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Rating:
Released in '83, ideally placed between an undisputed masterpiece like "Remain in Light" ('80) and a great commercial success like "Little Creatures" ('85), "Speaking in Tongues" is an album rather overlooked in the Talking Heads' discography, remembered more for the single "Burnin’ Down The House" than for its content. It is not, in fact, the best work of the New York quartet, but that does not mean it is a trivial album, forgotten easily.
One could observe, in summary, how SIT represents the ideal bridge between the avant-garde funk rock of "Remain in Light" and the pop recordings of the second part of the Talking Heads' career, more profitable economically, although less stimulating on a purely musical level: as a transition between two eras, SIT thus features all the strengths and weaknesses of the group, serving as an excellent vantage point to better understand the evolution of Byrne and company’s career.
The album opens excellently with "Burnin’ Down The House", yet another representation of the group’s urban irony, accompanied by a brilliant rhythm section and an insistent accompaniment that follows, syncopated, the swaying chorus: the piece is catchy, but it suggests how the group is following the path of cliché, of self-ironic repetition in music and lyrics. The subsequent "Makin’ Flippy Floppy" continues on the path of funk rock sustained by sharp rhythms, over which Byrne's disorienting vocals stand out. The third track of the album, "Girlfriend Is Better", is excellent, characterized by the intervention of Bernie Worrell from the Parliament on keyboards, where rhythm and melody blend perfectly: noteworthy is the final synthesizer solo, which echoes the bass lines and reiterates them in a truly engaging sonic whirlwind. "Slippery People", on the other hand, is a gospel revisitation in the Talking Heads style: the musical accompaniment is sparse, yet the choral inlay, led by Nona Hendrix and alternating with the solo voice, is rich. "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" recycles the sounds and pace of "Makin’ Flippy Floppy", essentially reprising the funk pop patterns of "Once In A Lifetime" (from "Remain in Light") with rearrangements and enriched synthesizers, albeit with less brilliant results than the historic single. "Swamp" is distinguished by the insistent and emphatic chorus, yet adds nothing to the album's content and at times seems repetitive. The following "Moon Rocks" and "Pull Up The Roots" instead seem like fillers, composed and played without genuine conviction: more examples of electronically processed funk rock, marked by rhythmic uniformity that does not benefit the overall result. The album concludes with "This Must Be The Place" (Naïve Melody), a clearly pop track with an easy synthesizer accompaniment, always supported by Byrne's vocals, pleasant to listen to.
As already mentioned, SIT is the epitome of the group's sound: admirable in the funk diversions and arrangements that prioritize more novel sound effects, as well as the nods to black music and the polyrhythms of ethnic music, sometimes weak in songwriting, perhaps because it was not supported by the collaboration of a deus ex machina like Bryan Eno, the Talking Heads' mentor in the late '70s. The score is average, although compared to the technopop of the era the album might deserve something more: but after twenty-three years, it no longer makes sense to relativize.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Burning Down the House (04:02)
Watch out you might get what you're after
Cool babies strange but not a stranger
I'm an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
Hold tight wait till the party's over
Hold tight We're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house
Here's your ticket pack your bag: time for jumpin' overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fightin' fire with fire
All wet hey you might need a raincoat
Shape down Dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty five degrees
Burning down the house
It was once upon a place sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work baby what did you except
Gonna burst into flame
My house S'out of the ordinary
That's right Don't want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house
No visible means of support and you have not seen nothing yet
Everything's stuck together
I don't know what you expect staring into your TV set
Fighting fire with fire..
02 Making Flippy Floppy (04:36)
Nothing can come between us
Nothing gets you down
Nothing strikes your fancy
Nothing turns you on
You don't have to wait for more instructions
No one makes a monkey out of me
We lie on our backs, feet in the air
Rest and relaxation rocket to my brain
Snap into position
Bounce till you ache
Step out of line (and)
You end up in jail
Bring me a doctor
I have a hole in my head
They are just people
And I'm not afraid
Doctor, doctor
We have nothing in our pockets
We continue
But we have nothing left to offer
Faces pressed against the window
Hey...they are just my friends
Check this out, don't be so slick
Break our backs, it goes like this
We are born without eyesight
We are born without sin
And our mama protects us
From the cold and the rain
We're in no hurry
Sugar and spice
We sing in the darkness
We open our eyes (Open up)
I can't believe it
And people are strange
Our president's crazy
Did you hear what he said?
Business and pleasure
Lie right to your face
Divide it in sections
And give it away
Well, there are no big secrets
Don't believe what you read
We have great big bodies
We got great big heads
Run--a, run--a, run it all together
Check it out
Still don't make no sense
Makin' flippy floppy
Tryin' to do my best
Lock the door
We kill the beast
Kill it!
03 Girlfriend Is Better (04:24)
I...who took the money?
Who took the money away?
I...it's always showtime
Here at the edge of the stage
I, I, I, wake up and wonder
What was the place, what was the name?
We wanna wait, but here we go again...
I...takes over slowly
But doesn't last very long
I...no need to worry
Everything's under control
O-U-T but no hard feelings
What do you know? Take you away
We're being taken for a ride again
I got a girlfriend that's better than that
She has the smoke in her eyes
She's moving up, going right through my heart
She's gonna give me surprise
I think it's right, better than this
I think you can if you like
I got a girlfriend with bows in her hair
And nothing is better than that
Down, down in the basement
We hear the sound of machines
I...I'm driving in circles
Come to my senses sometime
Why, why, why? Why start it over?
