Fear Of Music

3.5/5

Enjoyed it until the songs at the end. One of them actually terrified my dog!

This album definitely ratchets up some of the unique sounds while staying quite listenable. It was cool to hear deeper cuts like "Mind" and "Paper" alongside the more well known tracks. A good, well rounded album.

Found this a bit disappointing compared to the other Talking Heads albums. It's a bit moody and less varied, and really didn't have a single song that stood out above the others. The cover kind of sums it up. Dark and a bit boring.

It was interesting but that's about it.

Honestly not my favorite talking heads but still very fun

High 3

I think I want to like Talking Heads more than I do, but their music has never really resonated with me. I did add Life During Wartime to my main playlist though.

5,9/10

Not my cup of tea

Irgendwie nicht so meins

i heard that this is a new wave album it’s an interesting sound but was kinda boring for me

Always love David Byrne and this is a very good sample of his work with Talking Heads.

Fear of Music is excellent. There isn't a single bad song on the album.

better than the other talking head albums I've listened to much enjoy

Not sure if I've listened to a full Talking Heads album before this, but I've long been a fan of their work. This delivered.

So many albums with nothing interesting in them!

Not my favourite of theirs. I still love the grooves.

My first acquaintance with the Talking Heads (excluding Psycho Killer). I'm really puzzled by this album. It's not rock, this ain't no disco, but it's definitely something beautiful and sometimes a bit hard to get through. But I've been tapping my foot almost from beginning to the end.

Favorite track(s): I Zimbra, Paper, Cities, Life During Wartime, Memories Can't Wait, Heaven, Electric Guitar, Drugs The only thing holding this album back is the fact that this band locked in so insanely hard in the following years that they outdid all of these studio recordings with live performances. Heard before Previous rating: 8/10

A fine transition from where they were to where they were going. 4.5/5.

Includes perhaps their best song, but not their best work.

I wrote about this album when I started the challenge in 2020. It's a slightly garbled review, but I quite like it. I'm back to loving this album again, and today I heard details that I hadn't noted down then: the Revolver-style intro to Paper, the bass synth in Electric Guitar that sounds like a waddling tuba and the alienating, dubby echoes in Drugs. Here's what I wrote during lockdown: "Deep breath, stay calm, try and hide those sweaty palms." At first, I liked Talking Heads. I got into them at around 18, after reading Rip It Up and Start Again. I bought lots of albums because of Simon Reynolds’ writing about them, and the chapter on Talking Heads and Wire was among my favourites. At that age, I still liked the idea of a band as a self-contained unit of guitars, bass, and drums, ideally with one non-musician. This album was my favourite; it seemed a good balance of that tradition and musical experimentation, before they expanded into a funk orchestra with Remain in Light. I had a rough time over the next couple of years. I’d moved from a quiet, rural place to go to university in London, running away from teenage drama with the vague feeling that everything would be better when I got there, and I was completely out of my depth. I’d always sailed through exams and essays with ease, which made things look alright from the outside and taught me to see what intelligence I had as a kind of protection. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t even read any more. Things I didn’t immediately understand felt like attacks. At some point during all of that, Talking Heads stopped making sense to me. Their music felt purely intellectual in a way that was beyond me. With the exception of I Zimbra, which I always liked, it felt like something that needed to be decoded. I thought of it as emotionless. I didn’t like feeling that I was missing something obvious. A lot has changed since then, thank god. I’ve come to understand social phobia better. I’m less scared of being thick and better at asking questions. Recently, I listened to Speaking in Tongues and quite enjoyed it. Even so, I had some trepidation about going back to this one. It has the reputation as the one that fans like the most, rather than the one we’re supposed to admire. The Revolver to Remain in Light’s Sgt. Pepper, perhaps. Then it hit me: melophobia, the fear of music. Some of the symptoms are common to other forms of anxiety, including elevated heart rate, panic attack, breathlessness, an urge to flee, anger or loss of control, and the inability to speak or think clearly. Maybe that last one is why it took me 15 years to pay attention to the title. It’s not cold and emotionless at all, it’s music of fear. The scene is set with Hugo Ball's sound poetry, a form that erupted during the cataclysm of "world war without end...revolution without beginning." It appears as form without content, but the disrupted content exposes the futility and arbitrariness of form alone. The Dada manifesto, in translation, calls Dada "the word soul," the definitive essence of communication without borders in a time of unstoppable turmoil. It can't give you answers. There is no sense, only sensation. This sets up an album that's not funk as dance music, but as a mind itching for a definite answer where there isn’t one; David Byrne freaking out in a freezing bedsit with the radio on and the news on the tv. The relentless rhythms and warped, psychedelic guitar tones put me in the cortisol-zapped mind of the vocalist as he races through every trigger and hopelessly cycles through every available coping mechanism. At first glance, Electric Guitar seemed like an outlier to me, as it essentially retells the concept of Rush's 2112, in which an authoritarian regime has banned rock. It seems far-fetched from a comfortable western perspective. It might seem more immediate to a paranoid, panic-stricken mind, or indeed to anyone who had to etch pop songs onto old x-rays to share them. To put it in an historical context, the album was composed during the Iranian revolution; the band went into the studio to record it about 2 months after the Ayatollah took control in Tehran. I appreciate Fear of Music a lot more now I'm not too close to take it in. It's a tense record, but that's kind of the point, and I find it less claustrophobic than I used to. I’m really not going to make it through The Young Gods, though, am I? P.S. because I just noticed this and can't resist putting it in: the Dada Manifesto says that "In German it means 'good-bye,' 'Get off my back,' 'Be seeing you sometime.'" I wonder if Patrick McGoohan was a fan.

