“Remain in Light” Songs Ranked

I absolutely bloody love Talking Heads – they were the first band that I truly loved and idolised, and this album in particular was the soundtrack of my teenage years. “Remain in Light” really is the perfect storm of fascinating lyrics and amazing music, and David Byrne gives the performance of his life on this record. How would I rank this fine selection of tracks?

I ranked all the Talking Heads albums, and you can check that list out below:

OK

8 – Listening Wind

The only song on the album I’m not all that crazy for, “Listening Wind” just feels like a drawn out message that was already hammered home on previous tracks. This is also musically the blandest on the album, so no wonder it’s in last place.

Good

7 – Seen and Not Seen

The drum and bass groove instantly suck you into this memorable track. The second half of the album is definitely not as good as the first half, but I think a lot of people write off some of these songs too quickly – “Seen and Not Seen” is Talking Heads at their grooviest.

Great

6 – The Overload

Call me crazy, but I actually like this closing track a lot. It’s definitely very doom and gloom, but I feel it complements the rest of the album perfectly.

5 – Crosseyed and Painless

Definitely one of Talking Heads’ best tracks, but I feel the live versions they came up with trumped the original recording (the intro in the “Stop Making Sense” version is especially divine).

4 – Houses in Motion

Another funky / groovy song like “Seen and Not Seen”, but this time there’s an extremely catchy chorus. This is the perfect palate cleanser after the sublime “Once in a Lifetime”, and a great way to start the second half of the record.

3 – Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)

A great album needs a great opening track, and “Born Under Punches” is explosive fun straight out the gate. It really sets the tone for the record, and the break-neck pace never fades throughout that first half.

Amazing

2 – The Great Curve

One of the most well-crafted songs ever, the band managed to take some random melodic lines from their jam sessions and integrated them all into a true masterpiece. Having Adrian Belew on guitar doesn’t hurt either (that guy is a beast on a six string).

All-Time Great

1 – Once in a Lifetime

This is my favourite song of all time, and has been ever since I first heard it.

Byrne’s vocals and lyrics are unbelievably iconic , and anyone can relate to his themes and messages – “How did I get here?”. The bass and drum groove is as amazing as ever, and Brian Eno’s production is astonishing.

I’d highly recommend checking this song out if you haven’t heard it, and watch the accompanying music video if you can – it’s delightfully zany and weird.

Aaaaaand that’s the list. I have quite a backlog building up, so I thought I’d treat you all with a bonus list today. See below for some of my latest blog posts: