Scotch Sampler

[scotchandcigar]

Along with Elvis Costello (and a few other bands I'll be featuring soon), Talking Heads ushered-in the post-punk new-wave era. They hit the scene with startlingly unique music, blending college rock, punk, funk, and world music. They hit the scene with Psycho Killer, then scored big with a modern restyling of the Al Green soul song Take Me to the River. Interestingly, when they perform it live, they do the Al Green version.

On Fear of Music, They started collaborating with Brian Eno, such as on the African rhythm-inspired I Zimbra. That album contained the following two hits, with these amazing performances captured on Stop Making Sense.

Talking Heads – Life During Wartime (live)



Talking Heads – Cities (live)



But my group of friends and I really got into their next album, Remain in Light. It went further into world music and African rhythms, and seemed to have an integrity beyond radio hits. The big hit from this album was Once in a Lifetime, but my favorites are Born Under Punches, and this one

Talking Heads – Crosseyed and Painless


Their next album wouldn't come out for another 3 years, so I'll stop here for now.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I love the Talking Heads. I came at them by falling in love with their "True Stories" album and then finding and loving their older stuff. I will post my top 10 of them tomorrow.

 

[sadchild]

Talking Heads

1. Lifetime Piling Up
2. Burning Down The House
3. Once In A Lifetime
4. Wild Wild Life
5. And She Was

I love the lyrics to This Must Be The Place (and the namesake movie that came out years later), but the music ain't my thing. There are good covers of it out there though, like Brothertiger and Lumineers.

Back story:

My intro to Talking Heads was the parody of Psycho Killer by The Fools.... Psycho Chicken. It's a New England thing. I heard the original later, a while after the parody. Fun fact: Talking Heads reportedly could no longer play Psycho Killer in concert around 1980 because audience members began to cluck like chickens (like The Fools do in Psycho Chicken).

My real intro to Talking Heads was Once In A Lifetime in 1983 when I got MTV.

Then came Burning Down The House.

After hearing those two, I wouldn't say I was a "fan", but I was certainly intrigued. Very very weird videos, quite memorable. Over time, when my taste in music expanded, I started to appreciate them more.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I do remember hearing "Burning Down the House" in the classic geek film "Revenge of the Nerds". It was in the scene when the jocks burned down the house.

 

[sadchild]

I've been meaning for decades to watch Revenge Of The Nerds again. Haven't seen it since the 80s. I gotta find it cheap on DVD.....

 

[scotchandcigar]

Talking Heads

1. Lifetime Piling Up
2. Burning Down The House
3. Once In A Lifetime
4. Wild Wild Life
5. And She Was

I love the lyrics to This Must Be The Place (and the namesake movie that came out years later), but the music ain't my thing. There are good covers of it out there though, like Brothertiger and Lumineers.

Back story:

My intro to Talking Heads was the parody of Psycho Killer by The Fools.... Psycho Chicken. It's a New England thing. I heard the original later, a while after the parody. Fun fact: Talking Heads reportedly could no longer play Psycho Killer in concert around 1980 because audience members began to cluck like chickens (like The Fools do in Psycho Chicken).

My real intro to Talking Heads was Once In A Lifetime in 1983 when I got MTV.

Then came Burning Down The House.

After hearing those two, I wouldn't say I was a "fan", but I was certainly intrigued. Very very weird videos, quite memorable. Over time, when my taste in music expanded, I started to appreciate them more.

1) Some of those songs will appear in my round 2 (mid-80's).
2) I saw Ernie & the Automatics, the Stompers, and the Fools at the Hampton beach casino ballroom a few years ago. I'm sure you understand.
3) David Byrne's arm motion in your clip originated when he worked as a waiter at a RI diner, and had to stack hot dogs on his arm.

 

[sadchild]

1.

2. I saw The Fools 3x back in 1991 (my 3rd, 7th and 9th shows ever!). All three times it was a TON of fun! I've heard of The Stompers over the decades again and again, but have never heard or seen them. Don't know anything about E&TA.

3. Interesting!! And as usual, I wanted to know more....

PITCHFORK: I just had one last question. A friend of mine played a show in Providence and went to a hot dog stand. They’re in a band, so the hot dog stand guy says, “Oh, David Byrne used to work here. We’ve been here 30 years and he worked at this hot dog stand.” And at this place, when they do the hot dogs, they line them up on their arm and they take the condiments and they go like this [I make a chopping gesture along my arm, as seen in the video for “Once in a Lifetime”]. “That’s where he got that!”

