"Crosseyed and Painless" | ||||
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Single by Talking Heads | ||||
from the album Remain in Light | ||||
B-side | "The Great Curve" | |||
Released | 1980 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Sire | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Brian Eno | |||
Talking Heads singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Crosseyed and Painless" (2005 Remaster) on YouTube |
"Crosseyed and Painless" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads. It was released in 1980 in the United States as a promotional single from their fourth studio album, Remain in Light . Although the single failed to reach on the US main chart, it reached to 20 on the US Dance chart to become Talking Heads' highest charting dance single. They chose this song for their second music video, released in 1981.
The song uses instruments and techniques such as cowbell loops, congas, bells, staccato guitar rhythms, and electronic blips. The rhythm of the song, as well as the use of the congas, add an African feel to the song, [1] which is also apparent in their song "I Zimbra".
The lyrics discuss a paranoid and alienated man who feels he is stressed by his urban surroundings. These lyrics are of common theme for Talking Heads and categorize lead singer David Byrne's writing style. The "rhythmical rant" in "Crosseyed and Painless"—"Facts are simple and facts are straight. Facts are lazy and facts are late."—is influenced by old-school rap, specifically Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" given to Byrne by Frantz. [2] [ page needed ] The singer is filled with doubt and is not even sure he can believe facts. [3] By the end of the song, he expresses his resentment of facts: "Facts don't do what I want them to do / Facts just twist the truth around." [3]
The music video for "Crosseyed and Painless", lasting 5:37, was directed by Toni Basil and by their own request did not feature the members of the band. Instead it featured street dancers (including Stephen "Skeeter Rabbit" Nichols), [4] chosen by David Byrne, and who were said to have chosen their own choreography for the video. [5] The dancers engage in various dance mimes of hustling, knife crime, posing, body popping, solicitation and street fighting. The video mix includes an additional verse not heard on the LP mix of the song.
More Songs About Buildings and Food is the second studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on July 14, 1978, by Sire Records. It was the first of three albums produced by collaborator Brian Eno, and saw the band move toward an increasingly danceable style, crossing singer David Byrne's unusual delivery with new emphasis on the rhythm section composed of bassist Tina Weymouth and her husband, drummer Chris Frantz.
Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980, by Sire Records. Produced by Brian Eno, his third album with the band, the audio was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in New York during July and August 1980.
Fear of Music is the third studio album by American new wave band Talking Heads, released on August 3, 1979, by Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in New York City during April and May 1979 and was produced by Brian Eno and Talking Heads. The album reached number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. It spawned the singles "Life During Wartime", "I Zimbra", and "Cities".
Stop Making Sense is an independently produced 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over four nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983, when Talking Heads were touring to promote their 1983 album Speaking in Tongues. Stop Making Sense includes performances of the early Talking Heads single, "Psycho Killer" (1977), through to their most recent hit at the time, "Burning Down the House" (1983). It also includes songs from the solo career of frontman David Byrne and by Tom Tom Club, the side project of drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth.
The moonwalk, or backslide, is a popping dance move in which the performer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion. It became popular around the world when Michael Jackson performed the move during the performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, which was broadcast in 1983. He included the moonwalk in tours and live performances. Jackson has been credited as renaming the "backslide" to the moonwalk and it became his signature move.
Speaking in Tongues is the fifth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on June 1, 1983, by Sire Records. After their split with producer Brian Eno and a short hiatus, which allowed the individual members to pursue side projects, recording began in 1982. It became the band's commercial breakthrough and produced the band's sole US top-ten hit, "Burning Down the House", which reached No. 9 in the Billboard Chart.
Naked is the eighth and final studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on March 15, 1988, by Sire Records. Following the more straightforward new wave and pop rock sound on Little Creatures (1985) and True Stories (1986), Naked marked a return to the worldbeat stylings of both Remain in Light (1980) and Speaking in Tongues (1983), blending elements of Afrobeat, Latin funk, and art pop. The album's songs were formed from improvisational jam sessions recorded in Paris, which featured the participation of numerous guest musicians such as former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Kirsty MacColl. Lyrics and vocals were then added in New York City following the Paris recordings.
Brazilian Girls is a band from New York, United States, known for their eclectic blend of electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as tango, chanson, house, reggae and lounge. None of the members are actually from Brazil and the only female in the band is the Italian singer Sabina Sciubba. Other members include Argentine keyboardist Didi Gutman, drummer Aaron Johnston and bassist Jesse Murphy.
"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" is a song by new wave band Talking Heads. The closing track of their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues, it was released in November 1983 as the second and final studio single from the album; a live version would be released as a single in 1986. The lyrics were written by frontman David Byrne, and the music was written by Byrne and the other members of the band, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison.
The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads is a double live album by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released in 1982 by Sire Records. The first LP features the original quartet in recordings from 1977 and 1979, and the second LP features the expanded ten-piece lineup that toured in 1980 and 1981. The album contains live versions of songs that appear on their first four studio albums: Talking Heads: 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light.
"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, produced and cowritten by Brian Eno. It was released in January 1981 as the lead single from Talking Heads' fourth studio album, Remain in Light (1980), through Sire Records.
"Psycho Killer" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads, released on their debut studio album Talking Heads: 77 (1977). The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974.
Storytelling Giant is a 1988 compilation album of music videos by Talking Heads during the 1980s. The videos are linked by real people telling stories from their lives; the stories have no logical connection to the videos.
"Waiting on a Friend" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and released as the album's second single, it reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US.
"Life During Wartime" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their 1979 album Fear of Music. It peaked at #80 on the US Billboard Pop Singles Chart.
Stop Making Sense is a live album by American rock band Talking Heads, also serving as the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name. It was released in September 1984 and features nine tracks from the film, albeit with treatment and editing. The album spent over two years on the Billboard 200 chart. It was their first album to be distributed by EMI outside North America.
"Conga" is the first hit single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine, led by Gloria Estefan, on their second English-language album, Primitive Love. The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique Garcia. The song first appeared on August 31, 1985, as part of the album. The single was released in Australia on September 9, 1985.
"I Zimbra" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their 1979 album Fear of Music.
"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads. It is the first track on their 1980 album Remain in Light.
"Damage I've Done" is a song from American band The Heads, which was released in 1996 as the lead single from their only studio album No Talking, Just Head. A collaboration between the Heads and Johnette Napolitano, "Damage I've Done" was written by Napolitano (lyrics), and Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, T. "Blast" Murray and Tina Weymouth (music). It was produced by the Heads.