Baker’s Dozen 003 — Talking Heads

David Byrne recently turned 70 and that seems like it is as good an excuse as any to dive into the discography of Talking Heads

This is the first Baker’s Dozen I’ve done for a band that was “before my time,” largely meaning that I wasn’t born yet — or in this instance, was a small child during the span of their career. I was aware of a handful of Talking Heads songs as a kid, but they were later songs and I certainly didn’t have a grasp of the significance of their place in rock and roll history at such a young age.

My first in depth exposure came in the form of Phish covering Remain in Light in its entirety on Halloween night 1996 in Atlanta as one of their famous “musical costume” sets where they play a classic album as the middle set of a three set concert. It blew my mind and I instantly became a fan snapping up most of their discography shortly thereafter.

More than most other bands, I’m tempted to suggest picking up Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues and letting those two albums work their magic for your ears, but that’s not how the Baker’s Dozen series works, so I dove into the difficult task of limiting their consistently high quality discography to a mere 13 tracks. Without further adieu, let’s dive in. Feel free to listen along to the playlist I made.

1. “The Great Curve” from 1980’s Remain in Light. Holy cow the groove in this song. The poly-rhythms. The layered vocals. It absolutely overwhelms the senses (especially on headphones *hint hint*) in the best way possible. And that guitar solo? Mah-gawd. Legendary squawking. Just torturing his instrument for the good of all mankind.
2. “Burning Down the House” from 1982’s Speaking in Tongues. This is the band’s highest charting single (#9) and it’s not hard to see why. Super memorable chorus, pretty straightforward beat (compared to Remain in Light stuff), and even kinda dance-y in that super awkward 80s kind of way. I remember being aware of this song as a little kid and hearing it on the radio even though I had no idea who they were.
3. “No Compassion” from 1977’s Talking Heads: 77. Probably an oddball inclusion to most folks considering I left “Psycho Killer” and “New Feeling” from this album off of the playlist, but I feel like this tune captures Byrne’s eccentricity in ways a lot of other songs don’t. Its jangly, high tension, anxiety vibe is oddly awesome.
4. “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” from Remain in Light. I’m not kidding when I say I could’ve put all eight tracks from this record on this list. This is the album opener and the first deep cut of theirs I experienced as an adult via the aforementioned Phish concert. Just kind of a trance inducing mid-tempo groove.
5. “Cities” from 1979’s Fear of Music. Another song I first heard via Phish covering it (though on tapes…I didn’t hear it in person for many more years.) My love of oddball lyrics finds, “Did I forget to mention, forget to mention Memphis? Home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks” as pretty much the pinnacle of quirky lyric writing.
6. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” from 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food. I always include the studio versions on these playlists, but the live version of this from Stop Making Sense is the definitive version IMO. The galloping drum beat will work its way into your psyche and never let go.
7. “Crosseyed and Painless” from Remain in Light. Phish has made this song such a regular part of their concert repertoire that it’s impossible for me to divorce this song from them at this point. It’s what fans frequently refer to as “a great jam vehicle” in that it’s a song whose structure is ripe for improvising on and getting really far out to. There are some monster versions out there. That said, Talking Heads’ relatively concise five minute version hits really hard too.
8. “Making Flippy Floppy” from Speaking in Tongues. This tune strikes the delicate balance between their love of complex rhythms and laying down a funky groove with some new wave cheesy synth sprinkled in. So so so very 1980s in the best way possible.
9. “Once in a Lifetime” from Remain in Light. Probably their most famous and/or acclaimed song. It’s not hard to see why this was the lead single off the record. By no means pedestrian, it’s easily digestible in comparison to the other, denser tracks on the album. Watch the music video if you’ve never seen it. Iconic stuff from the early days of MTV.
10. “Wild Wild Life” from 1986’s True Stories. Another song I remember from childhood radio and MTV. Still didn’t really have any concept of who it was, but I did very much like it and when I pieced it together as an adult it was kind of cool knowing that kid me had impeccable tastes as well lol.
11. “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” from Speaking in Tongues. While the song didn’t crack the Top 50 US singles chart, it’s still remembered fondly by people and is probably their simplest, most straightforward song. Not that they were seeking a hit, they were likely stretching themselves with simplicity. Pretty quaint sounding by their standards, that “naive melody” will get stuck in your head for days.
12. “Memories Can’t Wait” from Fear of Music. I first heard this song covered by Living Colour on their late 80s album, Vivid. The two versions are pretty different to me, but similar in spirit. One of the heavier/darker sounding Talking Heads tunes, this one has always had a special place in my heart.
13. “The Overload” from Remain in Light. The closing track of the album, it moves along at a glacial pace and is just what the title suggests: an overload. Sometimes slower is heavier and that’s definitely the case here. The version Phish closed their Halloween set with was absolutely bonkers: there were drills, table saws, belt sanders, a jackhammer, etc. Just a complete breakdown of traditional music into a cacophony of industrial tools/instruments. I feel like this album is baked into my DNA at this point.

In addition to their stellar studio output, they have two really great live albums as well: Stop Making Sense and The Name of This Band is Talking Heads. I also highly recommend seeking out the film version of Stop Making Sense if you’ve never seen it. It’s as much visual art as it is a concert.

Let’s hear what you would’ve chosen that I didn’t include and what you would’ve left off that I did include if you were forced to only choose 13 songs.