#423: Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)

Zack: Just about 6 years later, we finally got around to listening to our second Talking Heads album. It’s hard to explain how powerfully deflating that sentence was to type. Anyway, last time I found Talking Heads to be pretty interesting but remarkably pretentious. I didn’t pick up on the pretentiousness this time around (and Wikipedia did not have as an-depth of a discussion about it), but I also didn’t find the music as compelling. I frequently forgot that the album was even playing, and I can’t say I was doing anything terrible exciting while I listened to it. The album had a few songs that I started tapping my feet to, but beyond that it just sounded pretty conventional, which was kind of a downer coming from a band that once wrote a protest song aimed at the atmosphere.

Favorite Tracks: Take Me to the River; With Our Love; I’m Not In Love

Emily: As a fan of both buildings and food, I liked this album based on its title alone. It's kinda goofy and has immense parody potential, provided the songs live up to the promise of the title. I don't really think they did. I didn't pick up on any overt discussions of either food or buildings, but perhaps they were going for something more subtle than silly. The album itself was perfectly pleasant, with a few fun and upbeat songs and an especially good Al Green cover. But I feel like it could have done something more, even though I'm not exactly sure what that "more" is.

Favorite Tracks: Take Me to the River; Thank You for Sending Me an Angel; I'm Not in Love