Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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Lucky for us, though, drummer Chris Frantz decided to chronicle it all.
Theres alsoa lot of bonus gossipto devour.
He was a delight.
Best Talking Heads song
I would have to choose Psycho Killer as No.
It was the first song we ever wrote.
Tina and I were still at the Rhode Island School of Design and sharing a painting studio.
We were primarily a cover band, although we thought that maybe one day wed write original songs.
This was in the fall of 1973.
David came to our studio and he had a sketch of the song.
He played us what he had and it was really promising.
Tina wrote the bridge in French very classical, Napoleonic French.
I wrote three verses, one of which got dropped later.
Within a few hours we had a really good song.
It never resonated with me.
It was one of Davids inner thoughts songs.
Its a dispiriting song.
The music is good, but the lyrics and vocal melodies are whiny and sad.
I wasnt into it at that particular point in time.
Im not today either.
Song you wish became a bigger hit
Warning Sign.
I co-wrote that song with David.
It was never even a little hit.
The lyrics are very heavy but also silly.
I thought that was a splendid combination.
Those lyrics still resonate with me even today.
Song whose meaning changed the most for you
I Zimbra.
The lyrics were taken from the founder of the Dada movement, a man named Hugo Ball.
He performed it as a poem at the Cabaret Voltaire.
It sounds even more important to me today than it did back then.
I have more knowledge on my end about Dada art and music and dance.
It made performing it a great pleasure every time.
Some people tend to believe in a single-bullet theory with David, which isnt true.
Its very much a unique chemistry.
All four members, and some of our extended musical family, contributed.
Everybody in the band was a star.
It was filmed by a national Italian television connection.
It was the tour we did forRemain in Light,with the entire expanded lineup of nine people onstage.
That concert is so fantastic.
Id love to get ahold of the entire footage and clean it up.
The audio recording is excellent.
If I could reboot that concert, I think the fans would really enjoy it.
It was mostly young Italian men, all of them smoking.
The entire theater was full of smoke.
That was very upsetting.
I dont know that we really ever felt the same about trusting David after that.
He had done these types of things before, but that really caught us off guard.
We werent happy about that.
Was there ever a resolution?Im afraid there was never a proper resolution, and there still isnt.
One of those things was Davids need to aggrandize himself at the expense of others.
Best performance fromStop Making Sense
The whole darn movie is fabulous.
But it has to be Life During Wartime.
There was so much unharnessed energy onstage.
We gotBlade Runners director of photography!
The choreography on that song never gets old.
The whole band was running onstage.
That was a good workout.
I was lucky that I got to sit on my drummers throne.
Those were the days before mobile drums.
Performance youd like to forget
Our very last performance in 1984.
It was in New Zealand at a big rock festival.
It was a very happening little festival.
About five songs into our show, David walked off the stage and wasnt coming back.
I said, David, whats going on?
It was a sunny and dry day.
David didnt come to the party afterward either.
He missed a lot of great New Zealand Champagne.
It was wonderful that you all reunited for your 2002 Rock Hall induction.That was extra special, yes.
We were inducted along with our old friends, the Ramones.
Our sons werehugeRamones fans, of Dee Dee in particular.
He sat at our table because the rest of the Ramones were mad at him about something.
I was very happy to be there and our three performances went great.
For us and the Ramones, it was our first year of eligibility.
Most meaningful compliment on your drumming
My drumming isnt fancy drumming by any means.
Im not a flashy guy when it comes to playing the drums.
Best Weymouth bass line
That would be a toss-up between Psycho Killer and Genius of Love.
Both of those songs youknowas soon as the bass line comes in.
One of the lines in a song that we denied was throw that N-word in the trunk.
We said, uh, no, I dont think were going to say yes to this.
Weve also repeatedly turned downGrand Theft Auto.We dont like that game.
Its not good for anyone.
Were generally inclined to grant sample use though.
We love that the song gets a recharge or another life.
Thats what its all about.
