I have been listening to the talking heads a lot lately and i just have to talk about them with someone.
they are pretty, awesome right?
I only have the 77 album, and I generally just listen to the first song and turn it off. For some reason I always think of Gang of Four when I hear Talking Heads.
psycho killer is the best and most popular song on that album. you should find it and give it a shot 
After another listen I do enjoy the music, I just have to be in the right mood. Some aspects of it remind me of Devo (I think it’s the vocals on some of the songs).
i think thats an abt comparison
both are sort of founders of the post punk/new wave movement of the early 80’s as i understand it
but i typically prefer david byrne’s vocal stylings over devos.
side rant on devo: did you know that johnny rotten tried to join up with devo after he left the sex pistols? and that neil young’s “rust never sleeps” album (which relaunched his career) was inspired in part by devo? its surprising how influential they were in the late '70s and early 80s but now the only song they’re known for is “whip it”.
Devo is one of my all time favorite bands (at least their 1st three albums, the rest is crap). That whole “new wave” era is probably one of my favorite eras/ scenes in rock musci (Television, Joy Division,Blondie etc). While I like the Talking Heads a lot, for some random reasons by accident I never listened to them as much as I should have.
If interested, get the album Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo. The semi famous song “Gut Feeling” is a million times better than “Whip it”. And off their second album “Duty Now For the Future” the song “The Day My Baby Gave Me A Suprise” sounds like a song that should have been a big commercial hit.
And yes, Psycho Killer is the Bees Knees.
EDIT: For the record I like David Byrns vocals much better than Devo’s. I like Devo’s music better though.
yah, i’ve been warming up to new wave a lot over the past 4-5 years. i just started listening to joy division recently, another kick ass band that was surprisingly influential but not very well known (at least in the states).
what turned you onto new wave william?
i grew up on a steady diet of country and classic rock with violent fits toward grunge in the 90s. i didn’t start listening to new wave/post punk until college when the killers hit the charts in like 2004? they’re pretty open about their new wave influences (they took their name from a new order video).
I think I started with grunge, 60’s music, and a sprinkle of classic rock (all of which I still like), and I think I always liked the “weirder” albums/songs/bands and when I discovered the Velvet Underground in my senior year of high school it lead me more down the New Wave path.
I just started to seriously like country about 3 years ago. The patrons at my bar are obsessed with David Allen Coe and Waylon Jennings, and I can’t blame them.
Trivia: New Order is the same band as Joy Division after Ian Curtis killed himself. If your just getting into Joy Division check out the song “Transmission”, one of my favs.
wow. just listened to transmission. that is one crazy good song man.
If you like Joy Division check out The Chameleons, another 80’s UK post punk band. Early Death In June, Killing Joke, Gang of Four, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, etc. SIouxsie & The Banshees and Bauhaus for more 80’s goth/post-punk.
When you actually get into Devo it’s some great stuff. I feel they are under rated in some aspects, mainly because the songs that are popularized are not their good songs.
When it comes to Joy Division, listen to their singles and Unknown Pleasures first, and then finally with the Closer album. I didn’t fully understand the lyrics til I watched the movie called Closer that’s about Joy Division, and the personal problems Ian Curtis had, and then you understand how dark and depressing the music really is.
Bert,
Lot of good suggestions there I will have to check out.
i’ve actually just been listening to unknown pleasures (or at least what i can find on youtube).
so far i really like the son “she’s lost control” the most off this album.
I was listening to Public Image Ltd today and I was wondering, when you hear their song “poptones” does anyone else hear something akin to Ok Computer era Radiohead?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnBq98uUJE4&feature=feedlik
kinda moody, atmospheric, and a little electronic?
Ha! I’ve been listening to them too much as well. “Love → Building on Fire” and “No Compassion” are my current favorites.
this thread alerted to me joy division and the excellent song “transmission”. and i want to introduce it to this killer playmobil stop motion video to the tune.http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/09/playmobil-stop-motio.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)
Wow that was awesome. Also that PIL song was amazing, it has been a good 5 or 6 years since I heard it. What an amazing song, I had forgotten about it.
I just sent that vid to all my band mates (who are all huge joy division fans)
Love this band-- especially Remain in Light, which gets a little slow in the end, but the first four songs are some of the best in the genre. Post-Punk in general is a fairly rich genre-- The Fall, The Birthday Party, Spacemen 3, Bauhaus, The Church, – as well as lot of great offshoots like dream pop/shoegazing (Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine) and one of my favorite genres (and one that barely went anywhere), no wave, like Glenn Branca, James Chance and the Contortions, early Swans, early Sonic Youth, etc.