In addition to drumming with the Roots, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is a brilliant DJ, and he wrote a Twitter thread about his top ten most reliable dance floor fillers. Prince figures heavily in the thread, first because he once tipped Quest $100 for having the audacity to slip Miles Davis’ “Milestones” into a DJ set. …
Category Archives: Composition
Crosseyed And Painless
Since I’m stuck in my apartment with Covid for a while, looks like I have plenty of time to continue my Talking Heads series. Here’s one of their funkiest and most Afrobeat-sounding tracks. David Byrne always speak-sings to an extent, but this song has an actual rap verse (“Facts are simple and facts are straight…”) …
Making Flippy Floppy
Somebody suggested that I transcribe all the Talking Heads songs. I won’t do that, but I do seem to be in the process of analyzing all of my favorites. There are a bunch! Here’s one. I assume that the title is a sexual euphemism? If so, it’s a weird one. In addition to the four …
Burning Down The House
Here is the closest Talking Heads ever came to a legitimate pop hit, their only song to crack the Billboard Top Ten. It isn’t as conceptually or musically groundbreaking as “Once In A Lifetime“, but it contains depths of its own.
Once In A Lifetime
Here is what might possibly be my single favorite song in the world:
Lonely Woman
I have always had a hard time with Ornette Coleman, but I love “Lonely Woman”, because it manages to be both extremely weird and extremely catchy. Notice that at 2:09 during Ornette’s solo, someone goes “Woo!” Rightly so.
Isaac Schankler remixes Beethoven
My kid is learning the Moonlight Sonata. It’s lovely and all, but for a truly fresh take on this piece, you need to hear Isaac Schankler’s version. You can think of the first movement as having three parts: the bassline, the arpeggios, and the melody. Isaac shifted the bassline a bar later and the melody …
Slippery People
Here’s a song I like from Speaking in Tongues: Here’s a live version that I love, from Stop Making Sense, though the fast tempo is a bit anxiety-producing: And here’s my favorite version, which my kids are also completely obsessed with, from David Byrne’s American Utopia:
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Since my kids continue to be obsessed with David Byrne’s American Utopia, I have Talking Heads on the brain. Here’s one of their best songs ever, produced by the band members themselves. Here’s the delightful version from Stop Making Sense. As David Byrne says in his interview with himself, “I try to write about small …
Don’t Worry About The Government
My kids continue to be absolutely obsessed with David Byrne’s American Utopia. I am especially surprised by how attached they are to “Don’t Worry About The Government.” Here’s the original version, from the first Talking Heads album. Here’s a live performance from The Old Grey Whistle Test: