This is the first Talking Heads song I’ve written about on here. Now, that just seems strange to me. I thought I would have covered at least one. But nope. So here it is. I had my Talking Heads phase in about 2016 or so. By then I’d had Remain in Light and 77 in my library, and I knew songs like ‘Burning Down the House’ and ‘Road to Nowhere’ because of videos and all that. But it was in 2016 that I properly listened to their discography from front to back. It quickly became clear that Fear of Music would probably be my favourite of the band’s. And it is.

To me that album has David Byrne at his most paranoid, neurotic and vocally expressive. It’s a great record. Each track is about a fear of the thing each song is named after; it doesn’t work as well for this. ‘Fear of Memories Can’t Wait’? Nah. But the song is definitely about a fear of something. In fact, it’s one of the most frightening tracks on the album. David Byrne sings/yelps/wails about being unable to leave a party whilst seeing other leave and having their freedom, while also having all of these rushing thoughts bouncing off the walls in his head. It’s a bit of an ‘I have no mouth and I must scream’ sort of situation. But thinking about it, the lyrics kind of sound like the perspective of a person who’s possibly on ecstasy. Just maybe? It’s an idea.

The tracks carried by all these warped atmospheric synthesizers, no doubt brought into place by Brian Eno who was now producing his second album with the band. Tina Weymouth does her thing on the bass, I really like those notes that play after each line in the ‘Party in my mind’ sections. Generally, I just like how the song’s always sort of moving forward, the chord progressions… it just keeps you on the edge of your seat, you know? And the ending, my goodness. With about a minute to go the song suddenly segues into this other movement where by the end of it Byrne and guitarist Jerry Harrison are bellowing the song’s title at the top of their lungs. It’s great, man. Honestly one of my favourite endings to a piece of music. The whole 3 and a half minutes is good though. Very worth your time.