So I just wrote this entire post about the talking heads and then realized I wrote one about a year ago – so now there will be two Jam of The Weeks Devoted to The Talking Heads!
Everyone knows a Talking Heads song whether they know it or not, Psycho Killer or Burning Down The House. When I was younger I remember knowing Take Me to The River only because of the Billy The Big Mouth Bass (the singing fish) we got for Christmas one year, but that was a much more bluesy rendition. Senior year of high school we watched the David Byrne film “True Stories” starring John Goodman and laughed at the tune “Hey Now“.
It wasn’t until college and even more so after college that I learned to really love The Talking Heads. My girlfriends and I loved This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) and loved the Miles Fisher “American Psycho” remake even more. No party was complete without dancing and shouting “Already Will” at the top of our lungs.
Then came Phish and Crosseyed and Painless. My first Phish show at Red Rocks (7/31/2009) featured this groovy number. Every show I hope for a Crosseyed and I have been lucky enough to get 5 including an epic one at the Gorge last summer and a big bus out in Vegas this year. Phish also covers Citiesand its just perfect, especially the lyrics “I’ve got it figured out I’m the one that’s got it figured out, There’s good points, some bad points, It all works out…”. Besides Phish covering The Talking Heads, Widespread Panic brings the heat to Life During Wartime. I have never seen a crowd go more wild for a cover than in the Sunday heat of a Panic Sunday show at Red Rocks.
If you only know a little Talking Heads listen to it all, all of it. And if “This Must Be The Band” ever reunites, go see the greatest Talking Heads band ever.