This morning I fired up my laptop and somehow ended up on Apple’s movie trailer site and decided to watch Oliver Stone’s W. Trailer.  After seeing Stone the other night on Conan I pretty much knew what to expect from the film but what I didn’t expect was the fantastic opening strains of the Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime” as the trailer quickly buffered and played.  Wow.  You sometimes forget how good some of these bands are/were.  The Heads were huge in the last half of my high school years and I remember one particular summer dominated by “Little Creatures” all over the FM radio.

The Talking Heads officially broke up in 1991 followng a few years of silence and actually reunited very briefly for their 2002 Hall of Fame inauguration in New York.   Apparently, bitter blood remains between Tina Weyworth and David Byrne so I don’t think we’ll ever see a reunion tour but if you have a thirst to reconnect to this outstanding band there’s some great music available and David Byrne is still very much actively recording and touring.

I caught David Byrne’s live show in the summer of 2001 at Munich’s eccentric Tollwood Fest and remember being shocked at seeing that Byrne’s hair had completely gone not grey but snow white.  Gotta love the guy for his originality and sheer talent. 

If you need a quick reminder or are just discovering the Talking Heads, run out and find Popular Favorites 1976-1992/Sand In the Vaseline, a two cd-set chronicling their career with a great mix of studio cuts, live takes and even alternate or unreleased versions of some songs.

You’ll find one of my all time favorite songs on this compilation, “Heaven”, a spare, emotional and uplifting song similar in vein to Bowie’s “Heroes”. Check it out; you’ll be glad that you did.