3 Eternal Talking Heads Songs That Will Shine Forever

When it comes to the greatest concert film of all time, most people will point to the 1984 movie from Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense. Not only does that film mark the gold standard for the form but it includes many great songs from the cerebral rock band born in Providence, Rhode Island and forged in New York City.

Here below, we wanted to explore three songs from Talking Heads that play on Stop Making Sense and have simply just stood the test of time. A trio of tracks that music fans will be listening to for decades to come, as well. Indeed, these are three eternal Talking Heads songs that will shine forever.

[RELATED: Behind the Album: ‘Remain in Light,’ the Album Where Talking Heads Pushed the Boundaries and Left Their Peers Behind]

“Psycho Killer” from Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

This song, which comes from the band’s debut LP, is a bilingual success. It’s also the song that opens Stop Making Sense. On the tune, lead vocalist David Byrne sings about being uneasy. It’s the feeling a serial killer may harbor, leading him or her to their murderous actions. And on the tune, Byrne sings,

I can’t seem to face up to the facts
I’m tense and nervous and I can’t relax
I can’t sleep ’cause my bed’s on fire
Don’t touch me, I’m a real live wire

Psycho Killer
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, better
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away, oh-oh-oh
Psycho Killer
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, better
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away, oh, oh, oh, oh
Ay-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya, ooh

“Burning Down the House” from Speaking in Tongues (1983)

Perhaps the most pure pop song from the band that wasn’t known for its straight commercial tunes. Nevertheless, put this song on at a party and watch people start moving and shaking their stuff. While Byrne isn’t telling people to take a literal match to their abodes, he is saying let your energy bubble and roil up and have a good time! And on the song, which hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, he sings,

Watch out, you might get what you’re after
Cool, babies – strange but not a stranger
I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the house

Hold tight, wait ’til the party’s over
Hold tight, we’re in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house

“Road to Nowhere” from Little Creatures (1985)

For a rock band that cares as much about philosophical musing as it does creating a sticky hit, this song is the perfect Venn diagram of both. It’s catchy, fun, and soulful but it also speaks to a sense of existentialism the band espouses. For what is life and what is the point of it? We are all working, all moving … but where are going? Perhaps we’re just on a road to nowhere? That’s the point of this tune and on it Byrne sings,

Well, we know where we’re goin’
But we don’t know where we’ve been
And we know what we’re knowin’
But we can’t say what we’ve seen

And we’re not little children
And we know what we want
And the future is certain
Give us time to work it out

Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage