Friday, May 30, 2014

Heads You Win

I recently got talking to a nice chap from a band called Stats. He said they were influenced by Talking Heads, which is something you don't hear very often.  Like the Associates, like Sparks, they were a singular band who clearly had a devoted following, none of whom seem to have used them as a template for further musical exploration. A shame really. I can't quite see why. Perhaps if they'd have stopped after Remain In Light they'd have been better remembered and more influential (though Mr. Stats and I both were fulsome in our praise of their final vinyl Naked). But listen to Stats and you can definitely hear traces of the nervousness and jitteriness of, say, The Great Curve or Crosseyed and Painless.



I can also hear it in the current offering from Tune Yards (or tUnE-yArDs, if you must). Perhaps there's a TH revival under way? Great video, incidentally. Big up to Brian Cant and Floella Benjamin.