Talking Heads Covers

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In the post below about "True Stories", someone mentioned that the versions of the songs in the movie were mostly better than those performed by Talking Heads. I agree (I thought the movie was wonderful), especially with Pop Staples' magnificent "Papa Legba" (does a full audio version of this exist anywhere???).

That led me to think of recorded Talking Head covers, and only two came to mind:
"Slippery People" by the Staple Singers (not as good as it should have been...too close to the original)
"Drugs" by This Mortal Coil (quite good in my books)

Any others???????????

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

The Constatines just did "Thanks For Sending Me An Angel".
The Rheostatics doa great live cover of "Life During Wartime" when Im sober enough to remember them playing it.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 02:54 (twenty-two years ago)

How's the Constantines' version? I imagine its pretty straightforward.
I also imagine that the Rheostatics take a different tack with theirs.

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Living Colour tried their hand at "Memories Can't Wait" on Vivid.

Simpy Red ruined "Heaven".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:01 (twenty-two years ago)

i have a full version of the pop staples track.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:03 (twenty-two years ago)

The Rheostatics play it as straight as they possibly could. They all take a verse and Bidini sounds like he could be David's younger brother.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:04 (twenty-two years ago)

well its 4 minutes long if that's a complete version.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Jed, is this offa cd???????

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:08 (twenty-two years ago)

a kitten passed it on to me so i'm not sure.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:09 (twenty-two years ago)

All the cats I know just shit in my yard!

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:11 (twenty-two years ago)

do you have an email account that can take a 5mb file?

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

No jed. I've got fucking windows '72.
I couldn't download a flu with this thing.

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:17 (twenty-two years ago)

aw - too bad.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:18 (twenty-two years ago)

You should upgrade to Windows77

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Isn't "Talking Heads 77" good enough???

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Someone had to say it, might as well been me.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Phish covered Remain in Light in it's entirety in one of their Halloween cover sets and it was released on one of the Live Phish sets. They kept "Crosseyed and Painless" in their live repertoire, and also cover "Cities" live which appears on their live album Slip, Stich and Pass, and perhaps on one or more of the Live Phish shows.

― Aaron M (Aaron M), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops, sorry about that.

― Aaron M (Aaron M), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 03:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Shawn Colvin did "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" on her Cover Girl cd.

― bahtology, Wednesday, 7 January 2004 04:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Cardigans w/Tom Jones: "Burning Down the House"
The Bobs: "Psycho Killer"
Ida: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 05:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I once heard Yo La Tengo cover "Pulled Up" on one of those annual WFMU shows.

S'true.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 05:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I once heard Radiohead soundcheck a sort of mashup... The music to their song Dollars & Cents, with Thom singing Crosseyed & Painless over it. 'twas cool, and they went together quite well.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 05:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Luna did "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" on the Luna EP.

― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 06:23 (twenty-two years ago)

But are any of these any good?

― peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 12:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I've also seen Phish do "Psycho Killer". It was k-rad.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I haven't heard it in over a decade, but I seem to remember Living Colour's "Memories Can't Wait" being rather yawnsomely faithful (just a little more burly in the geetar department).

Simply Red's "Heaven" takes the song out of its original innocent, thinking-out-loud sorta context and places it in an annoying yuppie coffee lounge. Blecchhh!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 14:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh Ok do a pretty fun version of psycho killer on their new reissue.

― danh, Wednesday, 7 January 2004 16:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I could have murdered Phish after hearing their slackadaiscal horseshit cover of "Cities," but I came across their version of "Seen And Not Seen" by accident and didn't immediately realize it was Phish, so hey.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:25 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not really Talking Heads but Chicks on Speed have just done a great cover of Tom Tom Club's 'Wordy Rappinghood'.

― Anna (Anna), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors play "Burning Down the House" and SLAY THE FUCK out of it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Eeesh, I recall that TMC version of "Drugs" as being pretty horrid.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:41 (twenty-two years ago)

twenty-one years pass...

i did put this on rolling outernational thread but it's too good not to share here too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzoJekLpfno
WITCH - Once In A Lifetime

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Friday, 31 October 2025 13:51 (three months ago)

that's off a forthcoming covers album on BBE...
https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/naive-melodies

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Friday, 31 October 2025 13:52 (three months ago)

and guyyyyyysss....Florence Adooni is doing 'Crosseyed & Painless'

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Friday, 31 October 2025 13:53 (three months ago)

(shame about Roisin Fucking Murphy though)

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Friday, 31 October 2025 13:54 (three months ago)

This is my go-to "Once in a Lifetime" cover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPxpgvCAdeM

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 31 October 2025 14:45 (three months ago)

I like A Certain Ratio's cover of Houses In Motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc_7s3G_IIc

― giraffe, Friday, 31 October 2025 15:35 (three months ago)

a lot of these are good but its really fucking wack that Roisin Murphy is part of it

― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Friday, 31 October 2025 17:12 (three months ago)

i'm guessing they asked kenny dope gonzalez and it was his choice to work with her

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Friday, 31 October 2025 17:30 (three months ago)

don't love all of Angelique Kidjo's Remain in Light cover album but her version of Born Under Punches is excellent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR8jgFGmqvU

― that's not my post, Friday, 31 October 2025 19:35 (three months ago)

are remixes okay here? Here’s Todd Edward’s’ banging remix of “Burning Down The House”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_BpfEOd9U-

― brimstead, Friday, 31 October 2025 19:38 (three months ago)

Murphy was one of the vocalists on the Byrne/Fatboy Slim Here Lies Love album.

― eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Friday, 31 October 2025 23:12 (three months ago)

love the fuzz against junk, esp. the harvey mix (discovered via ILM a long long time ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4IlPRfBwqU

― fpsa, Saturday, 1 November 2025 05:54 (three months ago)

sorry, fuzz against junk cover of born under punches

― fpsa, Saturday, 1 November 2025 05:55 (three months ago)

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