[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Talking Heads — Life During Wartime
Album: Fear Of Music
Avg rating:
7.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2997









Released: 1979
Length: 3:29
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons
Packed up and ready to go
Heard of some grave sites out by the highway
A place where nobody knows
The sound of gunfire off in the distance
I'm getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, I lived in the ghetto
I've lived all over this town

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey
I ain't got time for that now

Transmit the message to the receiver
Hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, couple of visas
Don't even know my real name
High on a hillside trucks are loading
Everything's ready to roll
I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nightime
I might not ever get home

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
This ain't no mudd club, or C.B.G.B.
I ain't got time for that now

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey
I ain't got time for that now

Heard about Houston? heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
Somebody might see you up there
I got some groceries, some peanut butter
To last a couple of days
But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones
Ain't got no records to play

Why stay in college? why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time?
Can't write a letter, can't send a postcard
I can't write nothing at all
This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
I'd love you hold you, I'd like to kiss you
I ain't got no time for that now

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock
We blended in with the crowd
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines
I know that ain't allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives
Or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle so many times now
Don't know what I look like
You make me shiver, I feel so tender
We make a pretty good team
Don't get exhausted, I'll do some driving
You ought to get you some sleep
Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks?
They won't help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace
The burning keeps me alive
Comments (148)add comment
Please, give me a day without TH and DB. They are really overplayed no matter how good they are.
One version of Hell: being stuck in a sweltering, smoke-filled Vegas casino while an undead Wayne Newton croons a lounge-lizard cover of this...
sound too much like byrned out;YUCK
Just after a cool cover of "This Must Be The Place", this comes on. Good stuff My DJ!
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Fred, your freakish obsession with the Teletubbies is downright disturbing. Newsflash; they are in no way associated with the Talking Heads or David Byrne. Why are you even watching a TV show intended for infants?
Please try to work this out with your therapist.


mayhap it's the 2020's version of "Smoking Cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo"
tedious byrne
 fredriley wrote:

Hard to believe that it rates more than 0.75, but then some folk are deluded by David "Tellytubby" Byrne. PSD for me whenever that ponce comes online. 1's too good for Tellytubby.

Fred, your freakish obsession with the Teletubbies is downright disturbing. Newsflash; they are in no way associated with the Talking Heads or David Byrne. Why are you even watching a TV show intended for infants?
Please try to work this out with your therapist.
 NHemp wrote:


I don't get why people feel the need to post like this. Just move on...no need to dump on artists and bring down the fans who dig something.
And - why are you looking for snarky refutes? Play the music you like. I switch between the main channel and the Rock channel when a song comes on that I don't like.



I like to speak out for the dissenters.  Why should you post what you feel and not them?  The OP was respectful and reasonable, they just explained that it's not for them.  Why is that less valid than a million soppy sentimentalists talking about the golden years that this song reminds them of, or calling the artists "geniuses" just as someone does in nearly every song's comments somewhere.  Music is subjective, so to have a comments section at all serves strictly the purpose of expressing an opinion, no matter what it is.  That's what they did.  Get over it. 

The OP only mentions "snarky refutes" because that is the inevitable result of a dissenting comment.  It shouldn't be.  The unwavering praise that overwhelms every comment section starts to feel superficial and tiresome.

For the record, I love this song.  
 Proclivities wrote:

She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, of course.



How can anyone be extremely average?
 coloradojohn wrote:

In my last year of high school, this was on the radio... But just singing the lyrics could get us weird glances from teachers...and the better I became at imitating him (the amazing David Byrne) the more they eyed me with surprised suspicion and unfounded wariness... You just CAN'T get any weirder, nor any better, than Talking Heads. Immortal music!



I can't remember where I read this (Rolling Stone..?) but a published rock critic once suggested that TH's popularity was due to "David Byrne's truly psychotic looks".
Better than you think!  9
 Proclivities wrote:

She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, of course.



you have to admit the best Talking Heads songs depend on that bass line that Tina laid down
 coloradojohn wrote:

When this came out, there was nothing in the world like it, and we absolutely ate it up.  HEADY TIMES!  TH was ORIGINAL as it gets!




"Does anyone have any questions?"
 janerikandersen wrote:

What a terrible melody.............TH at a lowpoint !




WRONG!!!!!!!!! ...on so many levels!!!
 orpheus wrote:
david byrne and the heads at their best!{#Clap}{#Propeller}{#Devil_pimp}{#Bananajumprope}{#Cool}{#Bananasplit}



 VH1 wrote:



This ain't no mudd club!
Talking Heads, Talk Talk no coincidence!
What a terrible melody.............TH at a lowpoint !
seems very possible in pandemic 2021
In my last year of high school, this was on the radio... But just singing the lyrics could get us weird glances from teachers...and the better I became at imitating him (the amazing David Byrne) the more they eyed me with surprised suspicion and unfounded wariness... You just CAN'T get any weirder, nor any better, than Talking Heads. Immortal music!
 Proclivities wrote:

She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, though.


Not to mention the oxymoron "extremely average".
Time to watch "Stop Making Sense" again

 ziakut wrote:

Lotsa art school posey, posey. Lotsa talky talky. This ain't no foolin' around. Just not a fan of Talking Heads...and less so DB...I understand why people like it. I just don't. Bring on the snarky refutes.



Who needs to think when your feet just go?!?
 ziakut wrote:

Lotsa art school posey, posey. Lotsa talky talky. This ain't no foolin' around. Just not a fan of Talking Heads...and less so DB...I understand why people like it. I just don't. Bring on the snarky refutes.



I don't get why people feel the need to post like this. Just move on...no need to dump on artists and bring down the fans who dig something.
And - why are you looking for snarky refutes? Play the music you like. I switch between the main channel and the Rock channel when a song comes on that I don't like.
 Proclivities wrote:

She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, though.


Agreed.  david byrne could get anyone to play bass in the Talking Heads and her style was a fit. No hate; appreciate!
 VH1 wrote:


YUP! Where it all started for them.
Lotsa art school posey, posey. Lotsa talky talky. This ain't no foolin' around. Just not a fan of Talking Heads...and less so DB...I understand why people like it. I just don't. Bring on the snarky refutes.
 rpdevotee wrote:
The reason David Byrne has not recreated these classic hits in his solo endeavors is because of the Tom Tom Club--so noticeably prominent here
 
Why would he? He's got plenty of creativity in his head. And actually he did for his show that's on Netflix (or Amazon?)
The reason David Byrne has not recreated these classic hits in his solo endeavors is because of the Tom Tom Club--so noticeably prominent here
 jp33442 wrote:
Going to hit next David Byrne is a asshole
 
I'd be surprised if you're able to get dressed by yourself
8 -> 9  
 Proclivities wrote:

She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, though.
 
Let's not forget or for those who didn't know, Tina learned the bass on the fly when invited to join the group with her b-friend who was a member of the group. All things considered she did very well and added to the distinct somewhat at times oddity of music coming from the the mind of David. Good on 'er!!
 Proclivities wrote:

I spent a lot of time there in the late '70s and early '80s.
 

Lucky man.

I only went once around '93. I regret I didn't note the names of the bands I saw that night.

I remember there was a punk band from Sweden(?) who were late to the stage. Someone came on the PA and announced that they had 2 minutes to get on stage if they wanted to get paid. I never saw musicians move so fast :)
Release date for this album on this RP page is wrong. "Fear of Music" came out in 1979.
How the hell is this rated a 7.5? Should be 10s across the board.  It's absolutely brilliant.  Lyrics, subject, music, tone. There's nothing one could do to improve it.
Like some blubbering idiot singing.
Going to hit next David Byrne is a asshole
Kinda prescient about the explosives - and BTW NEVER go to window after the FIRST explosion. 
 Pjesnik wrote:
Is this really from studio album? If yes, the year can't be 1987?   
 

Yeah, I'm scanning the Wikipedia entry to the right of my screen.  It says 1979 was the year of Fear of Music.
Is this really from studio album? If yes, the year can't be 1987?   
Makes me want to watch Stop Making Sense concert film again
Watch and listen to the live video on YouTube!
 jp33442 wrote:
Another song that got played to death, going to hit the next button
 
Must be a 19 minute time delay from when you heard it to now. Hmmmmm.
Yes, Played to death but still good. I'll not hit the next button.
Another song that got played to death, going to hit the next button
 kcar wrote:

{#Yes}

At some point, the band went from a group of casual terrorists to quirky folk with kids in the suburbs. These days, the edgy David Byrnes shows up occasionally when he does stuff with Brian Eno. 
 
That would be 'David Byrne' 


 coloradojohn wrote:
When this came out, there was nothing in the world like it, and we absolutely ate it up.  HEADY TIMES!  TH was ORIGINAL as it gets!

 
{#Yes}
For me this is 7
 janac13 wrote:
This has such an urgency that I find missing in Mr Byrne's later stuff.
 
Human beings grow up, shocker!
 janac13 wrote:
This has such an urgency that I find missing in Mr Byrne's later stuff.
 
