I think it's about time we realize Fear of Music kicks Remain in Light's ass...

The former has certainly aged a LOT better. The Great Curve sounds a bit too 80s, and I always thought The Overload went for that rhythmic hypnotic quality and failed. It just kind of plods along. The rest is gold of course, but Fear of Music works much better as an overall album. The atmosphere and sonic textures created by Brian Eno reward continued listening, the fade-in to Cities and psych-funk of Memories Can't Wait put this one over the top.

good thread

, DustyLoops.

'born under punches' > anything on fom

but is it psych-funk

i agree but obviously a poll is the only way to solve this

oh this is silly

But yeah, good thread.

the fade-in to Cities

Favorite track on FOM, one of my top (x) Talking Heads track ever.

Also, unfair that the Stop Making Sense version of "Life During Wartime" is the one that made it to classic rock radio rotation, when the album version is better.

But is FOM a better album? No.

RIL's highs are higher, but FOM is more consistent.

these records both suck and i want my $5 back.

what the hell has gotten into you lately

do you really want to get into it?

btw i have a long history of hating on the talking heads.

see fom poll regarding my huge love for cities, but fom cant take ril. no way.

xpost

the name of that band you hate on is "talking heads" lolz

The Great Curve sounds a bit too 80s

I don't get this at all. This is the most nutty track on the album.

Miles had his "coke" period, where everything was just too dense and thick and kind of crazy, and most people hated it. I think side one of RIL is the Byrne/Eno coke period. Killer album side, also makes you dizzy.

lol ian if we compared miseries we could make everyone else on ilx kill themselves -- that would be hilarious

i'm not actually even sure where else i've been a prick lately and meant something by it :(

i got mad at nabisco yesterday, but whatever, dude was defending homophobes by trying to coax sympathy for smalltown USA? c'mon.

I saw that, too, didn't know wtf to make of it.

off topic

I vote yea on this proposition.

FOM sounds thin in comparison.

FoM sounds much more coked-out than Remain in Light.

The live version of Born Under Punches from The Name of this Band... > anything on FOM, tho

And all I see is little dots
Some are smeared and some are spots

Maybe the band switched to Iboga for their Afrobeat excursions on RIL.

if this is true it's only because it has 3 more tracks.
but both albums are fantastic and i wouldn't want to choose between them
and Born Under Punches is the greatest thing the Talking Heads ever did

Also, unfair that the Stop Making Sense version of "Life During Wartime" is the one that made it to classic rock radio rotation, when the album version is better.

I've never heard the live version on the radio. Here, "Take Me to the River" and "Life During Wartime" are the only songs left in the classic rock rotation. That pretty much sums up the entire new wave. "Don't Look Back" to "Boys of Summer" short pause for Talking Heads.

I agree "Fear Of Music" is better. Maybe one of the best things Eno has ever done, in fact. "Remain In Light" is a bit too, well.. They have found some grooves, and they are cool and all, but they don't really develop much.

^ go be wrong on another thread

Born Under Punches rules. That is all.

agreed. Born Under Punches FTW

I third that proposition

I've listened to FOM more than RIL, but I've listened to FOM more than most things. They're both great.

I think of these 3rd & 4th Talking Heads LPs as parallels to Peter Gabriel's 3rd & 4th. The 3rd LP is a great paranoid (loose) concept album. The 4th LP goes "world music" and contains one career peak single that might be better than any individual song on the 3rd. Yet the 3rd is the better album overall.

Fear of Music is my least favorite of the first 5 studio albums. All 5 are great though.

Remain in Light sounded better then, but Fear of Music sounds better today, IMO.

yeah it's my least fave of the first 5 too. Animals is still amazing mind.

"Remain In Light" is interesting in a lot of ways, with some great arrangements and stuff. But the songs were better on "Fear Of Music", which is also the most Eno-sounding of their work.

btw i now with the second person in five years who sings along to the talking heads very poorly in the morning. :(

'live' is a crucial, missing word in that above post. oops.

i have no real reason why, but I gotta say Fear Of Music/Remain In Light-era afropop Enofied studio-weirdo Talking Heads is my least favorite era of Talking Heads, following '77 punky skeletal Talking Heads and late-era near-MOR college radio stalwart Talking Heads respectively.

the reason is you live in a city of dreams

I just want to stress that I disagree vehemently with the premise of this thread, and revived it with the implicit purpose of underscoring same.

still might be a chance that it MIGHT work out

My opinion has not changed in the ensuing aeons

each of the first 5 talking heads albums have been my favorite at some point. fear of music has probably held the prestigious #1 ranking for the most total weeks though

RIL & More Songs have flipped positions over the years but it's only ever been the two of them

FoM is sort of the last stop on my tour of beloved T. Heads albums... I dig a few songs here & there afterwards, but that’s about it. As for RiL — I think “Once in a Lifetime” is a legit masterpiece, but otherwise I’ve never really been into the album.

Is it such a great pleasure to have such strong opinions on great albums ?
I don't return often to Fear of Music, it might be "consistent", but I value Talking Heads individual songs more, on RiL but also Speaking in Tongues or the first one. Not a huge fan of More Songs either.

Yeah don’t think there’s much pleasure in it tbh