This is Not My Beautiful House! Quiz

Answer: Psycho Killer

'Psycho Killer' can be seen as a song that developed as the band themselves developed in the mid-1970s. Originally written by David Byrne for his previous band, The Artistics, the song went through several versions before the one committed to record for 'Talking Heads: 77' that has endured the test of time.

The lyrics have often been taken to allude to the thoughts of a serial killer, perhaps due to the concurrence of its release with the crimes of the Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz. The band have always maintained that this link is purely coincidental. The French bridge in the song can be translated as follows:

"Ce que j'ai fait, ce soir-là
Ce qu'elle a dit, ce soir-là
Réalisant mon espoir
Je me lance vers la gloire... OK"

"What I did, that evening
What she said, that evening
Fulfilling my hope
Headlong I go towards the glory... OK"

'Psycho Killer' is the penultimate track on 'Talking Heads: 77', on which 'Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town', 'New Feeling' and 'Tentative Decisions' can all be found.

Answer: Food

Recorded in the Bahamas in March and April of 1978, 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' was the first collaboration between Talking Heads and the musician and producer Brian Eno. It marked a transition from '77' in that there was more of a focus on the rhythm of the drums and bass guitar, as well as generally being regarded as more dance-oriented. Classic songs include 'Thank You for Sending Me an Angel', 'Found a Job' and 'Stay Hungry'.

The album enjoyed substantial critical success despite not making a huge impact in the album charts. This was true both at the time (it was ranked NME's number four album of 1978) as well as many years after its release. 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' was named among Rolling Stone Magazine's '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' in 2003 and was declared to be among the top 50 albums of the 1970s by Pitchfork Media in 2006.

Answer: Take Me to the River

'Take Me to the River' was originally written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges and recorded on the 1974 album 'Al Green Explores Your Mind'. A similar version was recorded by Syl Johnson in 1975 with many of the same musicians that appeared on the original Al Green version.

Talking Heads overhauled the original version with their 1978 release, maintaining much of the soul of the original while adding their own pop-like elements to make it a new wave classic. Reaching number 26 in the Billboard Hot 100, 'Take Me to the River' was the high water mark of Talking Heads' career to that point. David Byrne's comments allude to the fact that the subject of the song is the unrequited love of a young man while the title seems to suggest a baptismal theme.

'The Big Country', 'I'm Not in Love' and 'Artists Only' are all tracks from 'More Songs About Buildings and Food'.

Answer: Life During Wartime

'Life During Wartime' was the first of three singles released from 'Fear of Music', the other two being ' I Zimbra' and 'Cities'. The song seems to describe some kind of undercover activity in the United States, perhaps political subversion.

The parenthesised subtitle of the song is taken from the four-line refrain:

"This ain't no party, this ain't no disco
This ain't no fooling around
*************************
I ain't got time for that now"

Where the third line changes throughout the song, examples including "I'd like to kiss you, I'd love you hold you" and "No time for dancing, or lovey dovey". The protagonist of the song clearly has more important things to attend to.

The phrase "this ain't no disco" was often cited as proof that Talking Heads didn't like disco, an opinion held by many at the time. To quote David Byrne, "...we liked some disco music!...So it was funny that we were sometimes seen as the flag-bearers of the anti-disco movement.".

Answer: Once in a Lifetime

"And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!"

While not breaking the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, 'Once in a Lifetime' enjoyed chart success in various other countries, reaching the top 30 in the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia. Despite not being an instant hit, the song has gained popularity over the years, and two of Talking Heads' compilation albums are named 'Once in a Lifetime'.

The song is often seen as holding a mirror up to middle class American life, of which David Byrne said "I can't imagine living like that". The video for 'Once in a Lifetime' features David Byrne in a suit and tie in front on a watery background, jerking around as if he can't breathe. Perhaps he is drowning? The video was reinterpreted by Kermit the Frog in a 1996 episode of 'Muppets Tonight'.

Answer: These hands

'Born Under Punches' launches straight into a funky bassline that sets the tone for the entirety of 'Remain in Light', incorporating African influences that were also present on the track 'I Zimbra' from 'Fear of Music'.

