Welcome back to Left of The Dial! To kick off a new semester, we will be doing another two-part review! This will cover True Stories, which is both an album by Talking Heads and a film directed by David Byrne. Since the album came out before the movie, I’ll be reviewing that this week and saving the film for Part 2 next week.
Talking Heads was a new-wave rock band from New York City. The band comprised of David Byrne on vocals and guitar, Chris Frantz on drums, Tina Weymouth on bass, and Jerry Harrison on keyboards and guitar. Fun fact, Chris and Tina have been married since 1977! True Stories was the group’s seventh studio album, releasing in September 1986. While it’s tempting to call this a soundtrack to the film of the same name, that’s not quite the case. Yes, all of the songs featured on the album were also in the film, but the film has a different album listed as its official soundtrack: Sounds from True Stories: Music for Activities Freaks. Instead, True Stories is a companion piece to the film, which opts out of using original cast recordings of the songs in favor of recordings by the band.
Does True Stories stand on its own as a solid record? Let’s fire up the ol’ turntable and find out!
SIDE A
Side A contains “Love for Sale,” “Puzzlin’ Evidence,” “Hey Now,” and “Papa Legba.”
“Love for Sale” is a great way to set the stage as the album’s opener. The count-in leads into a lively guitar riff that instantly calls for the listener’s attention. The opening line sets up our narrator’s character: “I was born in a house with the television always on.” We can see that the narrator was one of those kids who was babysat regularly by Mister Television growing up, and this has given him a super-warped perspective on love. He sees it as a commodity that can be bought and describes romance in the same way he’d describe his love for a color TV or designer jeans. It’s a toxic way to look at things, no doubt, but it’s tough to blame him for feeling this way.
Something I’m going to bring up a lot over the course of this review is ‘joyful nihilism,’ which I think describes Talking Heads’ particular brand of social commentary to a T. It sets their work apart from other socially conscious bands because the issues they touch on are described with such relentless optimism that it feels like a musical adaptation of a dystopian novel. The scariest part of our current social issues is how normalized and even celebrated they are by large chunks of the population, and that horror is captured impeccably by the band’s optimistic compositions combined with the morally-questionable lyrics.
I bring this up because “Love for Sale” uses joyful nihilism extremely well. From the narrator’s perspective, he doesn’t see anything wrong with the way he views love, so of course he’s going to portray it positively. Byrne’s vocal delivery brings energy to the character, along with his signature demented growls that clues us in that something’s rotten in Denmark. The composition absolutely kills it, resembling a commercial jingle to match the capitalist themes. I can’t praise this song enough, so let’s stop here and move on to the next one.
“Puzzlin’ Evidence” keeps the energy up from the previous track, but it has its flaws that bring it down as a weak point on the record. One thing it does extremely well is creating a sense of character through its composition. The steady tempo executed by the drums and keyboard, the vocals contributed by the Bert Cross Choir, and Byrne’s dramatic inflections paint the narrator as a preacher or televangelist-type character. His sermon describes how easily people with heaps of power and money can manipulate their audience into believing their words, even if those words are nothing but lies and emotional manipulation. These people understand that charisma and energy are the keys to holding their congregation’s attention, and this track drips with it.
Unfortunately, “Puzzlin’ Evidence” drags on too long for its own good. The lead vocals don’t come in until roughly 1 minute in, and there are long stretches of the track that just repeat the choir’s chant. It doesn’t help that the drums and keyboard don’t change much during these sections, so the repetition can get grating. This track could have easily been trimmed down without taking away any sense of atmosphere. While I still recommend you give it a listen, make sure to have the fast-forward button on standby.
“Hey Now” is up next. In a refreshing change of pace, the tempo is slowed down and the instrumentals are looser. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a child, not unlike Nirvana’s “Sliver” or Green Day’s “Little Boy Named Train,” but it rings a little differently from those songs. For one thing, the chorus includes vocals from the St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School Choir, which accent Byrne’s vocals to drive the theme home. While the tone of the writing isn’t always consistent (some of these lines don’t sound particularly child-like), the commentary it provides makes up for it. It’s about wanting to just be a kid and not having to let your parents boss you around 24/7, which is something lots of kids and even adults can relate to. There’s not a hint of irony to be found here, it’s just a fun romp that I highly recommend.
“Papa Legba” closes out Side A, and it’s an interesting way to do so. Talking Heads are known for their incorporation of World Music elements, and this is just one example of those elements being used. It channels the atmosphere of a voodoo ritual, but not in the spooky way a lot of American media tends to portray it as. The lyrics make it clear that the ritual is meant to bring luck and love while driving away darkness and corruption. The chorus is sung in Spanish, which according to Google Translate means “breaking up the monotony of time.” Examining this song closely, it reminds me of another Talking Heads song: “Once in a Lifetime.” While that song and “Papa Legba” have very different messages from one another, they both use elements of religious ritual in their lyrics and comment on how maddening monotony can be. It’s fun to think of them as brother and sister songs in that way.
