Remain In Light

Talking about head. Do you know how long it's been since I last had a blowjob? 34 days. Totally unacceptable. If you know of anyone who wants to sort me out, give me a call on 07797098556

Always remember - that is a woman playing that bass. Girl F@ckin Power!

Kind of makes me see why some people call Talking Heads a "punk" band, though this feels like it has more in debt to reggae and world music. Fast, crazy fun, weird music to dance to. Talking Heads are awesome. Favorite tracks: "Crosseyed and Painless", "The Great Curve", "Once in a Lifetime"

If Sisyphus had this in his headphones there would be no fable to tell. Unrelenting and irreversible forward motion. The Great Curve's hypnotic cyclical rythhm draws you into a state of fevered delerium, with the only hints of sanity appearing in the form of the sporadic lead breaks. Seen and Not Seen follows a narrative that's beautifully relatable yet totally abstract. Listening Wind is deceptively heavy in its story and Overload feels very ominous and Floyd.

In discussions of this album, the primacy of African polyrhythms is often mentioned, but that not quite correct. Strictly speaking, the polyrhythms are African-American because they derive from Afrobeat, which originated as a response to the music of James Brown. Fela Kuti and others took the funk rhythms of James Brown and added the polyrhythms and layering of traditional African music. With Remain in Light, Talking Heads returned the favor, emphasizing layering and interlocking rhythmic patterns even more, and not only rhythms but also sounds. Anticipating hip hop, Eno built up the tunes out of loops cut out from two live jam sessions from the full band. In producer Brian Eno's hands, the complexity of this layering dwarfs anything Fela Kuti ever did. Which brings up another point, which is rarely discussed. Remain in Light is one of the most sonically rich and gorgeous albums ever made--Eno takes his unique and patented electronic processing to new heights. But as much credit as Eno deserves for the success of Remain in Light, it's hardly a one-man show. Tina Weymouth's bass lines are deeply funky, as is Jerry Harrison's chickenscratch guitar. Chris Frantz' drumming seems less distinctive to me, which is perhaps why Eno and David Byrne decided to bring in percussionist Jose Rossy, who later played with Weather Report. And I suspect that the interweaving vocal parts are largely the work of Byrne, enriched by contributions from soul singer Nona Hendryx. Another thing: it's wrong to say that there are no solos on this record--they're just deeply untraditional. Adrian Belew's avant guarde outbursts on guitar are refreshingly non linear, thrilling and absolutely brilliant. And world music pioneer Jon Hassel's processed trumpet solo on Seen and Not Seen gives the track a suitably eerie edge. As if all that weren't enough, Talking Heads even include one track that miraculously manages to weave Afrobeat, pop, and the Velvet Underground into one of the most indelible singles of the 80s, Once In A Lifetime. Remain in Light is damned near flawless.

"Remain in Light" is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980. This album is considered to be their magnum opus, and as someone who has never listened to the band, I feel I better strap in! Talking Heads fall under the following genres, per Wikipedia: New wave, post-punk, world beat, funk, dance-rock, and art pop and I am colored with intrigue! Remain in Light opens with "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)," opens with funky bass rifs and a catchy guitar rhythm. There's some crazy David Byrne vocals and a cool guitary solo and that catchy guitar rhythm that never goes away! This is a fun song. The next song on this album is "Crosseyed and Painless," which is catchy and has lyrics about "facts are twisting the truth around" which seems relevant in today's hellscape of disinformation. It's fun! "The Great Curve," is track #3 on this album. It has a really fun surfer-ish guitar with bongo-ish drums. It's groooovy. And it has a dope guitar solo. "Once in a Lifetime" is the next track, and it's a song I've heard many times in pop culture. It's a fun song, it's catchy. I've never actually listened to the song in full, and the lyrics are crazy. The lyrics seem improvised... "there is water at the bottom of the ocean," and so on! "Houses in Motion," is track number 5 and features more funky guitar work and vocal harmonizing. It's very catchy and it has a haunting solo of an instrument I cannot identify! The next song, "Seen and Not Seen," has fun stream-of-conscience lyrics about a perfect face, which really blew my mind as I listened to this song while struggling to draw a face on a drawing I recently started. Anyway, this song has fun claps and a solid beat, and I like it! "Listening Wind" is the penultimate track on "Remain in Light". It has African-inspired percussion and eerie jungle noises. The guitar work sounds like animals! This song is very cool. "The Overload," is the final track on this album, and is it a doozy. Per Wikipedia: "Some have taken the final track on the album, "The Overload," to be Talking Heads' attempt to emulate the sound of British post-punk band Joy Division. It has been widely speculated - but never confirmed - that the song was made despite no band member having heard the music of Joy Division; rather, it may have been based on an idea of what the British quartet might sound like based on descriptions in the music press." I have never listened to Joy Division, so I don't have a frame of reference for this song, but it's spooky and brooding and dank, and I like it! This album is funky and fun and weird, and for that I really love it. I'm glad I finally gave this album a spin. I actually really liked their spooky attempt to be Joy Division. And Once in a Lifetime is simply iconic. Favorite track: Listening Wind Honorable mention: The Overload

