![]() ![]() I dug the song but I remember a roommate of mine saying, “They had to use a videotape because the Talking Heads can’t draw a crowd.” There’s one in every group of friends… I will say the Talking Heads were made for MTV. ![]() MTV had taken over the world and when Speaking In Tongues came out the Heads were all over it with the video for “Burning Down the House.” In one scene Byrne stands in front of a video tape of a crowd. It wasn’t until college that the Talking Heads pierced my consciousness again. Perhaps that’s why lead singer/guitarist/songwriter David Byrne wrote a song like “Heaven” where he sang, “The band in Heaven, they play my favorite song, they play it once again, they play it all night long.” That sounds an awful lot like the place I grew up. It’s still astounding to me that music as important as the Talking Heads first two albums were all but ignored in my home town. “Take Me To The River” was from their second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, which still sort of surprises me. Their debut, Talking Heads: 77 got no love from Kansas City radio. There was such a lack of Talking Heads on the radio, I was convinced “Take Me To the River” was from their debut album until I was in college. It made me realize that maybe the world was a little bigger than we’d all realized… there was something that cool out there, somewhere. Because of the evocative effect of music on my memory, I can still remember the first time I heard the Heads’ version of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River.” I was sitting on the edge of my bed, pulling my socks on… if I close my eyes I can see the old garish green shag carpeting and striped wall paper (my room was decorated in a manner that makes me suspect my mother was mad at me). Music would be playing in the background while I got dressed and feathered my hair (oh yes, it was glorious). I would leave it on while I drug myself zombie-like out of bed and into the shower. I woke up every morning to my clock radio which was tuned to the local station KY/102. I’m sure the radio moguls in town considered the Talking Heads music to be… well, “subversive.” That said, I’ve often stated that music evokes very powerful memories in me and vice versa. This is the heartland where Foghat, Styx and Journey ruled the day. In junior high when I started listening to rock and roll music, the Talking Heads were not in high rotation. ![]()
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