This album blew me away when it came out (1980). That's a while ago now. It still sounds great, and to my ear, not at all dated. The sound itself was a bit of a shock. The Talking Heads started with a very spare new wave sound. But this was dense, layered, thick. Like pop music kidnapped as a baby and raised by anarchists. The lyrics are also terrific. David Byrne laid off the ironic button long enough to actually tell some stories. Stilted nonsensical stories, but stories nevertheless. There was a bit of this on their previous album, but he took it farther here. For example:
He would see faces in movies, on T.V., in magazines, and in books....
He thought that some of these faces might be right for him....And
that through the years, by keeping an ideal facial structure fixed in his
mind....Or somewhere in the back of his mind....That he might, by
force of will, cause his face to approach those of his ideal....The
change would be very subtle....It might take ten years or so....
Gradually his face would change it's shape....A more hooked nose...
Wider, thinner lips....Beady eyes....A larger forehead.
He imagined that this was an ability he shared with most other
people....They had also molded their faces according to some
ideal....Maybe they imagined that their new face would better
suit their personality....Or maybe they imagined that their
personality would be forced to change to fit the new appear-
ance....This is why first impressions are often correct...
Although some people might have made mistakes....They may have
arrived at an appearance that bears no relationship to them....
They may have picked an ideal appearance based on some childish
whim, or momentary impulse....Some may have gotten half-way
there, and then changed their minds.
He wonders if he too might have made a similar mistake.
Seen and Not Seen