DAVID BYRNE: I did work at a hot dog stand, a place called New York System, where you put the hot dogs on your arm like that. But I got that thing from, I saw these Japanese kids dancing in the park in Tokyo, these kind of rockabilly dancers, and then there were these kind of space cadet kids that had a completely different set of movements. I videotaped a bunch of them, and that’s where I got that.

Sounds to me like both inspired it, actually

 

[scotchandcigar]

Ernie as in Ernie Boch Jr. He's a guitarist and a big music fan.

 

[sadchild]

Aaah the wicked rich car guy/guitar collector. Cool.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Aaah the wicked rich car guy/guitar collector. Cool.

He's actually a friend of a friend, but that's another story.

Time for some catching-up!

Here are some of my later (mid-to-late 70's) favorites from two of my earlier favorite bands.

After the first 3 Chicago albums I covered, they put out a live album, then continued on with V, VI, VII, and VIII. Chicago V contained Saturday in the Park, and this, covered here with a slight Russian accent
Chicago (covered by Leonid & Friends) – Dialogue (Part I & II)



Chicago VI has this favorite of mine, seen here in a studio demo session
Chicago – Feelin’ Stronger Every Day (live)



After that, they adopted a notably softer sound, which - unbeknownst to them - would be dubbed "yacht rock" decades later. Chicago VII contained I've Been Searching So Long, Wishing You Were Here, and Call on Me. Chicago VIII contained the song Old Days. A Greatest Hits album followed, and we'll leave it at that.

Pink Floyd's The Wall squeaked in just before the 80's. From that album, here's Comfortably Numb performed by David Gilmour; with one of the most iconic guitar solos ever
Pink Floyd (performed by David Gilmour) – Comfortably Numb

 

[sadchild]

The Wall is an album -- for me -- where the sum is better than its parts. I can listen to Brick 2, Run Like Hell or Mother on their own, but I don't often. The rest of the songs on their own are okay, but I don't consider them great. However, the album, listened to start to finish, is an absolute masterpiece and a classic to me!

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

The Wall is an album -- for me -- where the sum is better than its parts. I can listen to Brick 2, Run Like Hell or Mother on their own, but I don't often. The rest of the songs on their own are okay, but I don't consider them great. However, the album, listened to start to finish, is an absolute masterpiece and a classic to me!

I feel the same. I do listen to the individual songs when they play on SXM but if I listen on my own its usually the whole album or at least pieces of it. I listen to Side 1 of Disk 1 the most.

 

[scotchandcigar]

The Wall is an album -- for me -- where the sum is better than its parts. I can listen to Brick 2, Run Like Hell or Mother on their own, but I don't often. The rest of the songs on their own are okay, but I don't consider them great. However, the album, listened to start to finish, is an absolute masterpiece and a classic to me!

Many people agree, but we're not listing our favorite albums, or best albums. I'm listing my favorite songs, and Comfortably Numb is one of them. It stands on it's own just fine.

 

[sadchild]

For sure. I'm just blabbin'. Goin' a wee off-topic.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Some more catching up!

In the continuing catalog of Stevie Wonder hits, here are 2 more favorites. Both have some MAJOR groove.

Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster (live)



This is an amazing session where Stevie re-records a studio version of I Wish. He does each keyboard line, the vocals, and he plays the drums! It's awesome.

Stevie Wonder – I Wish (reconstructed in studio)

 

[HecticArt]

You can't go wrong with more Stevie.

 

[scotchandcigar]

More catching up:

David Bowie – Heroes (live)



I really got hooked on Billy Joel's The Nylon Curtain, with songs like Allentown, Pressure, A Room of Our Own, and this great one, which is a tribute to veterans

Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon (live)



After Aja, Steely Dan took 3 years to produce Gaucho, which would be their last album of the 20th century. Gaucho had a light jazz feel, with perfectly placed notes, and intriguing lyrics. The big hit was Hey Nineteen, but the opening track is my favorite

Steely Dan – Babylon Sisters



And a new one: Rock Lobster by the B-52's was the absolute biggest party song of my high school graduation year. It had to be played, and it was always the song everyone danced to.

B-52s - Rock Lobster

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I tried to show my son the dance we used to do to Rock Lobster at some point in the last 2 years. My calves were sore for days. Oh to be young again. Also my son was not impressed.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I tried to show my son the dance we used to do to Rock Lobster at some point in the last 2 years. My calves were sore for days. Oh to be young again. Also my son was not impressed.

Clearly, if I twisted myself down, I would not be getting back up.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Clearly, if I twisted myself down, I would not be getting back up.

I don't think I got that far. He was not that interested surprisingly.