Douglas Witmer
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Thursday, September 15, 2005
headphones : remain in light
The first Talking Heads album I heard was "Little Creatures" when it was released in the late 80s. I "liked" it, but I didn't get it. I came to the classic early 80s records later in my life...hearing "Remain in Light" for the first time in 2000.
Today, walking back from errands with "Remain in Light" right in the middle of my head, I was transported a little one more time. So much has been written about this record, of course. What impressed me today, with people & cars going to and fro all around me, is how the songs don't really move. Like much minimalist art music a la Reich and Glass, the music begins, then it is for a while, then it isn't. The tightly knit polyrhythms, particularly in the first three tracks, create an incredible amount of energy, but none of it seems designed to propel the song in any direction, even though there exists throughout all the pop song elements one expects in a verse/chorus/repeat format. It is a wonderful evenly-metered constancy.
I've been listening to quite a bit of electronica and stuff that would loosely be categorized as IDM ("intelligent dance music" I'm told), partially because I'm still finishing up an electronica album of my own that relies somewhat on constant beats. (for those of you waiting on the album....it's coming....for those who want to sample it, check out the audio section in the right hand column). Coming from the guitar/bass/drums rock background that I do, I feel naive with electronica. I want to know where, how, or if, I fit in to it...what I am responding to/against, etc.
In the headphones today, I was newly aware of "Remain in Light"'s electronica side. It should be obvious because of Brian Eno's participation. The album opens with the incredible first track "Born Under Punches", its caustic and electronically munched-up guitar solo (presumably by Adrian Belew) seems to come out of no where over the beats, blips, and cool constant bass riff. This track alone (from 25 years ago) lays out almost every motif dealt with in the majority of current electronica, and trumps them all in terms of pure inspiration at every level.
15.9.05 