ERIC Crow, Jim Crow’s liberal twin.

Peggy Shepard is Featured in CBS Environmental Racism Story.

I’ve not read it. Thoughts? Robin DiAngelo’s best-seller White Fragility is a book about how to make certain educated white readers feel better about themselves.

Characteristics of white supremacy culture and, from NPR: White supremacist ideas have historical roots in U.S. Christianity.

“I Have Struggled”: Black TV Journalists Talk George Floyd Coverage, Industry Diversity.

Calling on the Ancestors: The Gift of Ralph Ellison.

Now I Know

The Post Office That’s Underwater and The Cheeseburger on Ice and When Video Games Go Bitter and International Wallyball and When Bread Breaks Arms and The Politician Who Went to Prison.

COVID

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Health care executives fear public distrust of vaccine will lead to the continued spread of disease.

John Oliver on coronavirus conspiracy theories, and related, The True True Truth.

Inside His Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus.

DeVos’s Plan to Reopen Schools Hides a Sinister Agenda and Back to School.

We’ve Reached Peak Libertarianism — And It’s Literally Killing Us.

Buddy, first dog to test positive for COVID-19 in the U.S., has died.

How to make masks that everyone will want to wear.

Why Pandemic First Dates Are Better and We Found Love in a Hopeless Place.

Gee, Anthony Fauci -Randy Rainbow.

MUSIC

Lincoln Center version of Carousel starring Kelli O’Hara and Nathan Gunn available until 8 PM ET on September 8.

Rebecca Jade! Live From The Merc with Peter Sprague (7/26) and Home Made, Part 4 (7/25).

Everybody Cries – Rita Wilson, from “The Outpost”.

The Battle of Manassas, by Blind Tom Wiggins.

How Can I Keep from Singing – NYC Virtual Choir and Orchestra.

Fantasy Variations by Ulysses Simpson Kay.

A rock concert of 1,000 performers.

Coverville 1317: Cover Stories for Beck and Jack White and 1318: The Slash Cover Story.

If the world was ending – JP Saxe.

Hamilton Cast Tribute To The 40th Anniversary of A Chorus Line (2015).

Longest Time (Quarantine Edition) – Phoenix Chamber Choir.

Jumpin’ Jive – Cab Calloway with the Nicholas Brothers number from Stormy Weather.

Lean on Me – Bill Withers (live).

K-Chuck Radio: Order in the Court”.

“BIG DADDY…STRANDED IN THE JUNGLE” to ten (audio version) episodes!

Nina Simone, other singers of justice

It takes the wisdom of the elders and young people’s energy

The official site for Nina Simone (1933-2003) refers to her as The High Priestess of Soul. As a 2014 New Yorker article noted, she “turned the movement into music.”
To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
Mississippi Goddam

The “Godfather of Soul,” released the iconic song… in August 1968, just four months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. “Randall Kennedy, a Harvard law professor, said he remembers when he first heard the song. The funk- and soul-inspired hit was like nothing he had heard before — especially at a time in which Kennedy said overt ‘colorism,’ or the preference for lighter skin color, was prevalent in the black community.

“Kennedy writes for The New York Times that “it was precisely because of widespread colorism that James Brown’s anthem posed a challenge, felt so exhilarating, and resonated so powerfully.” Some stations would not play this song. The apocryphal punch line is that JB bought some radio stations in response.
Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud – James Brown (1933-2006)

“The Impressions formed from the union of two friends, Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield of Chicago, Illinois. The two had sung together in church as adolescents, and had traveled with the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers and the Traveling Souls Spiritual Church.” Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once with the group, once as a solo artist.
Keep On Pushing – the Impressions.

From the legendary What’s Goin’ On album that Berry Gordy was reluctant to put out. I’ve said the subtitle a LOT.
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye (1939-1984).

