Naive Melody - This Must Be The Place

I had some great photos I wanted to upload to the blog today....and had some technical difficulties.

But today is the first Monday of Spring, and I don't want to waste it.

"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" is a song by Talking Heads, from their fifth album Speaking in Tongues. The lyrics were written by David Byrne, and the music was written by Byrne and the other members of the band, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. In the "Self Interview" on the DVD of the concert film Stop Making Sense, Byrne admits that it is a love song, a topic he tends to avoid because it is "kinda big". Throughout the Stop Making Sense version, Byrne and his bandmates perform by a standard lamp, while close-up images of various body parts are projected onto a screen behind them. When the song reaches a bridge, the musicians step back and Byrne dances with the lamp, a reference to Fred Astaire's similar dance with a coat-rack in Royal Wedding.

According to the Stop Making Sense commentary track, the title "Naive Melody" refers to the music. On the track, the guitar part and the bass part are doing the same thing throughout the whole song. According to David Byrne, many professional musicians would not play a song written in that fashion, and that is what makes the melody naive. Byrne played the lead keyboard solo.

The song was covered by the Montreal-based band Arcade Fire as a B-side to their single Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). The version on the single is live, with David Byrne on guest vocals. It has also been recorded by Shawn Colvin, and covered by Perpetual Groove, MGMT, Mysteries of Life, Animal Liberation Orchestra, String Cheese Incident, and the Ryan Montbleau Band.

This song is also featured twice in the Oliver Stone movie Wall Street, playing over a scene in which Bud Fox, the protagonist, decorates his upscale apartment as well as over the closing credits. Shawn Colvin's version was featured on the movie Wordplay (2006). The song also appeared in TV series Northern Exposure, and appears in the 2007 film Lars and the Real Girl.

Stop Making Sense (1984) is a highly acclaimed concert movie featuring Talking Heads live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over three nights in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for being the first made entirely utilizing digital audio techniques.

Talking Heads were augmented by several additional musicians, most of whom had extensive experience in funk: back-up singers Edna Holt and Lynn Mabry (a.k.a. The Brides of Funkenstein), keyboardist Bernie Worrell (formerly of Parliament-Funkadelic), percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist Alex Weir (of The Brothers Johnson).

The movie is also notable for Byrne's "big suit", an absurdly oversized business suit he dons late in the concert for the song "Girlfriend is Better" (which gave the movie its title from one of its lyrics). The suit was partly inspired by Noh theatre styles, and became an icon not only of the film – as it appears on the DVD cover, for instance – but of Byrne himself. Pauline Kael stated in her review: "When he comes on wearing a boxlike 'big suit' — his body lost inside this form that sticks out around him like the costumes in Noh plays, or like Beuys' large suit of felt that hangs of a wall — it's a perfect psychological fit."

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - born with a weak heart
I guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up and say goodnight . . . say goodnight

Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this is where I'll be . . . where I'll be

Hi yo We drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all those kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head Ah ooh

I love this song.

The meaning of the song is ambiguous - it makes me happy when I'm sad - and happier when I'm happy. For me, it is about the search for a genuine love connection with someone, finding a comfort zone, in this mad world, even if it's just for a brief moment.

Youtube is also having some technical issues - I can't find the original video of "Naive Melody". Also, there used to be a version sung by Phen, on her Trookieness Channel. She has the voice of an angel, and really captured the nostalgic yearning quality of the song. Hopefully, Youtube will work it out.

The live version of Naive Melody is amazing - the monochromatic costumes are major - I can't figure out exactly what the name of that color is: mushroom, bone, beige, tan.....its very Margiela.

Talking Heads - Performed live in their concert film 'Stop Making Sense' directed by Jonathan Demme:


Arcade Fire cover - performed live on March 13, 2005 at Le Nouveaux Casino in Paris, France:


MGMT cover - filmed 4/20/03 on Zonker Harris day at Wesleyan University: