Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [1983]
This song has been everywhere with me, like an audio tattoo. My eldest knows the lyrics and I've played it to anyone I've ever been in a serious relationship with. I had the music video Naive Melody on a Betamax tape my Dad recorded in '83 from the Whistle Test before Stop Making Sense came out in '84. He was a big Heads fan. This song reminds me of being with him, in my teens and him trying to ween me on to stuff he liked. Then later on watching the music video with girlfriends and laughing at how utterly camp it was.
The origins of this Talking Heads classic came from a rough instrumental the band had been working on for some time. “This Must Be the Place” earned the working title “naive melody” for the way it was recorded: The band used instruments that were otherwise not assigned to them. Tina Weymouth traded her bass for Jerry Harrison’s guitar (as seen in Stop Making Sense), who in turn cradled the bass; David Byrne plays the keyboards. In the final released version the track features Wally Badarou on synth and David van Tiegham on percussion. Their parts are not naive at all; Badarou’s synth parts in particular are exquisite. With Ednah Holt of "Serious Sirius Space Party," fame as one of the backing singers along with Lynn Mabry, adding to its post Disco feel. It’s catchy and fun, but not structured like most pop songs – the instrumental intro is long, and dances across keys, and there is no chorus. David Byrne’s lyrics find a new level of emotional honesty and directness here. “It’s a real honest kind of love song, I tried to write one that wasn’t corny, that didn’t sound stupid or lame, the way many do,” David Byrne
Live - Stop Making Sense Version
Music video
