Here’s a track from David Byrne’s 2001 album Look Into the Eyeball, a record that represents the moment my fandom started to wane.
Prior to this, Byrne has released a string of four great solo albums between 1989 and 1997, culminating with Feelings, the best of them. That period also found me in my late teens and early 20s, a prime musical discovery zone.
Look Into the Eyeball lacked the left-field melodies and sonic experimentation of Byrne’s earlier work and felt like a bit of a retread. It might be better than that, but I never gave it enough of a chance to convince me.
Of course, that in no way diminishes the overall genius of David Byrne, exemplified by those early solo albums and the uniformly excellent work he produced with Talking Heads.
I could see someone approaching
Will you be my disco dancer?
I could use a little coaching
Will you be my secret lover?
Mother, Father, Sister, Brother too
I was born without a conscience
Full of freedom, full of nonsense
From the mountains to the beaches
Eat the apples, steal the peaches
Will you be this wild child’s lady?
Will you carry me to safety?
Lock me up and take me home
I don’t wanna be free
Goin’ crazy – on my own
It’s not where I wanna be
I behave without compassion
I see things I want to smash them
When I put our love in danger
And treat you like a total stranger
I don’t really want to hurt you
I would stop it if I could do
Blame my school and blame my parents
And the genes that I inherit
Blame it on my older sister
For showing me her dirty pictures
Blame it on TV and movies
Blame the lawyers and the juries
Lock me up and take me home
I don’t wanna be free
Goin’ crazy – on my own
It’s not where I wanna be
At the moment of conception
At the moment of conception
Well, you stuck with him longer than I did, but glad to hear I didn’t miss much.