Nothing was lost, everything's free
I don't care how impossible it seems
Somebody calls you, but you cannot hear
Get closer to be far away
Only one look and that's all that it takes
Maybe that's all that we need
All that it takes, I'll bet it's right
All it takes, if it's right
I got a girlfriend that's better than that
She goes wherever she likes
(There she goes)
I got a girlfriend that's better than that
Now everybody's getting involved
She's moving up, going right through my heart
We might not never get caught
Going right through, try to stay cool
Goin' through, stayin' cool
I got a girlfriend that's better than that
Nothing is better than you
I got a girlfriend that's better than this
But you don't remember at all
As we get older and stop making sense
You won't find her waiting long
Stop making sense, stop making sense
Stop making sense, making sense
I got a girlfriend, she's better than that
And nothing is better than this
(Is it?)
04 Slippery People (03:33)
What about the time you were rollin' over
Fell on your face, you must be having fun
Walk lightly! Think of a time. You best believe this thing is real
Put away that gun, this part is simple
Try to recognize what is in your mind
God help us, help us loose our minds
these slippery people
Help us understand
Whats the matter with him?
He's alright
How do you know?
The Lord won't mind
Don't play no games
He's alright love from the bottom to the top
Turn like a wheel
He's alright
See for your self
The lord won't mind
We're gonna move
right now turn like a wheel inside a wheel
I remember when, sittin' in the tub
Pulled out the plug, the water was runnin' out
cool down, stop actin' crazy
they're gonna leave, and we'll be on our own
seven times five
they were living creatures
watch them come to life, right before your eyes
back slidin' how do you do?
these slippery people, gonna see you through
Whats the matter with him?
He's alright
How do you know?
The lord won't mind
Don't play no games
He's alright love from the bottom to the top
Turn like a wheel
He's alright
See for your self
The lord won't mind
We're gonna move right now turn like a wheel inside a wheel x3
He's alright
The lord won't mind
He's alright love from the bottom to the top
He's alright
The lord won't mind
right now turn like a wheel inside a wheel
06 Swamp (05:15)
now let me tell you a story
the devil, he has a plan
bag of bones in his pocket, get anything you want
no dust, no rocks
the whole thing is over all those beauties, in solid motion
all those beauties they're gonna swallow you up
lets go
hi (x13)
one time too many, too far to go
i--we've come to take you home whoo hoo
when they split those atoms, its hotter than the sun
blood is a special substance, they gonna pray for that man
so wake up, young lovers,
the whole thing is over
watch out, touch monkeys
all that blood
they're gonna swallow you whole
lets go
hi (x13)
so soft, hard feeling, no tricks, lets go
i--we've come to take you home whoo hoo
how many people do you think i am
pretend I am somebody else
you can pretend i'm a old millionare, a millionare washin' his hands
rattle the bones of dreams that stick out
a medical chart on the wall,
soft violins, hands touch your throat
everyone wants to explode
when your hands get dirty, no body knows you at all
don't have a window to slip out of
lights on no body home
click click, see ya later
beta beta, and no time to rest
picka picka, risky business
all that blood will never cover that mess
lets go
hi (x13)
once more
hi (x13)
07 Moon Rocks (05:04)
Flying saucers, levitation
Yo! I could do that
Get ready for heavy duty
Go on, give it a chance
Give it a chance, give it a chance
I saw your hair start to curl
So get up, write it down
You better wait for a while. bitch bitch bitch....
fuck me and fuck you
�drg?
So take your hands out of your pockets
And get your face adjusted
I heard it, somebody lied
And I'm staring out the window
Gonna let this thing continue
In its natural time
Round heads, square heads
Get settled in
You can hear my belly rumble
There's a voice that starts to mumble
Woo! It's starting to sing
Protons, neutrons
I ate a rock from the moon
Got shocked once, shocked twice
Let's see what it can do
Man in the moon, moon in the man
I got a rock in my throat
Upside, upside down
My tummy starts to talk...(What it say?)
Gonna rock it till I shock it
Gonna kick it till I drop it
Woo! Love at first sight
You can kick it, you can poke it
Ooh, I think you broke it
What about that?
Skin from a snake, blood from a stone
You know that ain't no lie
I got hundreds of expressions
Try to make a good impression
Woo! Right between the eyes
I don't mind--let me go
I don't mind--I don't know
Let me be--why not stay
I feel numb--let me play
I got wild imagination
Talkin' transubstantiation
Any version will do
I got mass communication
I'm the human corporation
I ate a rock from the moon
Moon in the rock, rock in the moon
There's a moon in my throat
You might think I'm wasting time
You might laugh, but not for long
Hey! I'm working it out...(work it out)
I don't mind--let me go
Sounds inside--I don't know
Let me be--why not stay
I feel numb--let me play
09 This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (04:53)
Home....
is where i want to be
pick me up and turn me round
i feel numb
born with a weak heart
i guess i must be having fun
the less we say about it the better
make it up as we go along
feet on the ground
head in the sky
its ok i know nothing's wrong , nothing
ohh ohh i got plenty of time
ohh you got light in your eyes
and you're standing here beside me
i love the passing of time
never for money , always for love
cover up and say goodnight, say goodnight
home....
is where i want to be
but i guess i'm already there
i come home
she lifted up her wings
i guess that this must be the place
i cant tell one from another
did i find you or you find me
there was a time
before we were born
if someone asks
this is where i'll be , where i'll be
ohh we drift in and out
ohh sing into my mouth
out of all those kinds of people
you got a face with a view
i'm just an animal looking for a home and
share the same space for a minute or two
and you love me till my heart stops
love me till i'm dead
eyes that light up
eyes look through you
cover up the blank spots
hit me on the.. head
i go oooohhhhh.......
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