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Tom Tom Club

Tom Tom Club

1981

Tom Tom Club

Album Summary

Tom Tom Club is the debut studio album by Tom Tom Club, released in 1981, containing the UK hit singles "Wordy Rappinghood", which reached No. 7 in June 1981 and "Genius of Love", which reached No. 65 in October of the same year. It was re-released in the UK in 1982 to include "Under the Boardwalk", which reached No. 22 in August 1982. When released in the United States, "Genius of Love" peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both "Wordy Rappinghood" and "Genius of Love" topped the US dance chart. The album was re-released on May 19, 2009, as a part of a two-CD deluxe package with the band's second album, Close to the Bone. The album was further reissued on Limited Edition white vinyl by Real Gone Music on March 1, 2019. Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 87 on its Best Albums of the 1980s list.

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Rating

3.02

Votes

14816

Reviews

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Apr 13 2023
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5

"Genius of Love" is bonkers in the best way. The whole album is a wild ride that goes all over the place, but maintains a fun and playful spirit throughout. David Byrne is a fascinating figure, but this really shows you how much Frantz and Weymouth brought to the Talking Heads sound. Absolutely bursting with creative energy but doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the best side projects of all time.

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May 16 2023
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5

One I have on vinyl. A very strong piece of evidence that Weymouth and Frantz were the genius of the Talking Heads, rather than David Byrne (the truth is it's all of them). Just 8 tracks of funk/reggae/hip-hop inflected weirdness. Joy. If you listen to Genius of Love and don't want to bop, you may be medically dead

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Sep 28 2023
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4

is this the kind of album that hipsters listen to when they congregate?

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Aug 09 2023
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2

It's all a bit weird and silly and shit.

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Jul 25 2023
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2

I don't see the appeal of this album. It feels more like a novelty record than actual music at times and many of the songs go on way longer than felt necessary. On the plus side, now I know where the sample in Fantasy came from!

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May 12 2023
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5

With their band on top of their game, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz decided that sitting on their hands while their elastic, observant and forever curious frontman went out and explored new territories wasn't going to work for them and, in the process, set about standing out from the pack in more ways than one. For this debut album from the Tom Tom Club, with its hand-drawn aesthetic and endless nods to emerging hip-hop culture and post-disco reverie, evokes a interminable summer vibe where it is blissful to be young with no worries in the world and little need to be skeptical and suspicious about things. In Tom Tom Club's world, it's just them and scores more would come, on and on... there are more of them, more than anyone would realize.

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May 20 2023
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4

I think "infectious" is the best word to describe this album. Just some great grooves. I've always thought that Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were criminally overlooked and underrated as the key to the Talking Heads' sound. It's like people thought Talking Heads was all David Byrne and the rest were just session musicians. Anyway, this is a great album and showcase for Chris and Tina, with help from Adrian Belew and others. 4 stars.

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Sep 05 2024
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4

Musically talented, but is proof they needed a frontman and vocalist with the zaniness of David Byrne to really pull it all together. Still enjoyable though.

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May 13 2024
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4

Better than at least two of the Talking Heads records on this list.

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Apr 09 2023
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2

After listening i can only get hard while listening to the long version of Genius of Love. 2/5

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Apr 27 2023
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4

I could hear the music that this album went on to influence. In its infancy, hip hop has something to pay homage to here with the style and daring Visio. From Tom Tom Club. Not perfect, but visionary.

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Sep 19 2023
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5

I love literally anything even tangentially related to Talking Heads, so I am all about this shit. Can I join the club???

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Apr 28 2024
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4

Proof that Talking Heads was more than David Byrne. The OTHER members keep pushing limits in what is an instrument to song composition.

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Apr 13 2023
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4

This is wild. First track is like "wtf is going on, it's catchy though... this is like new wave Kraftwerk". Then I saw it was Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth from The Talking Heads and it all made sense. Ohhh shit Genius of Love, I've heard this. The synth and random chirps are so good. This is like a different take on "Once In a Lifetime" by Talking Heads. I will say overall some of the songs overstay their welcome a bit and I wish a few stopped 2 mins earlier, but overall a grand showcase of what others besides David Byrne add to Talking Heads. I'm in heaven With the maven of funk mutationa

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Nov 10 2023
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3

Quirky sound and odd lyrics that result in some strange fun.

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May 04 2023
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4

Þetta er hressileg plata, skemmtilegur early 80s hljóðheimur og ein dansgólfsbomba.

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May 25 2023
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3

Didn't expect to like this as much as I did. The beats are undeniable. This also has some "cool factor", if I put this on with company, i'd seem cool and obscure. All in all, a good time.

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Apr 21 2023
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3

Finally! I've been waiting for this album on the list. I used to think that Genius of Love and Wordy Rappinghood were two of the most ingenious songs of the 80s! Brilliant unique sound and I have wanted to hear the rest of the album. Standouts: Genius of Love, Wordy Rappinghood Others: L'éléphant Rating: 3.5

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Apr 14 2025
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5

This was a lot more fun and creative than expected. Genius of Love is still one of the best songs ever recorded. But the rest is a real trip. Seriously unserious. Sweetly romantic, without ever being schmaltzy.

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Aug 01 2024
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3

The whole album is a wild ride that goes all over the place, but maintains a fun and playful spirit throughout. David Byrne is a fascinating figure, but this really shows you how much Frantz and Weymouth brought to the Talking Heads sound. Absolutely bursting with creative energy but doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the best side projects of all time.

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Jul 25 2024
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3

Twenty one years ago we went on a road trip through the Deep South. Each of us made a mixtape and the songs I remember most from that trip were “Crime in the City” (Neil Young, Howard’s choice, the song that made me realise I like NY), “The Mercy Seat” (Johnny Cash covering Cave, Simon’s choice), “Love Spreads” (the Stone Roses, my choice as I thought it would be funny to bring a Manc version of Southern Rock), and “Genius of Love” (Dinah’s choice, maybe my favourite). I bought this album when I got back and was disappointed. The first two tracks are great, the rest underwhelmed me. I’m pleased to discover today that the rest is better than I remember: throwaway, but happy. This isn’t a great album, but it’s lovelier than many better ones here.

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Jul 25 2024
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3

I read somewhere that this album and the associated singles sold more copies/made more money than all of the Talking Heads work combined! It's been fun over the years hearing "Genius Of Love" re-worked repeatedly to give some substance to the current chart flavor-of-the-month. There's a 10+ minute dub version out there with ear-splittingly loud bass, a phenomenal soundtrack for a late night drive down a dark desert road.

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May 02 2023
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3

Good performances by the aforementioned great rhythm section of Talking Heads. This album reveals they would have most likely been stuck in their TH77 days if the songwriting had been more democratic. As a frontman and penman for their material, Chris and Tina needed David Byrne to take the next leap. I enjoyed this though.

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Nov 29 2024
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2

The type of music you'd be tortured with at Butlins No thanks 2 ⭐️

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Oct 27 2023
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2

Aside from genius of love this is a pretty weird album that seems like a cross between kids songs and Halloween themed music. It’s unique and experimental but overall it’s a bit weird for me. I can see the talking heads pieces but the main guy is what made them great. This couple helped make them different. 5.2/10

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Apr 17 2025
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1

Unlistenable. Hated every second of it

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Jul 17 2025
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5

The Tom Tom Club was a side project of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, bass player and drummer respectively, of the Talking Heads. When this first came out, most of us doubted this was really them since the music was nothing like the Talking Heads. Rhythm heavy, as one might expect from a bass player and drummer, The Tom Tom Club's music was club music with heavy beats and even (heaven forbid!) rapping. Genius of Love and Wordy Rappinhood quickly became major club and new wave radio hits. It was different, fresh, accessible, and forward looking. The Tom Tom Club has continued to make albums throughout the decades but none achieved the popularity of their epynomous debut.

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Jul 17 2025
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5

I have really enjoyed this album. There's something arresting about it. The songs in the middle aren't singles that I would think to add to a playlist, but are amazing album songs. On, On, On, On was one that really stood out for me.

