Hmmm… ‘Paper’. What can you say about Talking Heads’ ‘Paper’, the third track of Fear of Music, released in 1979? Well, you could argue that it’s one of the least talked about Talking Heads songs out there. I’ve given my take on a couple songs from that record in the past. I may have even mentioned in one of them that I consider Fear of Music to be my favourite Talking Heads album. Mainly because of the paranoia and David Byrne’s vocals. Now, why ‘Paper’ may be a Talking Heads song that flies under the radar, particularly in the context of Fear of Music, is that it’s somehow played remarkably straight. Sandwiched in between ‘Mind’ and ‘Cities’, ‘Paper’ sounds like a walk in the park. A walk in the park as David Byrne in 1979 probably wouldn’t be the same as the average person’s, though.

After ‘Mind’ establishes the something’s-not-quite-right theme that connects the whole album, with its odd guitar riffs and Byrne’s manic vocal delivery, ‘Paper’ reigns things in a little. The instrumental is more of your typical rock-band performance, though there may be some tape-echo/double-track production effect laid on to the scrambling guitar chords that arrive in the introduction and choruses. I’m not a producer, someone out there correct me if that’s wrong. Although you’re led to assume that the song may be a narrator’s fear/obsession with paper, the ‘paper’ in question is this huge metaphor about love affairs and short term/long term relationships. This is something I never would have even thought about, because I’m usually bumping my head to the busy, propelling performance by the four bandmembers. But yes, when Byrne’s telling us to hold onto the paper, or hold the paper up to the light, he’s really telling a listener to hold onto the relationship they have or take a moment to reflect on said relationship and really examine the truth behind it. Layers, people, layers.

Overall, I think ‘Paper’ is just fine. I can just about recall hearing Fear of Music for the first time back in about 2015 and remember the track jumping out at me straight away with those opening chords. The whole album was an immediate add to my home laptop. The track keeps those opening moments of the record flowing nicely, and is probably the last time on there that David Byrne sounds somewhat normal before becoming more and more unhinged as each track comes along. Should more people talk about it? I mean, it would be nice. But it’s always those ones that people don’t know so much that’ll surprise them.