Fear of Music by Talking Heads

Talking Heads got classified as new wave back in the day, but this album from 1979 shows they were already pushing against genre boundaries. Brian Eno returned again as producer, and his influence is clearly felt on the opening track “I Zimbra” which plays with Afrobeat rhythms.

Whether this is cultural appropriation is left as an exercise for the reader, but it was certainly a bold statement of intent, along with David Byrne declaring that they had left their roots in the famous Mudd Club and C.B.G.B scenes behind on the high energy track “Life During Wartime”. Other tracks lean into the weird and offbeat, especially with “Air” and “Heaven” that open the second side.

This was an album that I listened to a lot in the 80s and the only reason it doesn’t quite make 5 stars now is because I prefer the live versions of some of these tracks on the “Stop Making Sense” movie.

Gadji-beri-bimba-tastic!