Honoring Saint Francis With A Nude Chimp & Talking Heads
Written: Oct 04 '00 (Updated Oct 04 '00)
Product Rating:
Pros: Recommended with reservations; TH fans should have this in their collection to make it complete; Nerds and caffeine junkies (like wvg) will enjoy the tempo and delirium expressed on this album. ;-)
Cons: Some folks won't carefully consider the lyrical content because they think they were a 'weird' or 'nerdy' group; TH disbanded in 1991.
wildvirgogirl's Full Review: Naked by Talking Heads
While talking with mshawpyle the other night, he said, 'You know October 4th is the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.' Chagrined that I'd forgotten the importance of this day in history, I decided I would make an effort to pay tribute to this saint in my own warped and wild way.
"If you have men who will exclude
Any of God's creatures
From the shelter of compassion and pity,
You will have men who will deal likewise
With their fellow man."
How Exactly Does One Go About Honoring A Saint?
When I sat down to consider the myriad topics I could discuss to honor Saint Francis, my mind raced to the music category (naturally) and landed smack dab on the visual of a startled monkey — specifically, the gaping-mouthed chimpanzee featured on the cover of the Talking Heads' cd Naked.
'How apt... the expression is priceless.'
I mused Saint Francis was the type of man who would protect such a creature from harm, console it with tender cooing, and cradle it in his arms if it became distraught. This patron saint honed his nurturing (maternal?) instincts by caring for fowl and beast of the land. As I examined this idea further, I came to the distinct conclusion that this chimp spoke to me of vulnerability, the essence of surviving and being alone in the big, big world.
Talking Heads: A Brief Synopsis
Noted by critics as one of the most acclaimed bands of the 1980s, Talking Heads grew from an art-school, nerdy-punk band to one that focused on the globilization of world beat pop. In the end, they had blossomed into a quartet that could play everything from electrifying dance music to sultry ballads. Comprised of four core members (guitarist/vocalist David Byrne, drummer Chris Franz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and keyboardist Jerry Harrison) and one dynamite producer (Brian Eno), the group crafted eleven albums that had a great impact on many of the era's artists.
Their achievements may not be considered that revolutionary to some listeners, (depending on your preferences), but at the time the group introduced the 80s youth culture to 'multicultural' sounds — mechanized and synthesized melodies, merengue and cumbia rhythms, salsa, Latin beats, African drumming, not to mention those glorious horns, which kick off the first track, Blind!
Musicians (a term I use generously here), such as Madonna, Culture Club, and others, though not all in the punk/pop genre, were seemingly incapable of presenting intelligent commentary about current events. Talking Heads were in a class all their own due to their verbal and musical talents.
Due to this, several listeners and critics alike thought the members were elitist.
To set the record straight, they were advocates of intelligent song writing. They were unwavering in their desire to avoid being pulled into the mainstream morass of punk/pop. Besides, who at the time wanted to drown in the one-hit-wonder bin with artists (?) like Bow Wow Wow and their ilk? (And, if you are saying 'Bow Wow _Who_?' then I have made my point...)
Talking Heads required that the listener think about the lyrics and this album was the final lesson offered.
Byrne taught us about irony, sarcasm, and how to drive home a serious point using a dash of humor. He taught us that being quirky is endearing. Most of all, he implored us to trust our intuition from whatever there is at the moment without a presupposed plan of completion.
It was probably for these reasons that Time magazine dubbed David Byrne Rock's Renaissance Man during the 80s. This, however, was a title he found quite annoying due to his shy nature and desire to remain in the non-mainstream realm of pop music.
The Integration Of World Beat Musical Styles
During an interview with Timothy Leary, Byrne spoke in depth regarding his integration of several musical styles from other cultures:
'...you have instant access to anything, anywhere... but you have it out of context, free-floating. And, people in other parts of the world — India, South America, Russia — they have access to whatever we're doing. They can take what they need and leave the rest. They can play around with it, they can misinterpret it or re- interpret it. And, we're free to do the same thing.
It seems to be a part of the age we live in, that that's an unique thing about this period... There is that kind of communication, even though it's not always direct communication with people in different places — it can lead to direct communication if you follow through.'
This final Talking Heads album was co-produced with Steve Lillywhite in Paris on the Fly label in 1988. It features the last original compositions from their extensive career spanning from 1974 to 1991. (Note: The group released additional albums after Naked, but these were either 'Best Of' live recordings or 'Best Of' compilations.)
List Of Tracks: Naked
As with many of their albums, this one employs dozens of artists playing the following: accordion, alto sax, baritone sax, conga, drums, flute, guitar, harmonica, kora, keyboards, saxophone, tenor sax, trombone, trumpet, and other percussion.
TRACK 1 - Blind (4:58) TRACK 2 - Mr. Jones (4:18) TRACK 3 - Totally Nude (4:10) TRACK 4 - Ruby Dear (3:48) TRACK 5 - (Nothing But) Flowers (5:31) TRACK 6 - The Democratic Circus (5:01) TRACK 7 - The Facts Of Life (6:25) TRACK 8 - Mommy Daddy You And I (3:58) TRACK 9 - Big Daddy (5:37) TRACK 10 - Bill (3:21) TRACK 11 - Cool Water (5:10)
WVG's Favorite: Track 7 — The Facts Of Life
The lyrics and layout (below) are presented as written by David Byrne to emphasize the mechanized feel of one going through repetitive motions, as an assembly line worker would create a product in a factory.
Mon key see and mon key do
Ma king ba bies, ea ting food
Smel ly things, pu bic hair
Words of lo ve, in the air
Sparks fly, shoo ting out
Ma king sure that eve ry thing is wor king
I can't turn you down
We are pro grammed hap py lit tle chil dren
Mat ter o ver mind
We can not re sist so I won't fight it
Love is a ma chine
Love is a ma chine without a dri ver
The facts of life
The facts of life
A masterpiece
Biology
[Smokey water
Air conditioned
Boys 'n' girls
And automation
Chromosomes
Designer jeans
Chimpanzees
And human beings]
Machines of love
Machines of love
Strong in body, strong in mind
A love machine with the facts of life
The facts of life
The facts of life
[So much sex 'n' violence
Must be a bad design
We're stupid to be fighting]
Every night
The monsters we create
They welcome us aboard
The best in advertising
From coast to coast
The girls and boys combine
Like monkeys in the zoo
The clouds have silver linings
Looks pretty good
People fall in love like in fairy tales
I'm not sure I like, what they can do
I'm afraid that God has no master plan
He only takes — what he can use
Factory life, ice cream & pie
Factory life
Someday we'll live on Venus
And men will walk on Mars
But we will still be monkeys
Down deep inside
If chimpanzees were smart
Then we will close our eyes
And let our instincts guide us
Oh oh oh oh no
Final Musings
With all that written, I don't consider this to be one of the best efforts produced by Talking Heads. Naked is terrifically moribund (a foreshadowing of their disbanding, no doubt) even though Byrne's witticism is still readily apparent at times.
If you want a true dose of Talking Heads, to experience the frenetic sensation of an orgasmic intravenous espresso blast to your ear canal, I'd suggest you leave your clothes on.
Go introduce your grey matter to a copy of the 1980 release of Remain In Light instead.
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