tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post726232957797739584..comments2024-03-26T22:48:55.424-07:00Comments on Flying Totems: Final Songs: The OverloadBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06590397694589547524noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post-24059129118038185572015-11-13T23:40:52.183-08:002015-11-13T23:40:52.183-08:00Those four songs are all wonderful in their own wa...Those four songs are all wonderful in their own way. As is "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" which kicks off the whole thing. That "Take a look at these hands!" is a real attention getter. The lyrics, I think, were largely added on impulse.<br /><br />I think you're right that the sequencing of the album matters. Talking Heads were tasting success at this point. They were recording in Bermuda and working with pretty much whoever they wanted, having a good time as musicians. The opening songs reflect this sense of freedom. But they also recognized that there were troubling trends in the world, and this darkness eclipses the light as things go on.<br /><br />I like the idea of the title as a challenge. "The light" is of course metaphorical. Physically we need some darkness. But yeah, there's a warning to keep your eyes open.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06590397694589547524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499771778569209667.post-54211045574351982652015-11-02T13:49:45.995-08:002015-11-02T13:49:45.995-08:00I hadn't listened to Remain In Light in its en...I hadn't listened to Remain In Light in its entirety for a long time until last night and again this afternoon. It really is amazing and to have four songs as disparate yet complex as The Great Curve (still my favorite), Once in a Lifetime, Listening Wind, and The Overload on the same album and make it work is beyond me. To a large extent the lyrics don't much matter because this is still a rock album in the purest sense. <br /><br />I agree with your view that <i> this music can feel like being flown in the middle of the night to what your hosts say is another country but that you suspect is another planet.</i> Something I may have realized before and forgot certainly came back to me on re-listening this time. The first three songs are exciting, danceable, heavily-layered synth tunes that flow into one another like some fast moving, bubbling river, carrying the listener swiftly down their rapids. Then Once in a Lifetime signals a change when David Byrne cries out: 'My God! What have I done!' From that point, remaining in light becomes increasingly impossible as the music creeps ever more slowly into a dark and moody landscape of despair and pain. <br /><br />Listening to the Overload makes me wonder if the title of the album was actually a challenge. They were a group of intellectuals who really didn't like the direction the western world was taking. Perhaps this was their warning to us?<br /><br />susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.com