The MARK’S VINTAGE VINYL page features something from Mark’s collection of recordings from over the years. Most of it is on vinyl – hence the name – though there will be a few entries from his CDs (remember those?).
Fear of Music, by Talking Heads
- Third studio album released by Talking Heads in 1979.
- When this album was released, Talking Heads was still developing a following for their eclectic, new wave, avant-garde music, lead by the brilliant David Byrne. This album was the second of three that included another brilliant music innovator, Brian Eno, as producer or co-producer.
- The band had some minor commercial hits with their early recordings, and broke into the mainstream in 1983, when their song Burning Down the House became a fixture on MTV. Fear of Music certainly was more experimental and creative, and as such, less popular for mainstream radio. It was heralded by critics as a masterpiece – it was named Best Album of 1979 by several publications.
- I purchased the CD in the mid-80s – by that time, the band had bigger hits with Burning Down the House, And I Was, Take Me To The River, Once in a Lifetime and This Must Be the Place from other albums. But this album had my favorite Talking Heads song, Life During Wartime. The song is super catchy, edgy, punk/funk with the classic lyric “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around.” Great song for me, but it didn’t impress the masses – it peaked at #80 on the Hot 100 chart.
- Read more about Talking Heads in my October 21, 2018 blog post. Watch them perform Life During Wartime in 2002 when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.