Heaven

I think this entered my consciousness this morning, because I had the occasion to quote the tag line to the film Grand Hotel a few days ago: "People come and go. Nothing ever happens."

Great song.

Artist: Talking Heads
Year: 1979
Rating: Luke Hot

Wordy Rappinghood

What are words worth?

Artist: Tom Tom Club
Year: 1981
Rating: Luke Hot

Road to Nowhere

With the constant transitions in my life lately - unemployment, new clinic director, embarking on this crazy path of doing psychotherapy with clients but still not getting paid...this is a pitch-perfect theme song. Artist: Talking Heads Year: 1985 Rating: Luke Hot Note: Couldn't find a Talking Heads video for the song online, but this one's a nice David Byrne solo performance. Enjoy!

Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)

Awesome performance of this song. It's taken me a while to warm up to Arcade Fire, but I'm really starting to dig them. They've got some Talking Heads, art-rock flavor and some noisy Modest Mouseian elements, and of course, they're also just all their own thing.

Artist: Arcade Fire
Year: 2004
Rating: Hot!
Noteworthy: Laïka, serving as the song's central metaphor, was the doomed Russian dog who became the first mammal launched into space on Sputnik 2.

Life During Wartime by Talking Heads

Here's a yummy live performance from 1984. Originally released on the album Fear of Music in '79, this really became a quintessential '80s song. It's kind of the most "'80s-sounding" song on the record, actually. The rest of the tracks are more arty and almost prog, which isn't surprising, with Robert Fripp contributing in studio and Adrian Belew on tour.

Year: 1979
Rating: Hot!

I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats

I've always adored the sound and aesthetic of this specific early punk and emergent new wave period of about 1976 to 1980. The Boomtown Rats, an Irish band with both political and commercial sensibilities, exemplifies this feel. See also The Modern Lovers, Blondie, Talking Heads, and The Knack.

This dark but dramatically humorous song was written by band leader Bob Geldof in response to a San Diego elementary school shooting by 16 year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who explained the spree by saying "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."

Anyway, it's in my head 'cause I sang it at karaoke the same day of the Round and Round episode. I did a passable job, I think.

Year: 1979
Rating: Hot!
Noteworthy: Today is a Wednesday.