Hot take time: The best Talking Heads album is Stop Making Sense. The album and movie especially showcase exactly what makes the band an all-timer (of course, I'm speaking of the latter edition of the album, the one with all 16 songs - apparently the original version of the soundtrack album only had 9 of the songs, which may explain why it's not on the list). And the live versions for the most part have even more appeal than the recorded originals. Crosseyed and Painless, the second song on this album, is more energetic on Stop Making Sense and becomes an absolute banger. This album's centerpiece includes the remarkable "The Great Curve" followed by one of the band's more famous songs, "Once In A Lifetime". The first five songs are close to perfect and really put you right in producer Brian Eno's world. The last three tracks didn't grab me at all on first listen, but improved quite a bit on repeat plays. This is the most complete Talking Heads studio album. An essential 40-minute listen. Spotify gave me the Deluxe Edition, which includes 4 unfinished outtakes to provide further proof the band was at the peak of their powers. And if you've never seen "Stop Making Sense", fix that mistake immediately. It's on the short list of the greatest rock music films.

Once in a life times is enough

Born Under Punches is astounding, I can see why this is revolutionary

After spending the previous three years being afraid of everything from the countryside and work to painting and music itself, David Byrne gets a goddamn grip and learns to let the days (and water, whatever that means) pass him by, tapping into a global groove that widens his outlook and softens his responses. If More Songs About Buildings and Food was the first Talking Heads album made with access to fresh air, this one is positively oceanic. Letters of thanks should be mailed to Brian Eno. His whacked-out guitar tunings are rock futurism built and demolished in the same instant. On Houses in Motion, he plays what can only be described as an elephant with its trunk up its arse. Throughout, he counsels Byrne (never a world beating songwriter) to pick his lyrics out of a hat, which elevates the pretty good ones to semi-parodic quite good ones (“Facts don't do what I want them to,” “Can’t stop, I might end up in hospital”), and leads to him stumbling on some genuinely great ones. Once In A Lifetime, obviously, but also the one about a kid who reads too many magazine and tries to change his face by sheer force of will. (Don't try it--doesn't work). While the one about Mojique doesn't hit the bull's eye, it does demonstrate just how far Byrne has stepped outside of himself. All the way into Africa.

thought I would like it more than I did. Once in a Lifetime is still a great song

Innovative? Yes. Influential? Eh, maybe. Throw it on the heap of albums that are notable, but not necessarily a great listen. Also, it reminds me of that terrible Matt Damon movie about tiny people. Bet track: Seen and Not Seen

One cool song. Style is mostly a repetitive loop. Bad lyrics, poor singing.

This album is undefeated. I love this album, I love Talking Heads, this is one of my top 15 albums of all time.

This was fun! A romp through the unique sound of Talking Heads. A bit experimental so there are some misses, but most of the songs are cool and weird.

I'd heard Once in a Lifetime before, that was definitely a stand out track. Some of the tracks were better than others, a few felt a bit chaotic and didn't do anything for me. This album felt fine, but it was anything special.

meh.

One of my all time favorite albums. The inflexion point where Talking Heads became SO much more than a New York-CBGB band. David Byrne blossomed into (imho) the most creative and visionary songwriter, lyricist, musician and he guided this band onto bigger and better things. but it all started with this LP... so many great tracks -- Crosseyed and Painless (Facts are simple and facts are straight. Facts are lazy and facts are late); Once in a Lifetime (And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house, And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful wife); Born Under Punches (The hand speaks, the hand of a government man) , Houses In Motion (And as we watch him, Digging his own grave, It is important to know, That was where he's at, He can't afford to stop, That is what he believe He'll keep on digging, For a thousand years.... just an awesomely ecclectic collection of indelible songs. 10 stars

Of course, the first album it generates is my favorite album at the moment.

