In discussion with Martyn on “Fear Of Music” by The Talking Heads (1979).
What got you into the Talking Heads? Can you remember the time and circumstances you first became aware of the band?
My father was an avid vinyl collector, he was a football player and played in the UEFA cup tournaments at the end of the 70’s and early 80’s. Wherever he played he managed to find a record store and buy new music. I’m not sure where he picked up “Fear Of Music” but I’m quite sure he bought the record when it was released (in 1979). In 1984, when I was 10 years old, my dad bought “Stop Making Sense” and I remember both that album as well as “Fear Of Music” being played at the house many many times. “Stop Making Sense”, a live album, came with a booklet with pictures from the live show, so I browsed through it whenever the album was played. I loved the “Fear of Music” sleeve as well, as it has an embossed pattern, it was the only record I had seen at that time which had that.
Why did you opt for “Fear Of Music” over other of their albums? What makes it so special for you?
Musically, I remember liking “Stop Making Sense” better at that time, it features a lot of the big Talking Heads tracks like “Psycho Killer”, “Burning Down The House” and “Once In A Lifetime”, and although I knew “Fear of Music” practically by head, I revisited it many years later and came to appreciate it more. My dad didn’t own the other Talking Heads albums, but he did have Tom Tom Club’s first album. I started buying vinyl around 1982, with my first allowance money. It started with pop music obviously, and my own collection started to grow and grow. Later, when I got into late 80’s / early 90’s hip hop, I started digging in my dad’s soul and funk records (as hip hop used many of those to sample from). I left all the new wave and 70s/80s pop for what it was at that time, but about 5 years ago I went back in big time, to Roxy Music, David Bowie, ABC, Human League, Ultravox, and some of the New York bands like Talking Heads. I was moving houses a lot and dragged my vinyl collection everywhere, for some reason I felt that some of my dad’s records needed to be in the collection just to carry a part of my “home” with me. Even now that I’ve moved to the US, I had some of my favourite records shipped over and some of those have indeed been “in the family” for 30+ years, including “Fear Of Music”.
Im Gespräch mit Maurice Summen über “No Tears” von Tuxedomoon (1978).
In meiner frühen Jugend war “No Tears” einer dieser Songs, die in Clubs, in denen alles zwischen Italo Disco und New Wave gespielt wurde, quasi automatisch die Tanzfläche füllten. Bist Du in einem ähnlichen Kontext auf den Song gestoßen? Was ist Deine persönliche Geschichte mit “No Tears”?
Es gab im Münsterland in den 80er Jahren einen schönen Laden namens “Fabrik” in der Kleinstadt Coesfeld. Ein Treffpunkt für Wave, Punk, EBM, Psychobilly und Cure-Fans. Ein fantastischer Ort: Tolle Frisuren, Domestos-Jeans, Ratten auf den Schultern und ein wirklich bizarrer Musikmix. “No Tears” war ähnlich wie “Surfin’ Bird” von den Trashmen eine Art Schnittmengenstück für nahezu alle subkulturellen Lager.
