Talking Heads in real life: Seen and Not Seen
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One of my favorite songs by the Talking Heads is "Seen and Not Seen" off of their more-than-essential album Remain in Light. If you know the album at all, that might seem strange to you. After all, out of all the songs on the album, this is the least song-ish one on it. It has lyrics, but no singing. It has structure and rhythm, but does not follow the traditional song format. Without a doubt, it's the simplest song on the album--nothing more than a basic groove laid down, some noises here and there, and David Byrne talking.
Personally, I love the music to this song, but that's not what I really love about it. It's the words. This is also strange, because I'm not usually a lyric sort of guy. I've actually thought about making posts about songs whose lyrics mean a lot to me, just because the list is relatively short. I just usually don't listen. Any lyrics I know it's usually because I've heard the song so much I happened to learn them. But still, I have songs in my collection that I've been listening to for years and years and years that I still don't know the words to.
But I'm getting off the topic. I love this song simply because the lyrics to this song run very closely to a line of thought I used to have when I was a kid and teenager. I wondered these same things and asked the same questions. But this was long before I ever heard this album. It's an odd line of reasoning, but I was kind of an odd kid (no surprise there, right?) So imagine my surprise the first time I'm listening to this cd and I come across the lyrics. It was like someone had read my mind. Song is in the video, lyrics are posted below:
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 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 its 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 faced 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.
Comments (18)
This album is just a gem, but I think what you mentioned is just such typical David Byrne thought. He constantly straddles high art and low culture in his work, but is able to do so intelligently and unpretentiously.
I have a book of some of his art work that I just love. His images are - well they are very much like his lyrics. He has a collection of photos of pharmecutical headquarter signs, empty conference rooms from hotels, pictures of lighters and various tchotchkies with slogans or phrases over them. Their very simple and banal in some ways, and genius in others. He's got a great entry on his sire about taking his daughter to Dollywood on her way out to college. It's really great, because he doesn't demean the place or the people when he writes about it, just simply disects what is presented.
Great song from a Great album! Thanks for sharing! :-)
tangerman: no problem:
CBW: I love how you describe it---he just dissects what he sees and presents it back to us. That sums up his lyrics perfectly, too.
nice groon, came to this in the morning and it is going well with my morning coffee
I appreciate you including the lyrics...enhanced the listening experience.
Very interesting perspective to age, given what I have been focusing on as of late.
BTW - Just noticed Boards on your recently added...How you liking them?
Kevin: I could see hwo this could go quite nicely with the morning coffee. It's a nice, smooth pick me up kind of song.
Annie: I hadn't even thought of the dovetail there, but noe that you mention it it's pretty obvious.
I was going to email you tonight--I finally listened to it today and I really like it a lot. Thanks for the heads up on those guys, definitely going to get more.
You're preaching to the choir here Groon! LOVE this song for it's sheer quirkiness of the music but then add Byrne's lyrics & it's captivating. I was huge into them back in the day but this album took awhile to really sink in. "Fear Of Music" is my fave(& my first) but this runs a close 2nd. I even have this on vinyl & finally acquired a digital copy.
Love me some FOM too, especially "I Zimbra" (gotta love Robert Fripp guesting on that one) and "Cities."
I think the 1st time I listened to this song I was off in another part of my apt. & not paying close attention but had to replay it later when I could get to the stereo cause I was seriously going "Wtf is he saying?" Back then I liked the poppier songs on this best but as my taste got more ecclectic over the years I now like the simpler tunes best like this one, 'the great curve', 'listening wind' & 'the overload'.
The Great Curve: my all time favorite TH song. It's so layered, there's like twenty things going on at the same time by the end of that song.
Hey, is it weird we're having two conversations on two different websites at the same time? Or is that just how we roll these days?
We're OGs, so that's how we roll dooood! hahaha. I've actually done this quite a few times w/other moggers, so really it's not weird to me at all. You're still relatively new to the dark side but you'll get the groove down, ma homie!
Curve is a very layered song. I could never figure out how they kept track of all the rhythms & shit while they were playing. It's fascinating to listen to. I suppose you get into a trance & your body just takes over when you're a pro. I've played numerous instruments over the years but nothing well & the percussion on their albums just boggles my mind.
Agreed on all counts.
Oh the TH percussion was simply amazing, wasn't it? Where's Steve Scales now? As a serious convert from the first single onward, each album was such a great reveation. It's a tossup between Fear Of Music and Remian In Light for me. 'Houses In Motion', 'The Traveling Wind", "Cities", "Drugs"....what a journey these guys took you on. I saw Byrne about 3 years ago and found myself in awe of his guitar work - not virtuoso, but really left-field and unique. How many guitarists can you say that about? I've been streaming the new Byrne-Eno album and for the first half was thinking 'OK....', then the weird shit appeared. There's still a fine experimental mind between them and with time will probably sound really fulfilling. Byrne's blog is always entertaining as well.
I still don't have the new album yet, but since I'm seeing Mr. Byrne in a few weeks I better get on it! I love his music. He makes me re-evaluate what I consider to be "normal", if that makes sense. Like you said, left-field and unique. That's every aspect of what he does. Like someone once said, "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."
And the journey didn't end there, through the rest of the Heads' albums you get Americana, they went more places on Naked (a very underrated Talking Heads album), and then you have his solo stuff like Rei Momo and The Forest . . . he has a catalogue unlike any other.
'Naked' left me cold, but that's what it's about with an artist isn't it? No way you'll like every avenue he explores. (Knee Plays never did it for me.) Enjoy the gig!
Thanks--really looking forward to it.
"Knee Plays" didn't do much for me, either, except for the first track, but it was one of those albums I owned on vinyl that I was always a little smug about, because it proved I was a TRUE FAN (wasn't released on CD until relatively recently). Yeah, I used to be a bit of a music snob.
I know just what you mean! Used to leave it lying at the front of the record pile, right next to Laurie Anderson's 'United States' (which I never listened to all the way through). But damn, I looked so cool.