‘The Great Curve’ - Talking Heads, 1980
I always liked ‘Psycho Killer’ and ‘Once In A Lifetime’, probably Talking Head’s signature tunes. Being into Bowie, and especially his “Berlin trilogy”, I was bound to check out Brian Eno. While I can take or leave Eno, his production touches on Talking Heads’ Remain In Light album is something else. I was going to write about the album opener, ‘Born Under Punches’, but my brother recently got me into ‘The Great Curve’, which is even more danceable.
Remain In Light has been called a “white funk” or a “minimalist funk” album, and a lot of it was very out of step with what the new wave and post-punk groups were doing in 1980. Wikipedia refers to “funky African polyrhythms”, which to me is an extremely pretentious way of describing it. Either way, it’s a very dance-friendly album, but in a very arty, self-conscious way.
This affected, ironic knowingness is abetted by David Byrne’s lyrics, which throughout the album conjure up images of distance, ill communication, powerlessness in the face of grand schemes, systems out of sync…in short, a world that isn’t working quite right, with ghosts in the machine.
‘The Great Curve’ is a great example of Byrne’s worldview circa 1980:
“The world is here but it’s out of reach
Some people touch it…but they can’t hold on”
Behind lyrics that describe one woman’s effect on this esoteric world - the gyration of her hips causes it to spin on its orbit - is some of the best late-70s/early-80s music you’ll ever hear. With lots of “mickey guitar” (def: very low-slung, with chords played at the higher end of the register, in a very funky way), a propelling tribal drumbeat, and lots of shouting and harmonising.
Yes, another one of those tracks that are better heard than read about. Here’s the studio verion on YouTube and here’s a blistering live version from 1980, also on YouTube. If you like it, check out the Remain In Light album - a really good listen.
Last 5 posts by Dave
- 'New Generation' - Suede, 1994 - January 6th, 2009
- 'Sunflower' - Paul Weller, 1993 - December 18th, 2008
- 'Brilliant Mistake' - Elvis Costello, 1986 - December 16th, 2008
- 'Icky Thump' - The White Stripes, 2007 - December 11th, 2008
- 'Careering' - Public Image Limited, 1979 - December 10th, 2008
