Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Talking Floofs (floofinition) – Amerian floof rock (flock) band formed in New Floof City in the mid-seventies and active until the early ninties.
In use: “Several Talking Floofs songs were floofstream hits, and one, “Once in A Flooftime”, was inducted into the Flock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
I was streaming this song in my head this morning after having a wild, wild dream during the night.
“Wild, Wild Life” by the Talking Heads isn’t my favorite TH song, but I always enjoyed these lyrics. I thought they observe and mock modern complexities, hypocrisies, and ambiguities. I’ve often encountered Americans dissatisfied with life and their work, people who want to shake things up for themselves, something to give their life a more satisfactory edge as youth’s dreams fossilize into adult reality and the ruts become traps. So people party, have affairs, or do crazy things.
Well, that’s how I interpret life and this song. Your mileage may vary.
It was years before I saw the video for the song. Although the song came out in 1986, I was traveling across America, visiting Africa and Korea for the military, and never saw the video until much, much later. Its pop culture references are good for a laugh, especially the Billy Idol and Madonna imitations.
On the way to the coffee shop, to get some wild, wild life.
Ah, these words:
And she was lying in the grass
And she could hear the highway breathing
And she could see a nearby factory
She’s making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor’s house
Now she’s starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
And she opens up her eyes
The world was moving and she was right there with it (and she was)
The world was moving she was floating above it (and she was) and she was
I find this song, “And She Was” by the Talking Heads to be jubilant and affirming, a terrific song to lift your spirit higher as you’re navigating the day’s whims. Play it loud and sing along. It’s great for dancing, too.
My mind works in a stream of connections that’s difficult to corrall. Sometimes they hit and fire neurons into expected directions.
Like today. Out of the fire streams “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Interesting song. Anything to do with Thursday? No. Thanksgiving? Not that I recall. Dreams, or writing? Nope, and no.
It just pops in. Maybe I heard a fragment of sound or glimpsed a word or image that fired the song back to life in my head. