…really like this band. Most everyone has heard Genius of Love or at least a song that sampled heavily from it(for me it was an old X Clan song), but there are also some other great discotech tunes worth checking out from them. I guess this is also the part where I mention that the Tom Tom Club are composed of members of Talking Heads(most notably Tina Weymouth, and Christ Frantz) – minus David Byrne who was off doing god knows what the time. I say god knows what because I just got through watching a clip of Byrne dressing up as different characters to interview himself in the outfit where he wears the suit that makes his head look small. Tina and Chris went on to do other production chores as well working with the Happy Mondays(legendary Factory Records band of which my wife holds quite a bit of nostalgia for), and providing vocal & percussion duties for the Gorillaz project.
Wordy Rappinghood by the Tom Tom Club
Pleasure of Love by the Tom Tom Club
Genius of Love by the Tom Tom Club
that’s so weird – i was just talking about ‘genius of love’ with someone – how it’s a song everyone knows, but no one knows who did it or what it’s called. on a related note, david byrne is one weird dude.
Justin and I were talking about that recently too – he mentioned some song that sampled from it that I had never heard of and he hadn’t heard of the X CLan song I knew either. Go figure. I’m sure most know it from Mariah Carey or from just being in dance clubs where this is a popular tune. I first heard of bands like Tom Tom Club, New Order, & Joy Division from dance clubs when I was too young to get into bars.
Ya, David Byrne is a weird dude but you gotta love his absolute devotion to the value of true art. His Luaka Bop label is fantastic – I have so many good CDs from that label – from Shuggie Otis to Susanna Bacca, King Chango, and those great compilations on his label from Asia, Africa, Peru, etc.
…you know the funny thing about this Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads thread that brings it to full circle is last night I was talking to our drummer and she mentioned she had heard a few songs from the new Black & White Years debut album on XM radio(we opened for the B&W Years a while back). The producer of that album is Jerry Harrison(formerly of the Modern Lovers) who along with Tina, Chris and David Byrne, were the original Talking Heads lineup from their first album. When Tina and Chris went on to do the Tom Tom Club thing in the early 80s, and Byrne did his solo work, Harrison focused on his production work…and now is working with a fellow Austin band. I remember talking to a couple of guys from the Black & White Years after the gig and they were really excited to be working with him and referenced his Talking Heads work but I had no idea he was also in the Modern Lovers who I love even more than the Talking Heads.
man, talk about your degrees of separation. you’re only a few steps away from david byrne. not bad.
Screw David Byrne – I’m talking about Jonathan Richman! I mean, the guy stalked out the Velvet Underground as a teen. I remember reading that Lou Reed was creeped out by him because he would manage to show up wherever they were. I believe Richman even snuck into Lou’s dressing room a few times which really bothered the old man although they have since become friends(as much as you can be a friend of Lou’s).