{#Yes}

At some point, the band went from a group of casual terrorists to quirky folk with kids in the suburbs. These days, the edgy David Byrnes shows up occasionally when he does stuff with Brian Eno. 
A bit tame compared to the stop making sense version. But still great.
 VH1 wrote:
cb

 
I spent a lot of time there in the late '70s and early '80s.
 coloradojohn wrote:
When this came out, there was nothing in the world like it, and we absolutely ate it up.  HEADY TIMES!  TH was ORIGINAL as it gets!

 
No doubt! 
Had a lot of good times there. 

VH1 wrote:


 


This has such an urgency that I find missing in Mr Byrne's later stuff.

Great music
Pass on this one.
Byrne baby Byrne
This album title is really fitting for a change.
"The sound of gunfire  in the distance
I'm getting used to it now"   but me never = pure 10
YEAH!!!
{#Bananajam} 
I do not get tired to put this shit assessment 1 {#Crashcomp}
Fun, if tragic, story from DB's book "How Music Works": TH once turned up to a gig that had apparently been organised by homophobes/racists who had strung a large banner above the stage reading "THIS AIN'T NO DISCO". Way to misinterpret a previously fun lyric, you bastards.
Among the best - instant, although rare, 10.
 lasker98 wrote:
Hard to believe this is only 7.5

 
Hard to believe that it rates more than 0.75, but then some folk are deluded by David "Tellytubby" Byrne. PSD for me whenever that ponce comes online. 1's too good for Tellytubby.
 MarysCatGrowl wrote:
Put on a John Lee Hooker record instead.
Why owuld you ever listen to the Talking Heads if you own any John Lee record?

 
Because Hooker, for whatever reasons, doesn't really sound like Talking Heads, and I like Talking Heads, so it's really not the same.

Does that help?
{#Cool}
Keep it up
A mindless danceable. Not among their best. 4.
 MarysCatGrowl wrote:

Why owuld you ever listen to the Talking Heads if you own any John Lee record?

 
Because I can.
Put on a John Lee Hooker record instead.
Why owuld you ever listen to the Talking Heads if you own any John Lee record?
When this came out, there was nothing in the world like it, and we absolutely ate it up.  HEADY TIMES!  TH was ORIGINAL as it gets!
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Excellent gif.  We need more inappropriate sized things in every day life.  David Byrne understands this. jesuisperdu:  (via bestrooftalkever)  David Byrne of The Talking Heads in his infamous huge suit from the film Stop Making Sense.
https://itsguystuff.tumblr.com/page/12

 
If DB stood up in a skiff dressed like that, he'd be a perfect sail. 
"I've heard this song so many times now,  I don't know what it sounds like"

(still awesome)
9+    {#Bananajam}
 lasker98 wrote:
Hard to believe this is only 7.5

 
It's not. Solid 9. Some are deluded.
 BuffaloGrunt wrote:
{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananapiano}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananajam}

 
You forgot a few....{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananasplit}{#Drummer}....a real toe tapper!
The song title reminds me of Lucius Shepard's distinctive and highly disturbing book "Life During Wartime". Highly recommended.
Hard to believe this is only 7.5
{#Bananajam}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananapiano}{#Dancingbanana}{#Bananajam}
On my list of really bad movies that I absolutely love is "Times Square" which features this number in one of its better scenes.  Hard to get tired of this one and I do not consider myself a huge Talking Heads fan.
 lemmoth wrote:
There ain't no Mudd Club, no CBGBs (in 2012), and that's a terrible shame......
 

I'll see your cbgb and raise you an omfug.    here's the (despicable) irony....it went from a punk club to being an expensive mens fashion boutique......arrrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!
Still prefer the Stop Making Sense version, but this is quite solid.  
Nice!
Debbie, this is Ann - Ann, meet Debbie.  Now that you are both in the same plane - I'm sure you'll have much to discuss.  Talking Heads, conspiracy theories, friendships, and the cosmos - to name a few.  Keep an eye on us.  Miss you.

marvelous...  love this song...
 
"We're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed..."

Well, we know who he *isn't* working for.
Life as in now.
 sirdroseph wrote:
This is definitely one of their better works. 8
 
Easy 10.
 Misterfixit wrote:


Dearest Ann, I hope you have found what you wanted to find.  I know, we talked about everything there was to find in Elko, NV and had a great laugh, but I know that now you are One with the Universe you have your answers.

