WELCOME CANDYMOUTH

David Byrne's always been been one of the more interesting eggheads in music, hasn't he? The early Talking Heads were thrown in the whole CBGBs crowd, but they weren't punk rock, and it could be argued, not really new wave. By their third LP, they were clearly like nothing else around at the time. Then, in 1988, Byrne started Luaka Bop Records, initially just to release Brazilian music. That soon expanded to encompass any international music. With Byrne's name attached to the label, it was an obvious side trip for Talking Heads fans not necessarily used to foreign sounds (and, yes, I was one of them). In 1999 Byrne wrote an infamous piece for the New York Times, I Hate World Music. (I'd read it if I were you.) In it, he states his case about why the term world music is incorrect. Among other good points, he writes "It groups everything and anything that isn't 'us' into 'them.'" And the sting-like-a-bee zinger, "It's a none too subtle way of reasserting the hegemony of Western pop culture. It ghettoizes most of the world's music. A bold and audacious move, White Man!" Bam!

Censored version.

Byrne's solo records are worth a listen too. Being that he is unconcerned with what you call his music, or what other music may creep in as an influence, he's always created music that is uniquely his, resistant to pigeonholing. I call your attention to one particular song "Toe Jam," from 2009. It's what got me thinking about Byrne. I found it kind of unique in that I don't recall Byrne ever cussing. At :46 in the song, he sings "Everyday is fucking perfect, it's a paradise." Now, I'm sure he's slipped a few f-bombs in at some point in the last few decades, but this is the first one I've heard. So now he's got that going for him too. (He's human.) Two other reasons why he's A-OK in my book: he rides a bike for transportation. As in, not riding as some sort of workout regimen, or in a weekend pack. He rides to get from point A to point B. He's one practical motherfucker, ain't he? (See what he did? All his fault...) Oh, the other thing is that he's got a nice online journal, what others would call a blog. In this case, he is correct again. The term blog is almost as wrong as world music. Anyway, listen to him cuss, read his well written journal, and stream Luaka Bop releases while you goof off with his other stuff. Just because he said the f-word.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
BPA featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal - Toe Jam mp3 at Grandpamini
David Byrne - Twistin' In the Wind mp3 at The Frump
David Byrne - Miss America mp3 at The Beiderbecke Affair
David Byrne - Everyone's In Love With You mp3 at Achtung Baby
Visit:
David Byrne - I Hate World Music, NY Times, October 3, 1999 at DavidByrne.com
David Byrne's Journal
David Byrne official site
Luaka Bop - The record label Poke around, there's stuff to stream all over the place.
Luaka Bop - The story behind it