I have no thoughtful or academic review of this album, but it's so weird and I loved it.

Nothing to say that hasn’t been said 100x before. I don’t like to give 5 stars unless an album is literally perfect. That’s the case here

Unfortunately, this album is as good as the nerds at /mu/ say it is.

Truly bangin’ album. Band in top form, kickstarting the 80s and art rock of the decade.

Not a lot of surprises here. It's fine but none of it really seems like mine. Feels like being at a party where I don't know anyone but I don't really feel like getting to know anyone either. And the feeling's mutual.

Freking amazing. David Byrne is a genius.

One of the first albums I bought with my own money because my big sister had Talking Heads 77 and I really got into that but it felt silly even to a 10-year-old to buy another copy of a record we already had under our roof. Absolutely adore this album and it completely blew my mind it was profoundly influential for me as a musician. So I was a little surprised not all that long ago as I was really getting into African pop music of the 70s to notice that a lot of the ideas and sounds here are directly lifted from those tunes. I mean directly. I don't mean that as any sort of criticism because every musician is inspired by the sounds around them, and it certainly something Talking Heads have discussed openly. The lyrics are of course sui generis, like all Talking Heads. I particularly love the lyrics to "Seen and Not Seen." As a tween I used to ponder them endlessly and wonder if that's what lay ahead for me. For many years I regarded it as fantasy but now I've reached a point where I see it's more true than not. There's not enough talk in this world about the musicianship of this band. Tina Weymouth on bass particularly stands out as one of the most interesting and, at least to this bassist, influential electric bass players. I heard David Byrne was a total dick to her and constantly wanted to replace her which is really unfortunate and misguided if you consider that her playing and singing on Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" (side project made a little after Remain in Light) might be the most sampled and ripped off bass line in the history of music. I'm kind of at the point where I can't listen to this record anymore I played it so many times so instead what I like to do is go on YouTube and search out this one particular show they played in Rome in 1980 promoting this album. it's about an hour long will absolutely shred your mind. What an incredible band!

The second Talking Heads album I've ever listened to and I like it much, much better.

I listened to my first Talking a heads album only a week or so ago and absolutely loved it. Today I’ll be listening to another, and I’m quite understandably optimistic for this one. If it’s anything like the other, then it certainly bodes well. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: Once In A Lifetime Favourites: Once In A Lifetime, Crosseyed and Painless Thankfully, this did not let me down! The music is so very interesting, and I love the slap bass and just how much it adds to the music. I’ll definitely have to learn some of these tracks on my bass because they sound so fun! I also never realised that Once In A Lifetime was Talking Heads. It comes on the radio every now and then and it’s an absolute bop. Definitely give this a listen because it’s great.

This is without a doubt one of the best albums that have ever been produced simply because of the fact that is walks the tightrope of being danceable and sophisticated at the same time ("Crosseyed and Painless", "Houses in Motion" are the best examples for this). The musicianship is just grand with the inspiration from Fela Kuti's Afrobeat to construct polyrhythms as the backbone of the great instrumentation carried by bass, keyboards and guitars (Adrian Belew, here as a guest, delivers one of his best work) and David Byrne's lyrics. This is a masterpiece. I'd give it 6 star if I could!

'Once in a lifetime' is one of the all time greats. Really enjoyed 'Seen and not seen'. A Challenging listen at times, but overall it's somewhat brilliant.

No skips I love the basslines and African elements Crosseyed and Painless/Once in a Lifetime were my favourites I would easily listen to this again

And you may ask yourself, what is this beautiful house? It’s this album!

I loved this shit. Such cool African influences — shoutout Fela Kuti… also some Caribbean/ Soca influences? Yessir

It was good! The music really brings you into the song.

Rating (1/10): 6-9. DOYM (depends on your mood) Is there already a genre called TranceFunk? Prince without the sex, but that just means dancing can exist without lust; bigger frontiers for physical expression of the mind and soul. I'd forgotten what a great bass player Tina Weymouth is; totally underappreciated. Tom-Tom Club: https://youtu.be/aCWCF19nUhA Adrien Belew (via King Crimson): https://youtu.be/zqhhZRcFlws Remain In Light was on heavy rotation in the restaurant kitchen where I worked; this is great music to cook to. (Eno might find that quite the compliment.)

take a drink every time there's a chord change

5 stars. Same as it ever was.

Having given LCD Soundsystem a 5, I couldn't very well give Talking Heads anything less. Even if this isn't your type of music, you have to appreciate that this was released in 1980. Groundbreaking.

So many interesting sounds, rhythms and melodies colliding all over this. Very clever how the first half is relentlessly upbeat, followed by the complete opposite at the end. Most of this is probably obscure to the casual fan apart from "Once In A Lifetime", which amazingly is in the bottom tier of songs here. Excellent stuff

This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. This is just a really good album.

By far my favorite Talking Heads album. So groovy; so many hits. Crosseyed and Painless is such an end-to-end jam. Great song. Bleeds into The Great Curve, which has a funky little guitar riff paired with a driving bassline. Love the layered vocals throughout. The fact that Once in a Lifetime was a commercial success single-handedly makes me wish I could have lived through the late 70s into the 80s. Could never imagine such a song getting radio play today. Such a queer, dreamlike song. Awesome spacious instrumental with ridiculous lyrics (even by Byrne standards). The whole under the water bit... Love everything about this song; I don't think it ever fails to put a smile on my face. Only wish I could have seen them live. Highlights: Crosseyed and Painless, Once in a Lifetime, Houses in Motion. 5/5

A desert island disc, 40 lean minutes of paranoia and downtown trepidation translated to monochord jams. Byrne sounds at wit’s end, and why shouldn’t he be? Reagan is here and the world is ending — might as well dance a little.

Funky and frenetic... wonderful and weird... thick with grooves... dripping with musical influences, but stunningly original. T-Heads made brilliant albums, always, and this was arguably their best. Brian Eno's influence is strongly felt, with shades of his album Before and After Science in particular. But the band is very much still themselves here, just better than they had been before, more layered and complex. It's a partnership that really works. David Byrne's presence crackles as always, with a whirlwind of lyrics that are like reading the manifesto of some prophet or mad genius. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Once in a Lifetime, The Great Curve, Listening Wind, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), Crosseyed and Painless, Houses in Motion, Seen and Not Seen, The Overload

This is a sonically radical, lyrical maze of an album. Remain in light asks: what does it mean to be given five stars? It required multiples listens but I think I've cracked it. As a government man, I got hooked by the rythyms, bamboozled and then intrigued by the lyrics. A great listen and genre bending piece of art. Want to walk around a big bright city and listen to this over and over.

You wanna hear the Talking Heads' masterpiece? You wanna hear the crowning achievement of Brian Eno's production work combined with David Byrne's unbeatable songwriting? You wanna hear the new wave record that blew all other new wave records out of the water? You wanna hear a perfect album? There was no doubt that the Talking Heads had something special here. A solid run-up of the last three albums (last two with Eno), taking what is easily some of the most interesting songwriting at the time and applying a dynamic production style that defied the boring and plastic production that would go on to dominate the 80's. By all means, Remain in Light should have been a blueprint for the new wave of the 80's. Side A has the most energy, with the infectious afrobeat rhythms and repeated chanting "and the beat goes on, and the beat goes on...". It instantly grabs you and brings you into a groove. Every track brings it's own unique energy on side A, and every track excels in building on it's elements. I think it is nothing short of spiritual. We close on a guitar solo, blaring out into the distance as we fade out, leaving nothing but the static picked up by the needle...time to turn the record. Side B opens with the megahit Once in a Lifetime. I love this song. Even when the Talking Heads do a radio-friendly verse-chorus track, it doesn't waste a beat or ever get boring. We retain a certain amount of energy carried over from side A with this and Houses in Motion, but we start to slow down with Seen and Not Seen, as David Byrne calmly speaks poetry over a relaxing beat. It's a meditation that carries us through to the end. Remain In Light begins with an explosion and ends with the fallout. Catching your breath after dancing as much as you can. Finding yourself lighter than you were before. Remaining in light, despite how hard it can be.

I mean, it’s a pretty incredible album. “Born Under Punches” is a great afrobeat take. Plus “Once In A Lifetime” is basically amazing.

5.0 - Incredible. The first few tracks sound like Fela Kuti through a neon filter with instrumental solos that sound wildly futuristic even by today's standards. "One in a Lifetime" is a masterpiece of songwriting, imagery and sound production. The tone and tempo mellow for the second half, ending with a Joy Division-esque dirge with "The Overload." This is a nuanced, heady, kinetic and bafflingly awesome listen.

