Things I Listened To: Remain In Light

Remain in Light is an album that, according to one astute amateur YouTube critic hasn't 'aged a minute'. I very much agree with that summation and find it interesting because that's very much the point of this feature - finding music I, for some reason, have overlooked.

Talking Heads are a band I've listened to a whole bunch in the past but am ashamed to admit only through select choices. Namely their 'greatest hits' album Best Of (Once in a Lifetime) released in 1992. Remain in Light (1980) is the first time I've sat through a full proper studio album. It's super uplifting and fun, featuring what is probably my absolutely favourite track by them, Once in a Lifetime. There's a great video for that one.

I wish I had more to say but I can't think of much right now. Much like myself, lead Singer David Byrne suffered with a bout of writer's block prior to recording it. He got through it by seeking inspiration from a wealth of sources, including rap and postcolonial African literature. For me it explains why the album has a hazy quality to it. 

It takes further inspiration from polyrhythms, funk and looping grooves, which you can sense from the very first track, Born Under Punches.

Take a look at these hands.

I'm a government man.

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