Album: The Name of This Band is Talking Heads
Year: 1979
. . .
The second side of The Name of This Band is Talking Heads featured five songs from their 1979 tour supporting Fear of Music, all recorded on the same night at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, and is definitive proof of just how great they’d become, even before they added the extra people in 1980.
Like the concert itself, that side opens with “Artists Only,” which was a standout on side two of More Songs About Buildings and Food, but is just so much more powerful live. With Byrne’s “here we go,” Chris Frantz counts off the first of the songs many seemingly disconnected parts, a kick-drum dominated descending chord opening dominated by Jerry Harrison’s twinkling keyboards that eventually resolve into a relatively simple riff, which changes again for Byrne to incant the opening verse.
I’m painting, I’m painting again!
I’m painting, I’m painting again!
I’m cleaning, I’m cleaning again!
I’m cleaning, cleaning my brain!
From the start, Byrne’s vocals are surreal and off kilter, epitomized by the clenched-teeth “I’m cleaning my braaainn”, after which they immediately go into the descending part again, led by Tina Weymouth’s bass, naturally. And here is where he goes off: making the weirdest and best animal noises since early Van Morrison, my favorite being “oyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoy”. This then goes into another instrumental part with Frantz eschewing his snare while still driving everything forward with his kick and hi-hat while Byrne plays what could almost be an conventional guitar solo, but luckily, a Chris Frantz drum roll kicks them into the next verse.
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter!
Pretty soon now, will be a quitter!
Pretty soon now, I will be bitter!
You can’t see it ’til it’s finished
And this time, they’re back into guitar and kick-drum section, and this time Byrne is just scraping his guitar against the mic stand trying to make the ugliest noises possible, but nowhere near as ugly as his vocals on the final verse.
I don’t have to prove that I am creative!
I don’t have to prove that I am creative!
All my pictures are confused!
And now I’m going to take me to you!
Ugliest of all: the second “I don’t have to PROVE that I am creative!” where his voice starts out with a high rasp, ends in a low croon and in between does everything but hit the proper notes. It’s awesome, and you hear the melody in your head anyway.
After that, they finish this utterly bonkers song — no chorus anywhere to be found — with only last descending part and more animal noises. As you do.
“Artists Only (Passaic 11-17-1979)”
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