This album starts off with a bang with the frenetic African polyrhythms of Born Under Punches. Fela Kuti’s influence is unmistakeable. The chemistry of the band and guests is also magic in a bottle: Eno, Belew, Hendryx and Hassell’s trumpet! The intensity is maintained with the next few songs: Crosseyed, The Great Curve and Once in a lifetime. In particular Adrian Belew’s guitar is astonishing on the Great Curve. The pace slowly gets turned down with each successive song but the incredible quality of the songs is maintained throughout right to the end. Seen and not Seen is the perfect bridge between the more upbeat African polyrhythmic songs to the two sonic masterpieces The Listening Wind and The Overload. Talking Heads put out many really great albums but this is their very best, and that is saying a lot. One of my favourite albums of all time.

First things first, my semi-obligatory and tailored review for records that Brian Eno was involved with: Another classic Brian Eno record, once again featuring Talking Heads. Now that that’s out of the way… Actually, never mind, I feel like that’s a really important subject to touch on. Normally I don’t really give a fuck about who produces a record, but I can’t help but feel that over the course of the records he produced for them, Brian Eno molded Talking Heads in the band he wanted them to be - or maybe more accurately, the band he wanted to be in. I mean, he introduces them to Fela Kuti records and next thing you know they’re making a record that is so indebted to Fela Kuti that the Fela Kuti estate should get royalties from it. That’s exhibit A. Exhibit B: The song “King’s Lead Hat” from Eno’s 1977 solo record “Before and After Science”. You might be thinking, “That’s a weird song title,” and you’d be right, it is. It’s also an anagram of the phrase “Talking Heads”. Listen to the song, it was released 3 years before this record. Then listen to what the Talking Heads sounded like in 1977. There is a damn good case to be made that “King’s Lead Hat” was a blueprint for where Eno thought Talking Heads should go. I mean, just listen to the overly processed, glitched-out guitar solo on it and think about Adrian Belew’s solo on “Born Under Punches” and his work throughout Remain in Light. Now, I’m not trying to say that Brian Eno was the mastermind of this band, pulling the strings and forcing them to be the band that they became, but I do think it’s unlikely they make this record, with the influences it has and as well crafted as it is, without him. That might seem like a back handed compliment, but it’s what a good producer should do: get the best out of the artist they’re working with. Brian Eno more than succeed in that on Remain in Light; this is undoubtedly the best Talking Heads record.

This is my favourite of the Talking Heads albums I’ve heard to date. The repetition that would drive me mad on any other record is saved and strengthened by two things: it’s fun and funky as shit, and it’s human. This is not the work of samplers: the loops are played live. The back half of the album drags on a bit. I think The Overload would have worked better as a mid-album palette cleanse rather than a closer and placed next to Listening Wind (a strong track - love the guitar here! - but not the most energetic.) Standouts: Born Under Punches, Crosseyed and Painless, Once In A Lifetime, Listening Wind 4.25

This band has always been baffling to me. Many of their songs seem like unfinished ideas. When does experimentation cross over into masturbation? This band seems like less than the sum of its parts. And yet I often find myself bopping along.

Once in a Lifetime always thrills me; the rest fusses past. The torrent of words and instruments, full of excitement, do not excite me much of the time. Three TH albums in, I respect them and am usually left tepid. This got a little stickier on the second and third plays, reminding me of the Fall, who have a similar effect on me: impressed by the density of ideas, unconvinced by the structure beneath them.

Great start, but got a little muddled towards the end. So much talent. A little too much at the end.

Once in a lifetime is by far the best song. The rest of the album is a bit weird but fine to listen to I guess

It had some pretty good songs. But there were more songs I wasn’t really a fan of.

Didn't know most of these songs apart from "Once in a lifetime". That track is still the stand out. The rest of the songs didn't really grab me on a first listen. might need to come back for another listen.

I recognize that this album is unique and experimental and has some bangers however it's not really my thing, wouldn't catch me listening to the whole album again

I am bored listening to this album; most songs aren't doing anything particularly interesting, and strike me as repetitive. It's fine background music but not a keeper for me.

Is every TH album a must listen? Sonically, this is an interesting album, but nothing to write home about. Once in a Lifetime does the heavy lifting here.