Saw the face of Jim Crow under a bald eagle

“PE redefined not just what a rap group could accomplish, but also the very role pop musicians could play in contemporary culture. Lyrically, sonically, politically, onstage, on the news – never before had musicians been considered ‘radical’ across so many different platforms.”
Fight the Power – Public Enemy.

From the movie Selma. It won the 2014 Oscar for Best Song.
One day when the glory comes
It will be ours, it will be ours
Oh one day when the war is won
We will be sure, we will be sure
Glory – Common, John Legend (Alternative version here).

The Godmother Of Rock ‘N’ Roll has, “in recent years, been rightfully celebrated as a woman who broke every norm.”
This Train – Sister Rosetta Tharp (1915-1973).

The Queen of Gospel is revered as one of the greatest musical figures in U.S. history.
We Shall Overcome –Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972).

All of the artists here, save for Common and John Legend, are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1960 music: elect JFK or RMN?

3 Elvis, 2 Connie Francis, 2 Brenda Lee

Percy Faith There was a time when I thought most of the music between 1959 and 1963 was boring. Lots of dudes named Bobby – Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton – and they weren’t even the same guy?

But the world was getting interesting. In 1960, the Presidential election was taking place. Whoever was elected was going to be far younger than that general fellow who had been in the office.

These were the songs that hit #1 in 1960 on the pop charts. RB=rhythm and blues. CW=country and western.

The Theme from “A Summer Place” – Percy Faith and His Orchestra, #1 for nine weeks. #2 RB. Gold record. I heard snippets of this song a LOT during the decade. It was often the music that would lead to the news on the hour.

Are You Lonesome To-night – Elvis Presley, #1 for six weeks. #3 RB, #22 CW. Double platinum record. The talking part – “You know someone said that the world’s a stage And each must play a part” – always bugged me.

It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley. #1 for five weeks. #7 RB. Platinum record. In grade school, I heard “O Sole Mio.” This confused me.

Cathy’s Clown – The Everly Brothers. #1 for five weeks. #1 RB. Gold record. My first favorite group.

Stuck on You – Elvis Presley. #1 for four weeks. #6 RB, #27 CW. Platinum record. Did I mention my father HATED Elvis?

Done with Elvis

I’m Sorry – Brenda Lee. #1 for three weeks. #4 RB. Gold record.

Running Bear – Johnny Preston. #1 for three weeks. #3 RB. Gold record. I don’t remember this. Having heard it -oy.

Save the Last Dance for Me – the Drifters. #1 for three weeks. #1 RB. Gold record. Even as a child, I thought this was a very romantic song.

Teen Angel – Mark Dinning. #1 for two weeks. #5 RB. Gold record. I didn’t like death rock songs very much.

My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own – Connie Francis. #1 for two weeks. #11 RB. I vaguely remember this.

El Paso – Marty Robbins. #1 for two weeks. #1 for seven weeks CW. I thought this was rather cool, with this country tune topping the charts. Was this really a four-minute single?

Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool– Connie Francis. #1 for two weeks. #2 RB. Gold record.

The Twist – Chubby Checker. #2 for three weeks RB. Gold record. This song, of course, would reach #1 in 1962 as well.

Thursday afternoon at the beach

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Brian Hyland. #10 RB. Gold record. This song got stuck in my head. When I tried to write a song about the beach, I lifted a bit of this song.

Alley-Oop – Hollywood Argyles. #3 for two weeks RB. Gold record.

Mr. Custer – Larry Verne. #9 RB. I don’t remember this at all. And now I’ve seen it, I’m slackjawed. Just OMG.

I Want To Be Wanted – Brenda Lee. #7 RB. Not remembering this.

Stay – Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. #3 for two weeks RB. I LOVED this song. It’s one of the shortest #1s ever at 1:37. I wish it would play just a little bit longer.

Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles. #3 for four weeks RB. The song became Georgia’s official state song on April 24, 1979, when Gov. George Busbee signed it into law.

Interesting that every single song on this list crossed over to another chart.