Love,

Dave
 
 

Thank you for that, she really did have an effect beyond the norm.
T.
 lemmoth wrote:
There ain't no Mudd Club, no CBGBs (in 2012), and that's a terrible shame......
 
eyup
There ain't no Mudd Club, no CBGBs (in 2012), and that's a terrible shame......
 drsteevo wrote:
 idahoTux wrote:
Tina Weymouth was a vastly under-rated bassist.

The only way she could be "vastly under-rated" is to rate her as the worst person to ever pick up a bass.  Really, if you think she is a great bass player, you really need to listen to more music.  She is extremely average.
 
She was not extremely average on the bass; she often played with a lot of syncopation and back-beat rhythms that "average" rock/pop bass players (i.e.: frustrated guitar players who pluck notes on the same beats as the rhythm guitar strums) are generally incapable of hearing.  We're all entitled to our opinions, of course.

Got me dancin'!
{#Dancingbanana}
 Giselle62 wrote:
Probably one of my top fave albums just cuz it has so many good songs on one album.
 
True, 'Fear of Music' has a lot of good songs, however 'Remain in Light' probably has a larger number of great songs. My favourite albums are 'Talking Heads '77' and 'More Songs About Building and Food', but those lean more towards the punk side.  
 Cynaera wrote:
Okay.  I know I mentioned this before, but I wrote a short story called "Life in A Rabbit Warren" and it was based on Harlan Ellison's "A Boy And His Dog."  And then I heard this song, and it inspired me to make changes to my story.  Unfortunately, my story was typed on a manual typewriter, and I can't find the original. I'm hoping it's in a box in the garage, because it was really good...

I don't think I could re-create it, so just either watch "A Boy And His Dog" on video or DVD, or buy Mr. Ellison's book of the same name. And read/watch it to this song, keeping in mind the dates when each of these were produced.  The parallels are eerily prophetic.

NO, I am NOT a conspiracy-theorist!  I just really love this song. It sorta makes me want to do that whole "Legend of Billy Jean" thing and load up the back of the Sidekick with clothes, water bottles, and a lot of candy...only I'd head out to the Nevada desert because I'm pretty sure there's a lot of stuff out there that is either radioactive, from another planet, or light-years ahead of its time and awaiting funding so it will net the owners zillions of (non-existent) dollars...

Okay. Maybe I really am a conspiracy-theorist.

 

Dearest Ann, I hope you have found what you wanted to find.  I know, we talked about everything there was to find in Elko, NV and had a great laugh, but I know that now you are One with the Universe you have your answers.

Love,

Dave
 
Probably one of my top fave albums just cuz it has so many good songs on one album.
 Cynaera wrote:
Okay.  I know I mentioned this before, but I wrote a short story called "Life in A Rabbit Warren" and it was based on Harlan Ellison's "A Boy And His Dog."  And then I heard this song, and it inspired me to make changes to my story.  Unfortunately, my story was typed on a manual typewriter, and I can't find the original. I'm hoping it's in a box in the garage, because it was really good...

I don't think I could re-create it, so just either watch "A Boy And His Dog" on video or DVD, or buy Mr. Ellison's book of the same name. And read/watch it to this song, keeping in mind the dates when each of these were produced.  The parallels are eerily prophetic.

NO, I am NOT a conspiracy-theorist!  I just really love this song. It sorta makes me want to do that whole "Legend of Billy Jean" thing and load up the back of the Sidekick with clothes, water bottles, and a lot of candy...only I'd head out to the Nevada desert because I'm pretty sure there's a lot of stuff out there that is either radioactive, from another planet, or light-years ahead of its time and awaiting funding so it will net the owners zillions of (non-existent) dollars...

Okay. Maybe I really am a conspiracy-theorist.
 
Cynaera...you okay?

That's the wackiest post I've seen from you, and I always read your stuff, and a handfull of others, I have to say. I'm not getting the "Legend of Billy Jean" thing. Guess it's nothing to do with Michael Jackson!
I will however check out Harlan Ellison's "A Boy And His Dog", but, what interests me more right now, is your story, "Life in a Rabbit Warren". Please, I beseech you. You must find it. You see, I am a Rabbit, twice over: Chinese zodiac Rabbit, for one, and I now manage the "Rabbid Rabbits" (the spelling's intentional), a co-ed slo-pitch baseball team here in Toronto that's been a going concern for 26 years, the last 23 of which I have been a part of. It's a source of pride for me, silly as that may be. So, if you ever find that story of yours I would really love to read it, if you would be so kind.