Not as good I had hoped

liked 3 or 4 songs, super experimental

I honestly couldn't tell you why but Once in a Lifetime is bit of a banger. Other than that it's okay - Not sure I'd buy the album just for the one track

Pretty underwhelming just kinda forget I’m even listening to music typa album... not bad just ehh whatever sure ig.... it’s got some good tunes okay lol

Decent album that, 40 years later, lost its groundbreaking appeal for me

Did not like this album. The sound was very robotic and very noisy. It felt like I was hearing loud noises instead of music.

Idk why but I found myself physically incapable of finishing this album, nothing bad though

Overall if this album is Talking Heads' "magnum opus" then I'm not really impressed. I suppose at the time of release this style of music was more modern, edgy and experimental but listening to it in 2023 I don't find anything in particular that grabs me. It's all just sort of a jumble of sound with some haphazard lyrics thrown in and not mixed well, maybe that's the point, I don't know.

Déjà vu review One song’s a stained glass window in a church where all the other windows are clear or have been blown out. Once in a lifetime is vivid colour and the rest aren’t worth a mention in the visitors book.

Another fucking talking heads album? 2/5.

p461, 1980. 2 stars It's not bad, its just not great either. Too many tracks just meander. Brian Eno on form though. Great guitar work on The Great Curve. Other than Once In A Lifetime, nothing left a lasting impression. Not on the replay list.

Kind of boring and not memorable. Jam session really. Good stuff but not worth listening to again

First song is putting me to sleep

one thing i've learned from this list so far, I can always skip New Wave/Post Punk albums

This album is anxiety inducing. I hated everything. I can’t believe this was allowed to be released much less hailed to be an incredible album.

Not the worst Talking Heads I've heard. But by god I just do not like this band. 2 The unfinished outtakes were much better than the actual album 1

did not enjoy

When I listen to albums in their entirety I expect the album to be a complete, thought out, piece of art and I expect that each song is a standalone piece of art as well. "Once in a Lifetime" is the only track that made me perk up during the listen. Maybe its because I've heard it before. Or maybe the rest of the tracks all sound so familiar to one another that "Once in a Lifetime" just stands out. I can see why people like it. It's a departure from music at the time and experimental. It's deep, and layered, different and provocative. Just not my bag.

Talking Heads are so good dawg.

Fun and weird. Every time I listen I love it more

4.5 stars

Highly danceable! This album grooves (with exception of The Overload which just kind of ominously purrs).

Remain In Light is so far ahead of the game that it STILL sounds like the future of music. There is not a single bad song on here. This album is inspired by the (poly)rhythmic music of Fela Kuti and other African musicians. The only song that feels out of place is The Overload, which ends the album with gloom.

This went from a 3 to a 4 to a pretty easy 5 by my third listen once I really sunk my ears in. They have such a cool sound, and I love David Byrne’s vocals and vibe. The best way I can describe this album is that it feels very fluid. It’s not spacey, but it’s never really on solid ground either. It ebbs and flows and drips and ripples and splashes. Which is funny since Once In a Lifetime is water themed. So super good!

Great change from the main stream.

