Talking Heads’ 1983 album Speaking in Tongues was the band’s commercial breakthrough, to whatever extent a band this idiosyncratic can break through. The single ‘Burning Down the House’ became the group’s only top ten hit.
Speaking in Tongues followed the critically lauded but less accessible Remain in Light, and these two records form the band’s creative high point.
While David Byrne gets much of the credit for the success of Talking Heads, the rhythm section of Tina Weymouth (on bass) and Chris Frantz (on drums) was the heart and soul of the band at its best. One listen to the groove of today’s SOTD will conform that.
Yo! I could do that
Gettin’ ready, for heavy duty
Go on, give it a chance
Give it a chance, give it a chance
I saw your hair start to curl
So get up, write it down
You better wait for a while
So take your hands out of your pockets
And get your face adjusted
I heard it, somebody lied
And I’m staring out the window
Gonna let this thing continue
In it’s natural time
Round heads, square heads
Get settled in
You can hear my belly rumble
There’s a voice that starts to mumble
Woo! it’s starting to sing
Protons, neutrons
I ate a rock from the moon
Got shocked once, shocked twice
Let’s see what it can do
Man in the moon, moon in the man
I got a rock in my throat
Upside, up side down
My tummy start to talk (what it say?)
Gonna rock it ’till I shock it
Gonna kick it ’till I drop it
Woo! love at first sight
You can kick it, you can poke it
Ooh, I think you broke it
What about that?
Skin from a snake, blood from a stone
You know, that ain’t no lie
I got hundreds of expressions
Try to make a good impression
Woo! right between the eyes
I don’t mind, let me go
Right on time, I don’t know
Let me be, why not stay
I feel numb, let me play
I got wild imagination
Talkin’ transubstantiation
Any version will do
I got mass communication
I’m the human corporation
I ate a rock from the moon
Moon in the rock, rock in the moon
There’s a moon in my throat
You might think I’m wasting time
You might laugh but not for long
Hey! I’m working it out (work it out)
I don’t mind, let me go
Sounds inside, I don’t know
Let me be, why not stay
I feel numb, let me play
Meet Me In Montauk 
Much like Billy Joel’s Songs in the Attic improved upon lackluster production of his earlier work, Stop Making Sense improved the early work of the Talking Heads. I know these early albums were lauded, similar to the early records of REM, but I personally think that, in each case, the bands’ best work actually came a bit later when they were able to make their music even more accessible without crossing the line fully into pop. For the Talking Heads, that high point was Little Creatures.