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Jul 09 2025
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5

I've never sat and listened to this entire album before. I don't love it. But Genius of Love is, of course, genius. So...album? 3 stars. Genius of love? 8 stars so...I guess that averages out to 5 stars. Given how we hear Genius of Love at least once a decade as new artists find it and repurpose it, there's no denying the impact of this album on music over the past 40+ years. If it has a flaw, it's the dated 'early examples of white people trying to rap'. It took white folks at least another decade before they got the hang of it.

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Jul 06 2025
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5

10/10 - this album has always held a dear place in my heart it’s nice having an excuse to listen to it again :)

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Jul 02 2025
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5

this album is so fun, so original, so much more interesting to listen to than so much of the slop on this list. i loved it even more than i thought i would!

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Jun 19 2025
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5

Loved this from the title track. Each track runs so smoothly into the next and I adore well executed novelty music. Went in completely cold and was happy to learn this is a Talking Heads side project. Very glad they got back with Bryne but Tina and Chris still crush it on their own. So much fun and Genius of Love was wild both as a song and for all the places it's been sampled.

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Jun 08 2025
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5

Weird but beautiful album. Everything that is related to Talking Heads is worth listening to. This record is no exception.

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Jun 06 2025
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5

Awesome. Ive had this mix on repeat. Puts me in a great mood.

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Apr 09 2025
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5

I really love all the funk and punk components and influences they incorporate into their projects, both as Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads. I was just always destined to like anything this collection of musicians would put out.

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Mar 25 2025
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5

quite possibly the ultimate early 80s party album from the minds of talking heads. creative and wacky funk rock music. with its lighthearted tone, call-and-response kitschy vocals and some seriously trippy instrumentals, tom tom club stands by themselves in the sea of other rock bands... it’s like the album equivalent of the artsy kid at the party who ends up DJing and somehow everyone loves it.

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Mar 12 2025
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5

Still very catchy and was very ground breaking at the time

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Mar 05 2025
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5

Unfair that Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz could just go out and do this as a side project. Insanely danceable.

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Feb 27 2025
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5

genius of love is the song every artist wish they made

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Feb 05 2025
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5

This album just brings happiness and joy. I'm o-o-o-over it. It's so o-o-o-over me.

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Jan 09 2025
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5

Why is this kind of the coolest thing I’ve ever heard? It’s brimming with earnestness and enthusiasm. It’s delightfully, unapologetically weird. Good stuff.

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Jan 03 2025
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5

Whenever I come across a band I've never heard of from this list, it makes me uneasy. I'm anxious and excited to see what the music has in store for me. I always try to err on the side of being prepared to dislike it. From track 1, this album had my attention. By the end of the first song, I was asking myself who was in this band. Lo and behold, it's a fucking Talking Heads side project. What a delightful little surprise. Absolute banger of an album and 39 minutes is perfect.

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Dec 25 2024
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5

найс, понравилось, прикольное типо-диско. альбом сохранил. очень напомнило LCD Soundsystem. подойдет для вечеринок)

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Dec 25 2024
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5

How had I never listened to this album before now? It's going in my regular rotation immediately.

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Nov 24 2024
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5

Absolutely cracking. Start to finish, it's simple, yet complex. Lovely.

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Oct 29 2024
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5

Whoa never heard this end to end - only a few songs here and there but this one is a gem. Loved every second of it - dance-y, clever, tongue-in-cheek and fun while sounding original. Tops.

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Sep 25 2024
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5

When the bass player and drummer husband-wife duo get to prove their value.

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Sep 16 2024
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5

Cool, most songs could not be played but what I heard was good

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Aug 18 2024
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5

I remember this when it came out and it confused me. Since then I've heard David and Talking and Eno but this was just these two on a sabbatical. Seriously inventive and fun to listen to.

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Aug 12 2024
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5

Plenty of talent to Talking Heads outside of David Byrne.

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Aug 05 2024
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5

Great fun funky sounds. Bit silly but so catchy

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Jul 18 2024
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5

Ooh yeah, I absolutely love Tina Weymouth and this wacky off shoot of the Talking Heads. Genius of Love is one of my fun go-to songs, and you gotta love how zany, funky, and lighthearted this is. I consider this album a treat.

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May 31 2024
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5

This feels like an early 90s version of Superorganism which is right up my alley. Such a delightfully joyful bop along album. Faves? All of them

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May 31 2024
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5

Well damn, this was a surprise! The only Tom Tom Club track I was aware of going in was "Genius of Love", and then it wasn't the whole song - it was the sample from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "It's Nasty" and it's partial use in an episode of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"! 😆 Based on that, I was kinda expecting some throwaway novelty record that would almost instantly become annoying to listen to. This actually slaps, though - like a far less obnoxious Public Image Ltd in places. New wave / post-punk / disco / world music all thrown together, but it sounds like its own thing. "Wordy Rappinghood" on paper should be radioactive cringe but in practice it really works! I guess because they're riffing on early hip-hop rather than trying to actually do hip-hop? Will definitely be checking out their other albums. Fave tracks - "Wordy Rappinghood", "Genius of Love", "As Above, So Below", and probably my absolute fave goes to "On,On,On,On..." - the optimism of that song healed my soul, a little

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May 17 2024
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5

Maybe the easiest 5 I've given. Fun, funky and weird and as good as any Talking Heads album.

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May 06 2024
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5

Great album. I'd heard lots of these songs before but never listened through. It definitely sounds like Talking Heads, but weird in sort of a different way. You can hear more of this upbeat fun kind of style in their next couple albums, so I wonder if that was Chris and Tina getting a bit more creative freedom without Eno around?

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Apr 24 2024
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5

Yeah, this album is still as great as it was in the 80s: two big hit singles and lots of other strong pop songs (such as On on on on, Booming & zooming). Of course, this is no Talking Heads (even though some songs like As Above So Below sound like typical TH songs) but I much prefer it over, say, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.

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Apr 05 2024
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5

Before MTV there was HBO Video Jukebox, and "Genius of Love" with its fun animated video played a lot between movies back then. I only knew the song from that context for a long time. I loved hearing the whole album today! It's fun and cool and I wish I'd listened to it long ago.

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Apr 04 2024
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5

I'd been greatly looking forward to this, as I'm a Talking Heads convert and was aware of this side project from Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. I loved it and will definitely be keeping this on my phone. I liked all of the songs but this album deserves 5 stars for "Wordy Rappinghood" alone.

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Mar 04 2024
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5

Loved this when it came out many years ago…It was fresh and revolutionary then. It remains fresh and revolutionary today.

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Dec 07 2023
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5

I could listen to this on repeat. I was familiar with Genius of Love but none of the other songs.

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Nov 30 2023
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5

Like hip-hop dropped acid! So many original sounds in this album

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Nov 10 2023
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5

Perfect. Listened @ FTD, perfect.

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Oct 29 2023
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5

The excitement I felt when this popped up… Funky, fun, experimental and so influential. I’ll always love anything Chris, Tina, David or Jerry touch, so this is an easy perfect score in my book.

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Jul 31 2023
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5

Caught Tom Tom Club at Glastonbury a few years ago and they were one of the most energetic and enthusiastic bands I saw, despite also being one of the oldest. This album transfers that feeling well; it's like you've been invited into their home and they're all giving you a big hug.

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Jun 12 2023
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5

The opening bars of "Genius of Love" has to be one of the most sampled riffs ever, 20+ times by well-known bands – and the lyrics pay tribute to many of the great funk bands of the prior decades. “WordyRappinghood” is a nice bookend to Blondie’s “Rapture”, which came out a year earlier. Those were the only two songs I could name from this album, which I owned, as did my co-judge. But listening to it 40 years later, I like most of the supporting tracks as well. The production would have been quite fresh in 1981: L Elephant sounds like a Talking Heads rhythm track, especially with the addition of Adrian Belew’s guitar. They mix up the mood nicely, with dark funk like “Booming and Zooming” and Go-Go’s worthy anthems like “On On On”. The lyrics are clever, disguised by the Weymouth sisters' vocals. A catchy, well-rounded album.

