BY MIKEY MIGO
Song: Once in a Lifetime
Year: 1980
411:If you don't know this song, then you've missed many movie promos, commercials, and other well placed uses of this classic. It starts with a blue wavy screen with David Byrne flipping into the screen from multiple angles. He then dances in front of a white screen where there is clones dancing behind him. There's a lot more randomness that helps paints the story of the song for the viewer. The majority of the verse parts are Byrne spastically singing the song. It feels simple, but there is a lot more to it especially for the period.
Rating: 8.5
Song: Burning Down the House
Year: 1983
411:This is the song that most people know by the Talking Heads. The band performs clad in white and it shifts to be a family. On the house outside is a projection of flames. There's lots of green screen and stop motion type of work here. The layering of people's faces over the band as they sing is really cool. The family in white begins to attack the band and try to take over. It creepily ends with a traveling down a road with Byrne's open mouthed face being projected over it.
Rating:9.0
Song: Stay Up Late
Year: 1985
411:The band is clad in white and is pulled upwards by wires. It's really simple for the most part except for standing and flopping around by a ladder. There's not too much to this video besides the band on wires in front of a grey background. The video does fit the song better than other tracks, but is still really simple. I miss the mid 80's.
Rating:6.5
Song: And She Was
Year: 1985
411:The video is composed of animation of a town block with a lot of randomness and choppy live action mixed in. The video itself is a very awesome piece of art, but it's not as bouncy as the song. If you listen to the song you have a hard time not dancing around in your seat, but the video is more of a subdued abstract art piece. The craftsman ship is great, but compatibility to the song not so much.
Rating: 7.0
Song: This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)
Year: 1985
411: It's a group of friends(the band) sitting around watching an old projection screen of their past experiences. It gets a bit weird, but overall it's a weird and simple concept that makes it seem more like a short than a music video. They stop watching the projection, go to the basement and Byrne and company perform. It's an easy and comfortable video to watch.
Rating: 7.5
Song: The Lady Don't Mind
Year: 1985
411:This is more of the artsy speed that is Talking Heads. It's a black and white video that starts with awesome cinemaphotography. It goes to the band performing live in a room. It cuts from angles of the band performing. Our main character, "the lady" is along in her room and seems to flash the wall. That's really the best way to describe it. The video ends and gives a feeling that the lady jumped out of her window without showing it. So I guess it's left to opinion. Good story telling here.
Rating: 8.0
Song: Road to Nowhere
Year: 1985
411:We go inside of what seems to be a family reunion or choir practice with people of all colors and sizes singing the opening chorus. It then cuts to David Byrne running in place. It shows a quick life of a couple being young together and growing older with children. There is a guy moving around on a chair, a man in a box, two suit clad luchadores in headlocks, and a lot of other randomness. The entire time Byrne runs in a box. A box with no walls rotates around Byrnes head. The stop motion at the end with Byrne sitting in a chair is some of best stop motion I've seen even to this day. It ends with a desolate desert road going nowhere until it comes up to the singers at the beginning. It's a lot to take in, but anyone who grew up in the 80's will remember it somewhat vividly as they watch.
Rating: 9.0
Song: (Nothing But) Flowers
Year: 1985
411:This is another semi-famous Talking Heads song. It scrolls different faces and tells the words to the song in print. It's not just a closed caption, but used sorta like an old school Disney sing-a-long. As the song goes on there are depressing facts put on the screen. It sorta tells the story of how things go in reverse. How everything(malls, cars, etc) are now nothing put flowers and nature stuff. Basically gives a story about how everything beautiful is falling apart or turning into something more artificial.
Rating: 8.0
Song: Wild Wild Life
Year: 1986
411: It appears to be a new age club with tv screens behind a dancing band made of women in devo like costumes. It then switched to many different people in random costumes singing the song. It's something done often now, but this was ground breaking for people to "borrow from". We get an appearance from a young John Goodman and other obscure celebrities (and impersonations of the likes of Billy Idol and Prince) in the midst of all of this. The band members step in and take the mic here and there as well. It's a simple video by Talking Head's standards, but is not any less enjoyable.
Rating: 7.5
Song: Love For Sale
Year: 1986
411:The video cuts into a commercial, then the commercial cuts back in. It fights back and forth until the commercial turns into the video. They play in front of a yellow screen and really utilize shadows, shape, and color. I don't think any band could get away with showing all of the commercials and brands in their video today. This is product placement that sorta slaps the products in the face. It's a good tongue-in-cheek satire of the commercialism of the country. It's funny how the views and points that they were vocal about are now as relevant as ever, if not more.
Rating: 8.25
Song: Blind
Year: 1988
411:We are given the definition of "wrench" as we are shown what appears to be a voting poll/political celebration/republican convention. So the politician of the video is an actual talking wrench. Yep, like the one you'd find a tool box. The celebration turns into aggression and a girl with too much make up crying. It's just a video where you gotta sit there and think "what the hell is going on?"…but you enjoy it. It's just weird and visually stunning, that always the makings of a good music video.
Rating: 8.5
Song: Sax & Violins
Year: 1991
411: This is the Talking Head's very last song from the "Until the End of the World" soundtrack. The video starts off with Byrne standing close up in the shadows with a cool visual effect behind him. The song is a slower one so the video matches up well with it. He is front of four squares of his fact behind him. As he sings, more artsy stuff behind him flashes or blends in with his bust. It's weird to describe this one. It has a more modern look, but still has the traditional "Talking Heads" thumb print all over it. Sadly, if there is never another new Talking Heads video this is a good way to go out. Despite it not really featuring any other members besides David, it's still a good definitive "slow walk into the sunset" so to speak.
Rating: 8.5
FINAL RATING: 8.5
411: Obviously this isn't all of the Talking Heads music videos, but it's a good collection to know what they were all about when it came to artsy music and even more artsy videos. They were FAR ahead of their time and still people don't "get it". They revolutionized music with class and substance in the days of horrible 80s pop. I am huge fan of Andy Warhol's artwork and I see a lot his pop art style in these videos. Not to make it a total love-fest, there are videos that seem to be "just there" without the same passion and ideology as the others. It's just another underrated icon who should still be making music today. If the stars would only align just right, a Talking Heads reunion album, tour, whatever would do today's stale music state a huge favor. Sometimes I think only one band can save us. The name of the band is the Talking Heads.
|