Der Song hat ja diesen sehr charismatischen Text. “No tears for the creatures of the night”. Jeder konnte das für sich auslegen, und so wurde das von der New Wave- bzw. Grufti-Szene bis heute zu Electroclash und Nachfolgendem immer weitergetragen und neu eingesetzt. Aber wie hast Du diesen Text für Dich persönlich ausgelegt? Einsamkeit in der Menge? Entfremdung in der nächtlichen Stadt? Es bieten sich ja viele Deutungsmöglichkeiten…
Meine Eltern haben damals eine schwere Beziehungskrise durchlebt, Schule habe ich nicht bzw. hat mich nicht verstanden, Mädchen waren für mich auch ein großes Mysterium. Sie hingen mit den etwas älteren Dorfprolls herum, nur weil die schon ein Auto hatten! Na ja, so in etwa habe ich mir das damals in zusammengereimt… Ich war folgerichtig gegen alles! Die „Creatures“ waren eben all “die anderen”! Und für die hatte ich einfach kein Mitleid! Read the rest of this entry »
Bridging the generation gap right here, the Druffalo Hit Squad lends a helping hand with a heads up call to the hopes and dreams of boys and girls anywhere, anytime, anyplace. You might feel disillusioned, disenchanted, shattered, heartbroken, isolated, ignored, left over, left out, misunderstood, mistreated, underestimated, unwanted and unloved. We’ve been there. We suffered. We nearly dropped. But we draw conclusions. And we reached out. And we set in motion. And we found what we were looking for. This is for the survivors…
The Colourfield – Castles In The Air (Chrysalis) Heaven 17 – Let Me Go (Virgin) Mike Francis – Survivor (RCA) Chris Rea – Josephine (Magnet) David Bowie/Pat Metheny – This Is Not America (EMI America) Laid Back – Fly Away (Metronome) Madness – Yesterdays Men (Virgin) The Pale Fountains – Unless (Virgin) ABC – All Of My Heart (Neutron) Culture Club – Romance Beyond The Alphabet (Virgin) Icehouse – No Promises (Chrysalis) Tears For Fears – Advice For The Young At Heart (Fontana) The Dream Academy – The Love Parade (Blanco Y Negro) Talk Talk – It’s My Life (EMI) Bryan Ferry – Don’t Stop The Dance (EG) The Stranglers – Always The Sun (Epic) Electronic – Getting Away With It (Factory) The Lotus Eaters – You Don’t Need Someone New (Arista) Spandau Ballet – Gold (Chysalis) Danny Wilson – Mary’s Prayer (Virgin) The The – Uncertain Smile (Epic) Pet Shop Boys – Being Boring (Parlophone) The Go-Betweens – Bachelor Kisses (WEA) Blancmange – Waves (London)
Brian Protheroe – Pinball Ned Doheny – Get It Up For Love Bobby Caldwell – What You Won’t Do For Love Hall & Oates – Sara Smile Roxy Music – Just Like You Yvonne Elliman – I’ll Be Around Samantha Sang – Emotion Hot – Angel In Your Arms Angela Bofill – Angel Of The Night Maria Muldaur – Midnight At The Oasis Elkie Brooks – Only Love Can Break Your Heart Karla Bonoff – Personally Jorge Santana – Tonight You’re Mine Toto – Georgy Porgy Lulu – You Win, I Lose Rupert Holmes – Him Frankie Valli – Grease Mary Macgregor – I’ve Never Been To Me Olivia Newton-John – Please Don’t Keep Me Waiting Boz Scaggs – Lowdown Bette Midler – Hang On In There Baby Salazar – Never Gonna Let You Go Fleetwood Mac – Sara Genesis – Follow Me, Follow You Jan Hammer Group – Don’t You Know Elton John – Mama Can’t Buy You Love Agnetha Fältskog – Wrap Your Arms Around Me The Korgis – Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime Climax – Precious And Few The Hollies – Ait That I Breathe David Bowie – Moonage Daydream Scott Walker – Do I Love You Crosby, Stills & Nash – Just A Song Before I Go Al Stewart – End Of The Day
Todd Rundgren – Breathless Phil Manzanera – Frontera Yosui Inoue – Kagirinai Y?b? Love – Between Clark And Hilldale Lighthouse – One Fine Morning The Kinks – Shangri-La Roxy Music – Could It Happen To Me? David Bowie – Changes Todd Rundgren – I Saw The Light Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods – Who Do You Think You Are Merrilee Rush – Save Me Nicolette Larson – Lotta Love The Hollies – Draggin’ My Heels Daryl Hall – Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You The Four Seasons – Long Ago Hamilton, Joe Frank And Reynolds – Fallin’ In Love Michael Franks – St. Elmo’s Fire JJ Cale – Magnolia Arlo Guthrie – Last To Leave
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