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Thursday, January 23, 2014

TTT - "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)" by Talking Heads




Right when the bassline comes in on this gem of a song, you know you are about go on a ride only David Byrne can take you on. Then, that swiveling synth part starts, Byrne starts in on that gorgeous vocal melody, and you're off. The song is true melodic perfection and I love the lyrics. One of my favorite lyrical parts of any song is, "I'm just an animal looking for a home/Share the same space for a minute or two/And you love me till my heart stops/Love me till I'm dead." When Byrne sings this climax to the song, it's also my favorite vocal delivery by him - he sings it with such passion that it hits me hard every time I hear it.

- Chris

On an album with mostly uptempo, funky new wave tunes, "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)", the final track on Speaking in Tongues, really sticks out.  David Byrne and the rest of the Heads slow it down for a beautiful album closer.  Vocally, this song contains some of the most, if not the most sublime melodies Byrne has ever composed.  Lyrically, this is a bizarre sort of love song that I always tend to get lost in.  And musically?  Tina Weymouth's hypnotic bassline and Byrne's keyboard parts put me in a mellow trance that I never want to escape.  Though the Talking Heads no longer exist, David Byrne still tours on his own and has attained "can't-miss-live" status.  And he still plays this song live.

- Steven

I am by no means a huge Talking Heads fanatic. However, I can appreciate the absolute brilliance that their catalog brings. The first time I heard "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)" was yesterday. Having only listened to their big radio hits ("Psycho Killer" and "Once in a Lifetime") I was a little surprised by the soothing melody and the overall tone of the music. This song is full of synthesizer melodies, which are played over a repeating keyboard melody. It has turned me onto more Talking Heads songs and hopefully it will do the same to you.

- Josh

3 comments:

  1. Excellent choice, check out this cover by MGMT, at their first ever concert at Wesleyan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEqZL995rBc

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  2. Arcade Fire also does a pretty cool cover.

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