My only criticism with this song isn’t about any technical flaws, rather it comes from the vocalist. In an album covering songs written for a movie, it’s inevitable that an issue like this would pop up. “Papa Legba” is one of those songs where it was obviously written with a different vocalist in mind, and so David Byrne doesn’t really fit. This was also a problem for me on “Hey Now,” but to a smaller extent. On the deluxe version of True Stories, there are a few cast recordings of these songs thrown in, and one of those is Pops Staples’ rendition of “Papa Legba.” There’s no comparison; the Pops Staples version reigns supreme over the Talking Heads version. If you have access to this version (it’s readily available on Spotify), then listen to that. Otherwise, the Talking Heads cover is serviceable. With that, let’s turn the record over and see what Side B has in store.
SIDE B
Side B contains “Wild Wild Life,” “Radio Head,” “Dream Operator,” “People Like Us,” and “City of Dreams.”
If there is one song off this record you’re already familiar with, then that would probably be “Wild Wild Life.” Like “Once in a Lifetime,” this track became a staple on MTV thanks to its music video, which I highly recommend you watch. Anyways, “Wild Wild Life” is a return to that joyful nihilism I described earlier, though it takes a slow-burn approach to introduce the darker elements. The lyrics describe how exciting a busy and how wild life can be, but also how easily that lifestyle can turn overwhelming and self-destructive. The characters that live this life go from getting rich off the stock market to falling asleep on the Interstate and blacking out from exhaustion. As someone who had a short-lived job that quickly consumed all my time and energy, this song is all too relatable to me, particularly the line “checking in and checking out” for reasons I won’t go into here. The composition and instrumentals make a great contrast to the lyrics, with my favorite part being the bass line in the chorus. It’s tons of fun, and it stands as one of my favorite tracks on the record, along with being one of my favorite music videos.
“Radio Head” is the next track, and resist the urge to make a comment about a certain band with a similar name, please and thank you. This song sets itself apart with one simple addition: an accordion! It adds some lighthearted flair to the sound, which is fitting given that this song is less serious than the others. It’s a love song about being in tune with your partner, like a receiver being tuned to a radio. Its simplicity makes it feel a little out of place though, and it doesn’t leave much to interpretation. I’d still recommend it, just don’t expect to be challenged much by the lyrics.
“Dream Operator” fares way better substance-wise. It’s a little abstract, but to me, it’s about how we have way more control of our lives than we might think. We might think that dreams are just fantasies, but dreams lead to ideas, which lead to results. As an artist, I find that my fantasies and dreams make for excellent wells of ideas, and I’m sure any other fellow artists reading this can relate. There’s a reason we were always told to follow our dreams: they lead to innovation and inspiration. I love that the song adopts a softer, acoustic sound; not only is it a break from the rock-leaning sound of the rest of the record, but it gives it a dream-like atmosphere that fits like a glove.
“People Like Us” comes up next. Despite what the title might imply, I see this song as showing that everyone has similar wants, despite thinking they’re bigger outcasts than they really are. As the song progresses, more groups are described as wanting the same thing: love. It’s a universal thing, but it’s easy to think that we’re the only ones who struggle with it. “People Like Us” is a bit of reassurance that no, you’re not the only one. Something else that adds to the reassuring atmosphere of the song is the country influence. It makes use of the fiddle and a pedal steel guitar to give it a rustic and homey sound. This is one of those songs that grew on me the more I listened to it, so definitely give it a listen!
Finally, we close off the record with “City of Dreams.” I watched the film before listening to the album, and out of all the songs featured there, this one was the one that got me to check out the album right away. It’s an uplifting ballad about a town full of history that will only continue to build more. Despite death and destruction falling upon it, its spirit never dies. It never hesitates to trigger some wistful emotions in me, and it’s one of a tiny handful of songs that’s brought me to tears. Just based on tears shed, it gets a seal of approval from me, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a phenomenal closer to a great record, as well as a perfect closer to a fascinating film, though I’m getting a little ahead of myself by saying that.
Going back to my previous question: does True Stories stand on its own as an album? Yes, it definitely does! The variety of themes and styles brought to the table is a feast for the ears, and it only makes me more excited to review the movie. My top three songs are “Love for Sale,” “Wild Wild Life,” and “City of Dreams.” Goodness, it was tough to narrow it down to three! The bottom two are “Puzzlin’ Evidence” and “Radio-Head.”
Rating: 9/10
Feature Photo by Becca Fauteux