More Songs About Buildings and Food

Better than Coldplay

Love the nervous, anxious energy this album has. Not the best talking heads album but still great, opening and closing songs are amazing.

Feels weird to drop 2 stars on one of my most favorite bands, but really never could get into this album.

With the exception of Take Me to the River, the Al Green cover, this is only one of Talking Head’s first 6 albums which doesn’t have what are widely regarded as “one of the big hits”, but it’s no worse for it. The band have sanded off what few rough edges they had on 1977 and have arrived in their most iconic form, in part due to much plusher production than on the debut. David Byrne is in a particularly hyperactive mood contrasting nicely with a smoother performance from the band. Throughout the record there are seamless transitions between wildly different sections. Everything is made to sound effortless.

odlično, odlično, odlično. drugi najbolji njihov album. teško je izdvojiti najbolje, kad bih morao: thank you for sending me an angel, found a job, stay hungry, the big country

I really liked this, but it also made me realise why I've never fully embraced Talking Heads: I just don't like David Byrne's voice. I feel bad about it, but it just grates with me. Sorry, David.

This is #day274 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this must be the first band whose albums I get in the order they were released. I got Talking Heads: 77 a while ago (on #day26), and now here's the sophomore follow-up. I don't think I've ever listened to this one all the way through, so I have to admit that this challenge is a great way to catch up on music that's been postponed or overlooked. The album is a celebration of quirky guitars, funky rhythms, and the omnipresent David Byrne's charisma. It's also the first one produced by Brian Eno. Some of my favorites are "Found a Job," "Not in Love," and "Take Me to the River." This is a strong 4 out of 5. I'm sparing 5s for Fear of Music and Remain in Light. By the way, this list could've made room for the Stop Making Sense live album. Sadly, it doesn't. Looking forward to #day275.

Talking Headsin ja Brian Enon yhteistyö oli kyllä erinomaista. 4/5

I’m at a 5.

The randomizer giving us this album one day after Brian Eno & David Byrne’s collab “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” is one of the more remarkable things that’s happened. Somehow, I still don’t really have an answer to if Eno influenced Byrne more on that album or vice-versa, but I’m not mad about that – this might be one of the more remarkable production jobs I’ve heard yet from Brian Eno, and he’s worked on a lot of stuff so far on this list.

For a second album, I think it’s interesting that this feels so different from Talking Heads ‘77. A lot of that album’s DNA is still very present here, as it should be, but most of David Byrne’s eccentricities feel more purposefully controlled here. His “weirdness” on ‘77 felt sort of abrasive, at least back when we got that album on day 38 of this whole thing. On this album, while it’s all still there, it feels far more endearing. I could chalk that up to listening to many, many weirder albums since then, as well as “Fear of Music”, but I really do think something about the structure of each track has been simplified here, in a way that’s more commercially appealing without sacrificing David Byrne’s vision. It feels like a natural evolution, while still feeling uniquely different.

That entire commercial appeal is thanks to Brian Eno, but his contributions compensate for the slight sterilization of David Byrne – the instrumentals on this album more than add the “weird” factor that Byrne’s missing, but that weirdness is channeled into innovation for 1978 that’s too damn electric to ignore. While this might not seem as strange now, I have to imagine the heavier emphasis from the band on guitar riffs, basslines, drums breaks, all textured by some ambient Eno strings & synth work made for an especially unique blend back then, punctuated by David Byrne’s more controlled vocals gliding on these tracks. I really feel like I can hear a lot of 80s new wave / synthpop tricks here, and while it would be more refined in the decade to come, this is a pretty good swing.

Seriously, I’m just impressed by how well Brian Eno embedded himself into David Byrne & the band’s sensibilities like this; maybe I just haven’t given him enough credit as a more malleable producer, given how much I associate him with ambient music, but this sounds fantastic for the time, especially from “Artists Only” onward. That is a great 5-track stretch, though I might’ve flipped around the last two tracks. I really liked this, what can I say? I’m glad the first 3 albums by Talking Heads are on the list, because it does feel like a proper rise in quality from album to album. This isn’t as good as “Fear of Music” to me, but it’s right behind it, and equally as enjoyable. It’s a rather good 5.