The song itself seems to be about a troubled protagonist who works for the government but feels as though the world is closing in on him. Much of the second half of the song is the repeated refrain "And the heat goes on", suggested the piling on of pressure.

Answer: Tina Weymouth

David Byrne and Chris Frantz met at the Rhode Island School of Design and came together on their first musical project, 'The Artistics', in 1973. Tina Weymouth was dating Frantz at the time and when The Artistics dissolved the three of them formed Talking Heads in 1975. Their first gig under that name was as support for The Ramones at the CBGB music club in New York City. Their final permanent member, Jerry Harrison, joined the band in 1977 prior to the recording of 'Talking Heads: 77'.

While many other instruments and musical influences were incorporated into the band's music throughout their career, the basic setup was David Byrne on lead vocals and guitar, Tina Weymouth on bass guitar, Chris Frantz on drums and Jerry Harrison on keyboard (and guitar as required).

The lineup that assembled in 1977 remained constant throughout all of their studio album releases, though various members pursued side projects; notably David Byrne as a solo artist and Weymouth and Frantz as The Tom Tom Club. The band officially split up at the end of 1991 after a three-year hiatus.

Flea is the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phil Lynott for Thin Lizzy and John Entwistle for The Who.

Answer: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads

'The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads' is so named for two reasons. The first is the general misconception that the name of the band is actually 'The Talking Heads' and not 'Talking Heads'. A subtle distinction you may think, but enough to title one of the most critically acclaimed live albums of all time! The second reason is David Byrne's parsimonious introductions to their songs when performing live - "The name of this song is New Feeling". Very informative.

The original two-disc LP featured one disc from early concerts in the late 1970s, in which only the four core members were on stage; and another from the early 1980s in which the entire ten-piece touring ensemble is present. The album was expanded and re-released in 2004 to contain almost two and a half hours of material.

'Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites' and 'Same as It Ever Was' are Talking Heads compilation albums from 1992 and 2009 respectively, while 'Storytelling Giant' is a 1988 video album containing ten of their most popular music videos.

Answer: Stop Making Sense

The film opens with David Byrne walking onto the stage with a cassette player and an acoustic guitar before saying "I've got a tape I'd like to play". He then proceeds to sing 'Psycho Killer' accompanied only by his guitar and a drum track. Each member of the band then joins Byrne on stage, one extra person for each song, with all four core members present for 'Found a Job'.

By the time the band is playing 'Burning Down the House' the full ensemble has taken to the stage, including an additional guitarist, keyboardist and several backing singers. The performance then continues at an extremely high energy, with very little crowd interaction other than the songs themselves. David Byrne and the band thank their crew as the final song, 'Crosseyed and Painless', comes to a close.

'Stop Making Sense' was originally released as a heavily-edited 40-minute album, despite the film being an hour and a half long. In 1999, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the theatrical release of the film, the album was extended to be much more faithful to the songs as they appear in the film.

Jonathan Demme went on to direct 'Silence of the Lambs', 'Philadelphia' and 'Rachel Getting Married' in 1991, 1993 and 2008 respectively.

Answer: Speaking in Tongues

'Burning Down the House', like many Talking Heads songs, had its origin in a jamming session. As the music developed to resemble the final version of the song, David Byrne collected lines that fitted rhythmically (and in his opinion thematically) to form the somewhat nonsensical lyrics. The song was accompanied by a music video in which footage of a Talking Heads concert is projected onto the side of a house and the band perform with a young boy on guitar. 'Burning Down the House' has been widely used in popular culture, notably in Lars von Trier's 'Nymphomaniac' and the significantly more lighthearted '13 Going on 30'.

'Speaking in Tongues' was the most successful commercial release of Talking Heads' eight-album career, reaching number 15 in the Billboard 200. The album also garnered significant critical acclaim, being labelled as 'art rock without pretension' by David Fricke of Rolling Stone. The cover artwork was designed by prominent American artist Robert Rauschenberg and won him a Grammy Award.

'Little Creatures', 'True Stories' and 'Naked' are the final three studio albums from Talking Heads, released in 1985, 1986 and 1988 respectively.