 
 DaveInVA wrote:

Even with  the DB/TH Radio Paradise is still the best station out there. I like an overwhelming majority of the music played here and I have literly bought 100's of CD's and records of stuff I've heard here. I've heard lots of stuff I'd never known existed before here. Sure there are a few other songs/artists that get played here I don't care for BUT they don't get played at the same frequency as DB/TH.  According to a sampling of the daily playlists here DB/TH gets played one each a day fairly consistently. I can find no other artist that gets that treatment. Sometimes they'll play something new often for a while but DB/TH never goes away or dies down. Music to me is a stress buster and I don't like music that pisses me off or makes me sick. Ironically in the 70's when TH was touring to promote their first LP I got stuck doing sound for them in a venue in the Chicago area that I worked at.
 
Clearly, Dave, you don't get Talking Heads/David Byrne, 
or don't want to. Life is all about our choices. That's fine. Yet I, for instance, would have killed to have the opportunity you had. To each his own, of course. But man, it's no one's responsibility but your own to to deal with what makes you sick. Go away for a while. You know, it's almost becoming epidemic - how often I can enter the comments page here and inevitably find someone, as yourself here, ranting negatives ad nauseam about one artist or another, citing stats galore, as if it means anything to anyone but yourself. Please, my friend, I don't see any positive outcome to this tactic. Sugar, I find, usually works better than salt. Just my opinion... 
thank you!  more talking heads please!!!  
Excellent gif.  We need more inappropriate sized things in every day life.  David Byrne understands this. jesuisperdu:  (via bestrooftalkever)  David Byrne of The Talking Heads in his infamous huge suit from the film Stop Making Sense.
Update 2023: Remastered version of "Stop Making Sense" now in theatres. Don't miss it!
Why do girls prefer bass?
Way too much David Byrne, here.  Such a shame.  
David Byrne's creativity knows no bounds, but this was an amazing period for him. It was just so good back then.
the most fun/enjoyable ominous song EVAH... {#Idea}
 Cynaera wrote:

Does anybody even bother to read all the prior comments (and not just mine, but anyone's?)

 
Sometimes, but generally no. A good example is the Dandy Warhols' "Godless." Its parallels to George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," and by analog The Chiffons' "He's So Fine," started the first or second time it was played on RP, I think in 2003. In fact, that song has enjoyed a well-nourished thread addressing—or trolling about—what consitutes plagiarism vs. homage. Well, fast-forward to today, and you'll see the comment "My Sweet Lord?" and the same issues/thread reintroduced but with different commenters as if it were a novel discovery. Pretty funny.

 Cynaera wrote:

Does anybody even bother to read all the prior comments (and not just mine, but anyone's?)
 
Absolutely, and some of us do go to peopleses' profileses and click the Song Comments link so we can just read what that one person's all about.
 Cynaera wrote:

Does anybody even bother to read all the prior comments (and not just mine, but anyone's?)

 
Yes.  Read most of 'em.
The desert sounds like a great idea.

 Cynaera wrote:
This is one of those songs that picks you up, takes you on a panoramic journey fraught with danger and wonder, and then dumps you back in your chair wondering what the hell just happened.  And then you look down and realize you have a short-wave radio in your lap and you have no idea how it got there. {#Roflol}
 
Does anybody even bother to read all the prior comments (and not just mine, but anyone's?)

Shame there's no -10 on the scale to better adjust the average...


 fuh2 wrote:
 version I Stop better live like on Sense prefer Making the.
  

dada Very!
Good drumming
Bill's favourites!

I liked them too - at times!

Nowadays I cannot stand them anymore!
Annoying!
Okay.  I know I mentioned this before, but I wrote a short story called "Life in A Rabbit Warren" and it was based on Harlan Ellison's "A Boy And His Dog."  And then I heard this song, and it inspired me to make changes to my story.  Unfortunately, my story was typed on a manual typewriter, and I can't find the original. I'm hoping it's in a box in the garage, because it was really good...

I don't think I could re-create it, so just either watch "A Boy And His Dog" on video or DVD, or buy Mr. Ellison's book of the same name. And read/watch it to this song, keeping in mind the dates when each of these were produced.  The parallels are eerily prophetic.

NO, I am NOT a conspiracy-theorist!  I just really love this song. It sorta makes me want to do that whole "Legend of Billy Jean" thing and load up the back of the Sidekick with clothes, water bottles, and a lot of candy...only I'd head out to the Nevada desert because I'm pretty sure there's a lot of stuff out there that is either radioactive, from another planet, or light-years ahead of its time and awaiting funding so it will net the owners zillions of (non-existent) dollars...

Okay. Maybe I really am a conspiracy-theorist.

This is definitely one of their better works. 8
Who remembers the bumps on the original LP cover? This album is memorable in all sorts of ways
8. The live version gets a 9. {#Music}