Yet to find a New Wave/Post Punk album I've enjoyed. Not that I dislike them, they're just not for me

I'd usually rate this a 3 but for some reason this just comes off as, I don't know, pretentious? I'm not sure how to put it but it just annoyed me for some reason so fuck you

Y’know when I was first listening to Talking Heads ‘77 I kept thinking to myself “I wish these guys made more songs. And I wish those songs were about buildings and food”. I guess they had the same idea. Just a fantastic album. Not sure if I like this or Fear Of Music more.

Интересна енергија има албумов, не е најдоброто од Talking Heads, но би рекол дека е солидно. Трае околу 40тина минути, се слуша одеднаш, без многу замарање и анализа. После серија лоши албуми овој баш ми легна убаво. Нема нешто специфично што да се пише повеќе (бар по мене), така што ова ќе биде микро рецензија.

Nous voilà de retour aux affaires. La pile de vinyles à écouter ne diminue pas, et c'est tant mieux, sinon je serais probablement en train de développer une passion malsaine pour le jardinage ou la politique municipale. Cette semaine, le grand livre des "1001 Albums" m'a ordonné de me pencher sur le cas des Talking Heads et de leur deuxième album au titre aussi excitant qu'une notice de montage IKEA : "More Songs About Buildings and Food". Plus de chansons sur des immeubles et de la bouffe. Putain, les mecs, vendez-nous du rêve. On sent tout de suite qu'on n'est pas chez les Ramones à brailler "Gabba Gabba Hey". Non, là, on est chez les intellos, les diplômés de l'école d'art, ceux qui lisent des bouquins avec des mots de plus de trois syllabes.

Je dois être honnête. En 1978, j'avais huit ans. Ma préoccupation principale, c'était de savoir si Goldorak allait réussir à défoncer le dernier Golgoth, pas de m'interroger sur l'aliénation urbaine à New York. J'ai découvert les Talking Heads bien plus tard, à l'adolescence, et même là, ça a toujours été pour moi le groupe des "premiers de la classe". Les mecs qui aimaient le punk, mais avec une chemise bien repassée. Le genre de groupe qui te permettait de dire que t'écoutais un truc "alternatif" sans risquer de te faire péter la gueule par les vrais punks.

Et cet album, c'est l'incarnation parfaite de cette dualité.

Il faut reconnaître un truc : ça tourne, et ça tourne même salement bien. Le mélange est là, indéniablement. On a l'énergie nerveuse et saccadée du punk, ce côté "cocotte-minute sur le point d'exploser" qui était la marque de fabrique de la scène new-yorkaise de l'époque. La section rythmique, avec Tina Weymouth à la basse et Chris Frantz à la batterie, est un putain de métronome sous amphétamines, capable de te pondre un groove funk d'une précision chirurgicale. C'est carré, c'est tendu, c'est dansant, mais d'une manière un peu spastique, comme si tu essayais de te déhancher sur un vibromasseur géant. Le son, produit par le sorcier Brian Eno, est d'une clarté redoutable. Chaque instrument est à sa place, ciselé, découpé au scalpel. C'est propre, c'est intelligent, c'est... cérébral.

Et c'est précisément là que le bât blesse. C'est là que mon 3 sur 5 prend tout son sens.

Cet album est brillant, mais il est froid. Il manque de couilles, de sueur, de cette rage viscérale qui faisait la sève du punk que j'aimais. David Byrne, avec sa voix étranglée et ses tics de grand angoissé, est fascinant. C'est une performance, un personnage. Mais est-ce que j'y crois ? Est-ce que je sens le type qui a vraiment envie de tout cramer ? Pas une seconde. Je sens le type qui a lu des livres sur la sociologie et qui nous en fait une dissertation musicale. C'est très malin, mais ça ne me prend pas aux tripes.

Quand j'étais disquaire, c'était le disque parfait pour le client qui voulait du "post-punk" sans se salir les mains. Le genre de type qui trouvait The Clash trop prolo et les Sex Pistols trop vulgaires. Les Talking Heads, c'était la caution intellectuelle. L'album que tu écoutes en hochant la tête d'un air entendu, en décelant les "influences" et les "concepts". Mais merde, la musique, c'est pas une équation à résoudre ! C'est censé te faire vibrer, te donner envie de baiser, de te battre ou de pleurer. "More Songs About Buildings and Food" me donne surtout envie de ranger ma bibliothèque par ordre alphabétique.

Le meilleur exemple de cette schizophrénie, c'est leur reprise de "Take Me to the River" d'Al Green. La version originale est un monument de soul, un appel à la rédemption charnelle et spirituelle, un truc qui te donne des frissons et une érection en même temps. La version des Talking Heads est déconstruite, glaciale, paranoïaque. C'est une analyse clinique du morceau, pas une interprétation. C'est une autopsie. C'est fascinant de voir comment ils ont démonté le moteur, mais à la fin, il n'y a plus de chaleur, plus d'âme. Juste la mécanique, brillante, mais désincarnée.

Alors voilà. Dans le grand projet des "1001 Albums", celui-ci a sa place, c'est une évidence. C'est un jalon, un disque qui a ouvert des portes et influencé une chiée de groupes. Il a prouvé qu'on pouvait être punk et intelligent, funk et blanc-bec. Mais pour le type de 55 ans qui a usé ses Doc Martens sur des rythmes plus frontaux et des émotions plus brutes, ça reste un objet d'admiration distante. Un disque que je respecte plus que je ne l'aime. Un album que mon cerveau valide, mais que mon coeur laisse poliment sur le bas-côté.

C'est une musique qui parle d'immeubles et de bouffe. Et au final, ça a un peu le goût du béton et la chaleur d'un plat réchauffé au micro-ondes. Énergique, certes. Mais sans le feu sacré.

Favourite songs: Take Me to the River, The Good Thing, With Our Love, Artists Only, Stay Hungry, Thank You for Sending Me an Angel

Least favourite songs: Warning Sign

3/5

Quite annoying.

More Songs About Buildings and Food
This might be my 2nd favourite TH album behind Speaking in Tongues, on a par with, although very different than, Remain in Light and slightly head of Fear of Music and Talking Heads: 77

It definitely feels like a step forward from their first album, the rhythm section is similarly groove driven, but it feels more stronger and more agitated, and the guitar is slightly more prominent and more intertwined with the bass and drums. And Brian Eno’s keyboard and synth augmentations add a different texture than their first album, as well as his production skill adding a different dynamic.

The lyrics are also slightly less opaque, although still enigmatic enough, but David Byrne’s bemusement at his inability to understand how ‘normal’ people live their lives is clear, particularly on The Big Country.

It also has some of David Byrne’s best melodies and some of their best musical hooks. Thank You For Sending Me an Angel is a banger, I love the stomp of With our Love and as it changes to and from the synth bass parts. The Girl Wants to Be With The Girls has the great twinkly piano and an excellent bass riff and that great guitar motif around the chorus. Found a Job has that brilliant break into the synth/piano riff from 3.16 onwards and a brilliant rhythm overall. The Take Me to the River cover is great, excellent synth/organs. And Big Country is superb, with its country twinges and marching rhythm and detached lyric.

There really isn’t a weak track for me, it’s a great album, unsurprisingly a 5
➕🎶🏢🏢🍲

Really interesting album with creative and varied song ideas.

You know… it’s never been my favorite. It’s got some good highlights, but not enough to blow me away.

When I look at the songs in this album, I ask myself how many of my very favorite Talking Heads songs are in this? Not that many.

I enjoy the Talking Heads every time I listen to them. This record feels like a band that is enjoying the hell out of itself. It’s not filled with any of their big singles but it still slaps.

Love this album. Somehow defines and also transcends new wave. This is a band just starting to understand their own potential and greatness.