Same as it ever was? Not even close. On Remain in Light, Talking Heads threw out the usual way of writing songs, built tracks from layered grooves, and made one of the most adventurous albums ever to come out of new wave.
Grooves first, songs second
For their fourth album, working again with producer Brian Eno, the band recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and in New York. Inspired by Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, they built songs from interlocking rhythm parts and loops, then added David Byrne’s vocals and lyrics over the top. Guitarist Adrian Belew joined the sessions. It was released in October 1980.
The songs that matter
- “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)”: the opener, with grooves stacked on grooves and Adrian Belew’s gloriously strange, glitchy guitar solo.
- “Crosseyed and Painless”: frantic, funky and nearly rapped.
- “Once in a Lifetime”: the hit, the video and the sermon. “Same as it ever was.”
- “The Overload”: a dark, slow closer that sounds like nothing else they made.
Why it still holds up
Forty-plus years on, Remain in Light still sounds modern. It showed new wave could take in rhythms from all over the world, and it influenced everyone from indie rock bands to electronic producers.
Hear it on New Wave Radio
Read the full story on our Talking Heads page, then request “Once in a Lifetime”.