Meh

Great fun

Fine

It's comfortably somewhere in my top 10 favourite albums

4,5 stars

Great bangers in here.

I love this album. I was holding back the 5. But… no reason. It’s just that familiarity breeds contempt, I suppose. Because this album is awesome. And really the first that “feels” truly like they had come into their own. For me. 5 Boolean: True

One of the more unusual and heavy Talking Head albums I heard, very pleasant listen.

КАЧАЕТ, ОБОЖАЮ ГОВОРЯЩИЕ ГОЛОВЫ!!! СВЯТАЯ ЭНЕРГИЯ!!!!!!

music is love

Can't go wrong with Talking Heads. Although not one of their best albums, it is still a really good album.

I used to think Speaking In Tongues was my favourite, but Fear of Music ain't no disco, party, or fooling around. This is Talking Heads at the height of their powers, in an album that immediately captivates and keeps that momentum going throughout. You've got that signature twitchiness, yet also some psychedelia and infectious grooviness, all culminating to create a truly special hour of music. I'd been waiting for some Talking Heads ever since this challenge began, and I'm glad to finally get some. More please!

7.8/10, ⭐️: N/A

Не мое,но музыка хороша

Cette musique m'ennuie

It was alright. Every time I really started to enjoy it I realized I wasn't really, it was justa part of the album that sounded better than the rest

Much like the other Talking Heads record this was pretty cool. I particularly liked the last track.

I love TH! I might not be the right one to rate this album. I recommend it if you have never listened to this band before.

super! c

Dark and light at the same time, not my fav but lots of great songs.

Ok

Great Vibes, cool songs, not every song on the album is that consistant tbf

i love basically every new wave / adjacent band except talking heads. i've never been able to get into them. i did enjoy this album but it didn't really fill me with a drive to listen to them more. we'll see how i feel after doing the other three albums in here i suppose

Album 353. Fear Of Music (https://open.spotify.com/album/5dVZpNJraoqCo3BssinMoo?si=xec0l36fQO-4ix6_3mAr3Q) — Talking Heads (1979) I love the name "David" and David Byrne is no exception. (I'm sorry for not finishing your book😭) Byrne's music is bizarre and strange af. I mean, all Davids are fucking psychos, or I need a better explanation Talking Heads is an irritating, strange acid trip that mesmerizes me. It's what I need once in a while 4/5 Liked: — Cities — Life During Wartime — Memories Can't Wait — Air — Heaven — Animals — Drugs

So weird but so so cool. You absolutely can tell that Byrne (and I'm sure the rest of the band) heard a bunch of stuff from other genres and was like "we gotta figure out how to incorporate these sounds".

Very strange, interesting, fun, Talking Heads doing what they do best.

Amazing!

While the first six Talking Heads albums are all above average, they are ultimately inconsistent, making the inclusion of four albums in this list a stretch. Fear of Music boasts an excellent A-side but drops off on the B-side. Remain in Light has a weaker B-side as well, but the studio production warrants extra recognition. David Byrne’s subsequent solo discography offers no essential albums, which has likely inflated the praise of the core Talking Heads catalog by comparison.

oooh scary

The guy at the record store probably loves this shit. Boring. Meandering. Lots of phrases forced to fit the “music.” Like they wrote in two different rooms. Clear verse chorus and 4/4 structure and only 44 minutes but just wandering at the same 3 out of 10 effort. Never once does anything feel like a complete idea. Overrated.

Aaaawful

Tina Weymouth bass - I like

irgendwie e band woni jedesmol freud han hends nomel es album uf de liste die sind afoch guet. i zimbra ha i no keis wort verstande aber de groove isch sauguet. mind kenni? lustigi chords und d gitarre isch so speziell gspielt? wechsel uf dur macht so viel. krasse song. paper sehr cooli riffs de text funny? rip up the paper. life during wartime au sooo coool fuuuuck. memories cant wait isch viel rockiger als ichs mir vo ihne gwohnt bin aber sie chönds recht. animals isch fucking cool. sie sind funny. drugs isch mit abstand de dunkelsti track uf dem album und ich find au de schwächst. ich bi so nöch amne füfi emfall.

uhhh ich han ja chli e ambivalenti meinig zude talking heads aber freu mi sehr! es isch bis jz sehr talking heads, für min gschmack nachli wenig dynamik vong tempo her life during wartime hani scho gspeicheret aber s lied hetmer grad nüt gseit? air isch echli spooOoOOoOoOoky gfalltmer aber sehr, het chli öppis ominöses heaven kenni glaub?? zumindest de text chunntmer bekannt vor hahahah electric guitar isch so dumm aber macht easy spass drugs isch iwie au sehr cool?? oke jz geg de schluss sinds nomal chli komischer worde und s hetmer echt na gfalle, uf jede fall sind die einzelne lieder für mich meh ussgstoche als am ahfang trotzdem isch es halt musig, wo mich jz nöd megaaa mitrisst. guete drey

Not My Thing

outside of a select few songs, the talking heads are kind of a one-note tone and aernt really interesting to listen to ramble on for an entire album

Weird? I don’t know what these guys were on when making this album.

I've only got into the Talking Heads within the last few years but this is an album that I enjoy. Insane to think of it as 47 years old as really it has aged so very well. Maybe partially due to the number of modern artists that will point to the Talking Heads as an influence. It's quite a diverse offering that signals a change in direction - the afrobeat sounds of Remain In Light are signposted here, whilst their older sound is still prevalent. Nonetheless, interesting stuff if not their best. 3.5

Cool album

Very Talking Heads Ish. Have some good songs had some songs that seemed very repetitive.

Another slightly underwhelming US rock album. A couple of okay songs but really didn't grab my attention this morning

Great as all Talking Heads, also was surprised that Memories can't wait is on the album as I just knew the Living Color version of it. Not as great as their other albums though...

Some bangers, not my favorite talking heads album but it’s cool

not as good as remain in light or speaking in tongues in my opinion but thats a hard bridge to cross

It’s better than I remember! Can’t stop smiling

almost a masterpiece (foreshadowing)

not Byrne's best, but I also understand why he's doing that play now Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: no 2.4

The tracks are pretty repetitive, but the substance itself is good for the most part so I don't mind too much. David Byrnes lyrics certainly keep me engaged, with his wacky societal descriptions engaging my ears throughout the whole record. His jarring melodies unfortunately aren't my favorite, making the return value very low. While all the instrument's parts are not very interesting, the bass playing is great. The second half of this album isn't the best, and I was very bored and confused by the end. I just don't really have any strong attraction to try to understand the Talking Heads; they might just not be for me.

Heard before; 4; Lots of layers and textures. Blend of more traditional songs and songs that jam on one or two chords with a danceable rhythm underneath. But even the more traditional songs are filled with synths and other quirky sounds. Not quite as catchy at first listen as with other Talking Heads albums, but there’s a lot to come back to on subsequent listens. Many of the tracks also have an uneasy/nervous feeling, especially because of the airy effects. Favorite Track: Life During Wartime

--re-listen-- original score: 4 new score: 3.5 i feel like i might not have been in the mood for this one today and that's why the score dropped a bit. i might re-listen to this again later and i'll probably put it back up at a 4 hopefully we'll see. a very manic funky album from the Talking Heads, with production from Brian Eno. my favorite song is the Cities one. "find a city!!! find myself a city to live in!!!"

Okay

Solid Talking Heads album, maybe not at their absolute peak but still dropping some of their most iconic tracks. Was nice revisiting this one!

annoying

10/10…. Such a cool album start to finish… Cities

Svårt att bestämma mig för vad jag tycker om denna. Musiken är rätt skön, men sångprestationen har mer att önska. Ok helt enkelt, men inte mer.

Talking Heads are really the masters of fusing quirkiness and anxiety with dance-y music and a shockingly punk-like attitude! David Byrne really went all-out on this album, and it's definitely my favourite of their albums so far. From track 1-9 it was completely flawless, with heights like 'Cities' and 'Heaven', but even the 2-3 final tracks were great, they weren't even comparable to the - near-perfect - rest of the album, but 'Animals' in particular was great. New Wave is very hit-and-miss, but Talking Heads make it so unique and sarcastic that it feels like they have their own style that no one else can even touch!

