I was waiting my turn in the barber's, sweltering in the summer heat and after a day at work, and there was a playlist from Spotify on (it's usually XFM in there, wall to wall Oasis and Arctic Monkeys). Out of nowhere the keyboard part and funky guitar riff from Genius Of Love came into earshot and for the next five minutes I was grooving slightly in my seat to the sounds of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz back in 1981. 1981! I can't think of many songs from 1981 that still sound as fresh as this does and as full of life. One of the most sampled songs ever and a genuine hit. Tina's bassline alone guarantees it a special place. According to Frantz when David Byrne heard it he changed his mind about splitting Talking Heads up- he was a little envious I should imagine.
Genius Of Love
8 comments:
James Brown! James Brown!
Bohannon Bohannon
I also came here for the "James Brown, James Brown..."
Watched Stop Making Sense earlier this week. This is certainly one of the highlights. I have wanted the 12” forever.
Anytime I hear Genius Of Love I am taken back to summer.
1981 was an interesting year in the world of Talking Heads. 3 splinter releases and all were fantastic IMHO. But as a fan, I remember wondering what would be next for Talking Heads...I remember being concerned. I thought Byrne's Songs From The Catherine Wheel combined with his Eno collaboration My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts pointed the direction of the band, but it wasn't quite the case. The Tom Tom Club seemed like an album that allowed Chris and Tina to release some pent up energy. Jerry Harrison explored some of the same sounds that TH explored on Fear Of Music and Remain In Light with some standout results.
But when they reconvened for Speaking In Tongues some magic had seemed to wear off to my ears. There are elements you can pick out that each "faction" of the band contributed, but Speaking In Tongues just never caught my imagination. This was the beginning of the end of my love fascination with Talking Heads. It was something I was not prepared for.
37 years ago? Gimme a break.
Great tune.
Such a tune. The teen loves it too x
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