Talking Heads - Fear of Music

Something from nothing at all

A brief survey of the musical landscape from about 1963 until the present yields the following results:

1. There are a lot of people who write and perform songs that are about nothing;
2. There are some people who write and perform songs that are about something;
3. There are precious few people who can write songs that are essentially about nothing and in constructing and performing them, turn them into songs that are about something.

David Byrne's unique genius, as far as I can tell, is his ability to slot himself (with band in tow) into the third category. Now perhaps this isn't quite a fair, accurate assessment of his body of work, because in a sense the songs he wrote during this period are indeed about something, in fact they are about a lot of things. But the jumble of ideas is essentially nonlinear, and the stories these songs tell are more in the performance and arrangement of ideas than via a standard narrative. This was something almost unprecedented for the "pop" music world, and I think this album was where it reached its apex for Byrne and co.

On songs like "Air," "Animals," and "Drugs," for example, it's hard to determine what the message is. But the way these songs are performed is gripping and provides them a weight you'd never suspect from a cursory read through the lyrics. Take for example the absurdist lyrics to "Air":

Air...Air
Hit me in the face
I run faster
Faster into the air
(I say to myself)
What is happening to my skin?
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
Air can hurt you too
Some people say not to worry about the air
Some people never had experience with...

Air...Air
It can break your heart
So remember when the weather gets rough
(You'll say to yourself)
What is happening to my skin?
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
Air can hurt you too
Some people say not to worry about the air
Some people don't know s*** about the...
Air...

Ok what the - ? But give this a listen, Byrne's lyrics channeled through his one-of-a-kind high-pitched vocal performance and set against a tight, edgy guitar-driven white-boy funk workout. The paranoia and claustrophobia are virtually palpable. It's as if the air is pursuing, attacking the narrator. Or perhaps the narrator is only perceiving this to be the case? Is the danger all in the paranoid's head? Or is it real? The song offers no resolution.

This album is varied as well, some lyrics almost telling something of a semi-linear story ("Life During Wartime") or making a point about everyday existence ("Heaven"). The common theme is the examination of small things, details in our lives that we might miss if we weren't careful to pay attention to them. "I got some groceries, some peanut butter, to last a couple of days," intones Byrne about halfway into "Life During Wartime," and it's easy to believe that this mundanity would be of significant concern to a man hiding out in a building during a war. On "Animals," Byrne scolds non-human creatures for "living on nuts and berries," setting a "bad example" for the rest of us. I like to think of this as a statement of supreme irony (after all, the animals are surviving quite well but look at humanity!), however the lyric leaves a lot to the listener's imagination. It takes a mind like Byrne's to think of concepts like that, and enjoy it or not it does provoke a reaction from most people. That's art. The very definition.

The album is also a relentlessly edgy, herky-jerky tight funk workout which remains one-of-a-kind no matter how many other bands try to emulate it. If it weren't so overtly weird, it might even play well as a party record. I was born two years after its release so I have no idea how it was received by the public at the time. Honestly, compared to a lot of new wave stuff from that era, it's really not that extreme in some ways. A matter of context I suppose.

In sum, this is a brilliant work and holds up just as well now as it ever did. I love all of the music that this band created, through their final few (poppier) albums, but this one remains the most striking to me. A rare moment in history where depth of performance and attention to compositional detail transformed abstraction into something concrete and tanglible. June 13, 2008

Very good

This album will never replace Remain in Light for me as the ultimate Talking Heads experience. But then, nothing will. Nonetheless Fear of Music is very audiophile, not unlike Remain in Light. There is a lot going on through each track, and much of it goes undetectable without the use of high frequency headphones. "Memories Can't Wait" is no doubt a great example of this. But unfortunately, despite all the cool arrangements, sounds, samples, and grooves on Fear of Music, there just isn't enough in the songwriting department. I feel like this album is very well produced, and I think the musicianship is prevalent. At times, Byrne is very witty. But there is no "Once in a Lifetime" on this album, even if "Air" comes fairly close. "What is happening to my skin?....Some people say not to worry about the air....but Air can hurt you too!" lol. It got a laugh out of me anyway.

This is a very worthwhile album. It really is worth listening to, just for all the ear candy injected into the stomach of this album. Especially on the stronger tracks, you can tell in the direction (Remain in Light) they are headed. Lyrically, we see Talking Heads near their best on "Air," and "Heaven." When listening to "Drugs," for the first minute and a half I have to remind myself that this is not a Brian Eno record. Because until David Byrne starts in, "Drugs" could easily fit in as an instrumental in Before and After Science. Unfortunately, the vocals ruin the ambiance of this track. Good thing Eno did solo work.

Best tracks: Air, Life During Wartime, Memories Can't Wait, Heaven. January 19, 2008

The album that changed what I listened to

Summer of 1979. I just graduated from high school. I was into The Who and Led Zep during those years and then I listened to this album. Fear of Music instantly changed my listening preferences much like in the scene from Taxi when Jim, as a college student, eats a pot brownie and changes immediately into the stoned Reverend Jim. Fear of Music introduced me to Eno, Bowie, early Roxy Music, and alot of the new wave music that was coming out at that time. David Johansen's first album stayed on my turntable for a long while. Today Luna and Wilco take up alot of space on my iPod, and I thank Fear of Music for this. April 21, 2007

Fear Itself

David Byrne always passes off the "Fear" angle/theme here as a joke -- but I don't buy it. These songs are anxious, clautrophobic, and twisted -- and legitimately so to my ears. They're also poppy as a laundry basket full of poppyseed muffins, and this aural culture clash has been known to lead to vertigo -- don't look down.... March 11, 2007

Best Talking Heads album

Buy it, definitely. Every song is great (except Animals - I never could get into that one). It's dark, it's funny, it's artsy (in a good way), it's 100% unique, like the Talking Heads in general. Best cuts: I Zimbra; Cities; Life During Wartime; Air; Heaven (my favorite of the bunch) and Drugs. Buy it, and pick up More Songs About Buildings and Food, Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues while you're at it. November 12, 2006

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