Friday, 9 October, 2026 Great album. It might move up to an all time album after a few more listens. I had of course heard the hits from this record for years, and they are great, but it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Remain in Light, which is an all time record.

Talking Heads are great. This is a very strong album. Other Talking Heads albums are even better, hence score of 4.

The name of this band is Talking Heads. The name of this album is Fear Of Music.

It's hard to describe and it's not the best Talking Heads album (since that would have to be either Remain In Light or Speaking in Tongues), but can I fucking listen to the shit out of this album.

First time through, didn't get my attention while I was working. Second time through, it was a lot more fun and engaging. There's some good weirdness and straight ahead good edgy new wave tunes. Not sure I like it as much as Remain in Light, but this list experiment is making a Talking Heads fan out of me. 4/5

i didnt hate this one but i still struggle to understand whats so special about this band

It might be praised for it's musical style but to me it sounds repetive and boring. That lyrical style is horrendous to my ears. Won't listen again. 2 stars only because I can see there's some musicality here.

התחיל מעניין ואז התעייפתי

It was fine. Nothing much to say other than that.

Marvelous. This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. This ain't no fooling around.

Interesting so far; groovy They kinda sound like The Doors? It’s kinda falling off & overall it’s not good but at the same time I’m kinda digging it

I didn't dislike it at all, just a bit bland

Not bad, but still not my cup of tea overall. I listened to most of it passively, but I don't think I would actively listen.

Has my favorite TH song, Heaven. Also has Byrne singing “peanut butter” on Life During Wartime. A favorite of mine.

Unique, unapologetically silly, background licks steals the show. Favorite track - I Zimbara

Album #216: Talking Heads – Fear of Music ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It’s been some week: three five-star albums and a one-star. All rarities for me! This is an album I used to know quite well but don’t remember being this good. It’s a halfway house between More Songs About Buildings and Food and Remain in Light. This one is a Goldilocks album to me in comparison to those two. This is just right. It’s not as weird as More Songs About Buildings and Food, and it’s not as groovy as Remain in Light, but it’s a mix of the two with a really gritty, harder edge to it. It’s slightly more guitar-focused, and the guitars are quite heavy when they come in, such as the ending of Mind. It’s this edgy mix of Mick Ronson-era Bowie and Berlin-era Bowie guitar, the latter probably helped by the production of Brian Eno. That grittiness is there in David Byrne’s lyrics too. I almost think of this as a concept album because it seems to be about this guy who’s been partying hard, taking lots of drugs, and then dealing with the fallout of it. It’s an album of extreme paranoia. He’s terrified of everything. He’s terrified of his own skin, even the air around him. He can’t write. He can’t think. He doesn’t know where to live. And then it’s broken up in the middle by Heaven, this idyllic place that’s basically just a bar where he’s able to have fun and forget all the world’s troubles, where nothing ever happens. In between all this, you’ve got these really jagged, paranoid tunes that are so danceable. There are a few outliers. Life During Wartime is much more thematic and topical, but lyrically it’s just a fantastic tune. Very dark, totally juxtaposed with this amazing beat that’s so catchy. That song sticks in your head forever. Then there’s I Zimbra at the start, which I actually think is the major outlier of the whole album. Thematically, in my mind, it doesn’t fit, but it’s a fantastic song and feels like a precursor to Remain in Light, with those African-style rhythms. There are some downright creepy moments too, like the chanting at the end of Animals. And speaking of the vocals, David Byrne is the star of the show here, despite the band being excellent as always. He’s really invoking a bit of Captain Beefheart, I think. I know he was a big fan of Beefheart, and he doesn’t have that deep blues drawl, but he’s yelping and screeching on some of these songs. He’s losing it. He’s playing this character of a guy who’s breaking apart at the seams. And it’s just so well done. It’s so convincing. Not a lot of light on this one. I just prefer that with Talking Heads. I prefer this darker side to them. They went on to make happier, more lively music with Speaking in Tongues, and they also went on to make darker music, like the dirges at the end of Remain in Light. I’ll throw my hands up here with a pretty controversial opinion: I’m not actually the biggest fan of Remain in Light for the most part. But this right here is my favourite Talking Heads album. They must have been one of the best bands in the world when they made this.

Listen, you know if you like this band or not. You don't need me to tell you shit.

A bit frantic sounding in the best way. 3.8/5.

They're living off nuts and berries 🗣🗣‼️‼️ Fave track: Life During Wartime

It's another solid Talking Heads experience. Of the 4 albums included so far, it sits at 2 or 3. I don't think we needed 4 Talking Heads albums in the list. 3.5/5

Not as good as I had hoped