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Anteater · 01-04-2010, 01:22 PM

Talking Heads – Fear of Music (1979)

"This aint no disco, and all I see is little dots."

1. I Zimbra (3:09)
2. Mind (4:03)
3. Paper (2:39)
4. Cities (4:10)
5. Life During Wartime (3:41)
6. Memories Can't Wait (3:30)
7. Air (3:34)
8. Heaven (4:01)
9. Animals (3:30)
10. Electric Guitar (3:03)
11. Drugs (5:10)

In the wake of punk's sudden takeover bid for musical supremacy in the late 70's and the demise of the disco and prog. demographics, popular music was in need of renovation, along with a fair amount of innovation. The question was, what exactly would this entail? Now that the musical world had gotten a nice shot of adrenaline, how could this energy be focused into something meaningful and interesting to people who actually gave a shit about listening to music that could stimulate both the body and the mind?

Different groups came up with different answers, and by the dawn of the 80's a number of "art-punk" bands had emerged from the underground in order to stake a claim at the shoreline of these changing sonic tides; Television turned riffing into a friggin' industry of its own while the Ramones integrated the charisma of good ol' fashioned rock with some punk sensibility to fun effect. However, as bands began to arise from their primordial boarding schools and whatnot in order to tame the Punk Beast into something less mindless, there was this snotty bunch of white kids from New York who stood out beyond the others in their lyrical sensibilities, experimentation and oddly contagious grasp on rhythm. In the course of three albums, they laid the foundations for what musical canon would later call New Wave and for a short while were one of the most popular groups on the planet despite their anti-commercial stance and often paranoid subject matter: ladies and gents, say hello to the Talking Heads.

Anyway, the review: Fear of Music is the Talking Heads third major studio album, released in 1979, and although it was critically successful and lauded its never been as popular as Remain In Light or the majority of their 80's output. This is probably because despite their radio-friendly lengths, most of the tracks here are weird or lyrically dark even at their most danceable. Take opening track 'I Zimbra' for instance; you have King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp whipping out angular licks over conga polyrythms as frontman David Byrne spouts incomprehensible gibberish for three minutes. Catchy? Yes. Awesome? Yes. Going to chart high on the Top 40? Not a chance, though American DJs briefly picked it up as a club groove for a week or two. The following track 'Mind' seems almost mundane in comparison, but its lamenting tone and low-key beat proves to be compelling in its own right also.

Still, even beyond these first two numbers, we're dealing with a classic work of sorts, so therefore highlights are numerous. Plus, regardless of whether your in the Love or Hate camp, its certainly no argument that the Talking Heads have quite the distinctive sound: Byrne's odd inflections, tribal thumping drums, congas and bass, and ever evasive, slinky guitar work make for an intriguing set up even when the songs don't always work (though that's not the case here; Fear of Music flows like a charm). Also, the Heads have a knack for balancing between straightforwardness and the purposely quirky; tracks such as 'Life During Wartime' and 'Heaven' are both engaging and deceptively stripped down, while my favorite track 'Animals' places some interesting lyrics, drunken atonal delivery and upbeat instrumentals in a sort of tandem, each contrasting the other and resulting in something simultaneously cool and memorable. And when all is said and done, its tracks like this that make an album for me.

Ultimately, what can I say already that hasn't been said about this album by snooty music critics in the last three decades? It's fantastic stuff that came right as the 70's birthday candle was going to be blown out, and like all good records can engage a listener just as easily now as it could 30 years ago. And for anyone wanting to get into the more creative side of punk, you could do a lot worse than with Fear of Music. It certainly did me good back in high school, I'll say that much.