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Apr 23 2023
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5

This is so fun! "Wordy Rappinghood" is just a blast. I recognize "Genius of Love" a little bit, but this is just a fun little album! I like how easy it is to, like, jam to it and it is just good vibes. While a lot ended up on my Ridiculous Music playlist, that is as a positive. Sometimes it's fun to get a little funky and silly and this album really embodies that!

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Jul 17 2025
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4

The relentlessness of the rhythm is refreshing. Really liked this. Really consistent drive carries through while the vibe of the singing is both varied and congruent. Just really good fun high 4.

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Jul 17 2025
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4

Crazy good. Genuine find. Experienced as a 4, could become a 5 with time.

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Jul 16 2025
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4

Funky and fun! I was going to give this a 3.8 but upon my second listen rounding it up to 4

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Jul 09 2025
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4

In high school, I got sneered at by a cheerleader for putting on a Tom Tom Club tape at a student council Carnival Ball decorating meeting, and later in life, she became an assistant coroner and was on a short lived reality-cop show about my home town and came off seeming like a horrible person while I am a ray of sunshine, so thanks Tom Tom Club! BIT IT buh bah BIT IT forever!

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Jul 09 2025
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4

Tom Tom Club sounds like the ultimate early 80s Lower East Side art-punk side project, heavily influenced by the nascent hip hop coming out of the Bronx. Which it essentially is. It’s weird, spindly and funky. Some tracks (“Genius of Love” and the dubby “L’Elephant”) sound more finished than others (“Booming and Zooming”). But in the end it’s a fun listen and is aligned with my personal musical interests.

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Jul 07 2025
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4

Despite my affection for Talking Heads, I'd sort of written this Tom Tom Club off as a one hit wonder, which is a shame because I actually like a lot of this a lot. It's much more dance-cenyric and eclectic (even experimental) than Talking Heads, and it's surprising how little connective tissue there is between the bands, sonically. It almost feels more like a precursor to Gorillaz, which isn't 100% surprising, given Tina and Chris's involvement in that bands first album.

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Jul 07 2025
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4

So ahead of it's time (hear shades of Le Tigre & Cibo Matto) while also cutely, quirkly early 80s in ways, too. I know David Byrne thought this was too poppy, but it blows all the Talking Heads albums we've had to date out of the water. Besides Genius of Love (rightfully sampled by everyone under the sun), I added 3 other songs to various playlists. A fun listen you couldn't ignore.

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Jun 29 2025
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4

Super fun and songs I didn’t know I knew. Great 80s electronica

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Jun 29 2025
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4

that one fucking funny ass tune everyone knows

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Jun 27 2025
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4

so fun!!! And I've def heard some of these before.

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Jun 27 2025
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4

I had zero hopes for this based on the album art. Turns out this fucking rocks.

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Jun 26 2025
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4

I love the talking heads so I knew that even half of them would at least be pretty decent. first song is unlistenable but the rest is really pleasant and you can tell it's 50% of the talking heads. rather listen to the full band but it's nice to hear them play around a little and have fun. favorite song: "genius of love" overall: 7/10

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Jun 25 2025
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4

mislio sam da će mi bit puno puno bolje... početak dobar, genius of love odličan, al kasnije slabije. usto i malo krindž? ne znam. al da je loše, nije; vidi se da speaking in tongues duguje ovom albumu štošta!

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Jun 25 2025
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4

Loved this. Great percussion. Quirky, weird, all around a good listen.

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Jun 06 2025
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4

Now I know where the sample is from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tCTm5M3Cp8

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Jun 06 2025
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4

Hey it’s that sample! What this album does well is the very danceable beats and rhythms, without strictly being a dance album (maybe it is, I don’t know). Some of the songs drag on a bit but the kit and instruments are varied and fun. The singers add a nice variety to other kinds of dance music; they’re almost like the B-52’s with the double tracking. This was fun, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did.

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Jun 05 2025
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4

All praise to Tina Weymouth and anything she’s involved in! Essential new wave/punk crossbreeding here. Be still my heart.

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Jun 03 2025
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4

Hm never heard of these guys. HA! This first track is funny. I like the quirkiness! Dude, this next track has some sexy Japanese vocals, and it's funky! I love it.

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