The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

Nichole Wagner Talking Heads Cover

by 14 Comments

I’m on a bit of a Byrne/Talking Heads tip at present. After enjoying the film, I’ve discovered this gem of a cover. Nichole sounds less edgy and panicky than David but the beat is no less relentless. She, and the band, sound far more organised than Talking Heads but just as energised. Less haste, more speed I guess. And, it does chime with the sentiment of this current lockdown. It does feel like wartime. In any case, my feet have been shuffling on the kitchen floor ever since, giving me the best exercise I’ve had in months. It does feel like wartime, especially when she changes the place names to somewhere there was a mass shooting, except for Pittsburgh, which Byrne included originally and had its own massacre since.

Anyway, I’ve put together a Spotify list of Talking Heads covers. It refreshed my love for these songs. Enjoy.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2jJewXBdhdndmpxCyerg09?si=xIDxRU9XQ2eUWHLF9jmE6A

I was there, but I don’t remember much about it

by 80 Comments

I was talking with an old friend the other day and we recalled the time Talking Heads came to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1979. My ONLY memories of that show are firstly that the band seemed really nervous, and secondly that someone in the audience yelled out “TINAAAA!!!” and Tina Weymouth looked slightly embarrassed. However my friend also recalled that she broke a string on her bass, and continued playing her bass parts on a guitar. I would have thought I’d remember that, being a musician myself. And thinking about it now – what band would do an international tour without either spare instruments or at least bass strings? (Mind you, bass strings rarely break).

Anyway it made me think about what I remember from concerts/gigs/shows I’ve seen in the past, and – I’ve noticed this before – often I remember very little, if anything, about them.

For example, Little Feat came to Wellington NZ in 1976. The only 2 things I remember are the giant cactuses on the stage, and the roadie who gave them all a towel as they walked off stage, and Kenny Gradney threw his back at him. I have no memory of the songs they » Continue Reading.

Steve Lillywhite – where is he now?

by 14 Comments

You know Steve Lillywhite, we all know Steve Lillywhite, I’d even put a fair amount of cash down now and bet that every single person here has a record produced by Steve Lillywhite somewhere in their collection. I first came across his name when I started seriously buying records in the late ’70s, on records by Siouxsie, XTC, Ultravox, The Members, Psychedelic Furs, you name it. Later on he moved into the big leagues with Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, Talking Heads, Morrissey, even the Stones, and though his workrate has declined over the years, he still managed to contribute to U2’s last album…

… but where do you think he is now, selling over 7 million albums a year? If it was April 1st I wouldn’t believe this story, but click the link and maybe you’ll be as impressed as I am.

Here’s a clue: Chicken.

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2018/05/12/steve-lillywhite-at-cmw/

Tribute Bands – Reimagined

by 19 Comments

Having been fortunate enough to have seen most of the bands I wanted to see which were around when I was able to see them, the idea of a tribute band is a slightly strange concept to me. If you are in a band playing other people’s songs then why restrict yourself to songs by a single artist? Tribute bands are getting more and more popular, to such an extent that the original bands sometimes turn into their own tribute band with classic album or greatest hits tours. Friends who regularly see tribute bands tell me that what they want from a tribute band is as close an imitation as possible.

Give the people what they want, fair enough, but not everybody wants the obvious or predictable. London’s recently reopened Jazz Café have spotted this hole in the market and have been very successful in presenting familiar music in an unexpected way.

Examples include The African Gospel Choir Presents Graceland which sold out 3 nights, Transatlantic Choral Ensemble Performs Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, a celebration of William Onyeabor with African funk band Yaaba Funk. and last night I saw the first of 4 sold out nights of London Astrobeat Orchestra » Continue Reading.

Going Out At The Top

by 68 Comments

The recent retirements of Richie McGaw and Dan Carter, together with the anniversary of George Best’s death got me musing about the phrase ‘going out at the top’, and how this seems to be more difficult in music than sport. Best’s CV (in)famously included Fulham and several US soccer teams in a long tail. Surely today he would have been a shoe-in as a pundit and walked away at the top in the early seventies.

In music – where age does not tap you in the shoulder in the same way as sport – it seems to be extra-ordinarily difficult to go out at the top never to announce a comeback tour or have that 3-star ‘return to form’ review after a decade away. So, your bands or solo artists who have done exactly that. No reforming, no comeback albums. And you have to have some kind of ‘top’ to get out of. This doesn’t mean that your last album was your best, but a clear sense that your powers are undimmed. Here’s my three for starters, or starters for three:

ABBA – surely the ultimate ‘going out at the top’ , as the tide of music and their » Continue Reading.

Fans of Talking Heads may enjoy this

by 6 Comments

I am a little bit obsessed with this track at the moment & thought I should share. It won’t be to every ones taste but I love it!

It has a really David Byrne delivery & that Tina Weymouth-esque bassline is sublime! The Talking Heads influence is being worn quite brazenly but they have done it well!

The rest of the album is pretty good too.