I was ready to write very little about this album, give it a "Led Zepplin IV" review, classic, 5-stars, weird, funky, perfect. Then, I started thinking about how critical I was about Bonnie Raitt's lyrics. I don't think I was wrong to be critical. But I think it's important to establish something- I think style is much more important than substance. Ideally, style and substance should be equally important, and they should both be merging and reaching for greatness hand in hand; lyrics revealing universal truth or soul-baring emotion without sacrificing brevity while the music breaks new ground with such skill and deft that it re-defines the genre. But lacking that, if the music is there, the lyrics get a pass for me. "Nick of Time"'s style was definitely NOT there, so the substance had to do the heavy lifting. It was not up for the task, at least not completely. When it comes to "Remain in Light", I've never really bothered to think critically about the substance. With other Talking Heads albums, you can hear most of the lyrics, and the songs for the most part have traditional structures. This album, not so much. There are choruses, sort of, but the words don't necessarily repeat. Or there are layers of vocals over vocals singing different words. So does Remain in Light get a pass substance-wise because the style is so mind-blowing? The production and the instrumentation on this record really is pretty groundbreaking. Talking Heads were progressing album after album, getting a little more complex, getting a little more funky and a little more strange with each record, and this is sort of the zenith of their experimentation. They layered on more synths, more guitars, more vocals, some horns, and DRUMS. Fela Kuti and afrobeat was obviously a huge influence on this record. There are also tape loops in the mix, as David Byrne and Brian Eno were working on (or already finished, I'm too lazy to Google this right now) "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" an album comprised of lots of samples. And then there's Adrian Belew's guitar. It's kind of hard to describe. If there's a strange but wonderful sound that pops up that sort of sounds like it came from space, it's probably him. So the style is there, what about the substance? What are these songs about? I'm going to do my best to ignore other people's theories about what David Byrne is trying to say with these lyrics. Well, I might tell what other people have said and give you my two cents on that also. 1. Born Under Punches Someone, a government man, is trying to squeeze in, find some space, breathe. The heat goes on, and on, and on. He's a tumbler. Look at his hands. That's basically it. This is about Watergate they say? Before my time. 2. Crosseyed and Painless Struggling to define the squishy parts of one's identity, getting confused, trying to find solace in the rigidity of facts, but facts don't work either. The facts make it worse? 3. The Great Curve "Sometimes the world has a load of questions Seems like the world knows nothing at all The world is near, but it's out of reach Some people touch it, but they can't hold on" True, so true. What do you think? "The world moves on a woman's hips The world moves, and it swivels and bops The world moves on a woman's hips The world moves, and it bounces and hops" This song has LOTS more lyrics than this. Lyrics on top of lyrics. The goddess of light is going to open our eyes up to the definition of the divine. (So let's all Remain in Light?) 4. Once in a Lifetime Oh, middle class life, so fascinating! Those precious common folks! Water=time 5. Houses in Motion Walking a line, digging my own grave forever, divide/disolve, making enough to be living. Some say this is about Capitalism. I guess I could see it. I just now heard Eno's vocal on this song. 6. Seen and Not Seen These are classic Byrne lyrics. Focusing on an ideal face in his mind, and wondering if doing so would change his facial features. 7. Listening Wind Wind and Dust and my heart and head...wait, this song is about a terrorist? Damn. Yeah, it took someone else pointing this out. 8. The Overload The lyrics and the music don't sound a thing like Taking Heads. Why? They decided to make a song that sounded like Joy Division without ever hearing Joy Division, just reading about Joy Division. They kind of nailed it. So yeah, these lyrics are kind of stream-of-consciousness, derived from some book you've never read, some weird paranoid delusion, or abstract thought dreams. But they fit so well in this sonic landscape that it's perfect. These songs are chaotic and complex and simple concepts would just be weird here. This is not to say that I'm totally following what the fuck Byrne is getting at, but any lack of substance totally gets a pass because of this style. No one was making music like this in 1980. "Once in a Lifetime" was not a hit when it came out. This album was ahead of it's time. So yeah, as I was saying, 5 stars. Weird, funky, perfect.

Talking Heads' magnum opus. No one does weird pop like David Byrne.

I don't even know if I think this is a 5 star album because I simply cannot evaluate it objectively, but I am very comfortable re-listening to this anytime and it carried me through Fall 2019 so I feel like it must be. David Byrne I will always love you <3

WOOHOO

Great to listen to when I'm at work. The Overload is great!

If you have seen my reviews, you know that I love Talking Heads, and that I’m very biased towards them. This album is no exception. This is probably my favorite or second favorite album by them. There’s a lot of variety as always. And the only skip on the whole album is the very last song that’s mostly just ambient anyways. Seriously if you haven’t heard of Talking Heads, this is a great entry point.

Fantastic album. Once in a lifetime obviously the standout. But a bunch of other great songs on here. Love the afrobeat inflected sounds.

I’ve always enjoyed Talking Heads. They experiment with different sounds and this album is no exception. The stand out Once in a Lifetime sounds just as good now as at release. I’ve seen David Byrne live and it was an amazing experience, he’s always experimenting with new ideas. Great album

Perfect!!!

i’ll work on this one later

Just a classic.

Awesome wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a tortilla.

Psycho killer.

Listened to it a couple times to fully appreciate it. Felt like I found new things to love each time. Absolutely wonderful album. Fun and interesting all the way through

Listened in October 2023. Just a fantastic, loose, groovy vibe. I will always prefer the more raw energy of the live recordings, but these songs are an amazing mix of new wave pop melodies and world music. Not my favourite Talking Heads album, but clearly essential.

Probably the best of an insane run of albums. First side is mad, the opening track one of their very best. It's actually the second side that has grown on me a bit though - Houses in Motion, Seen and Not Seen, Listening Wind all brilliant.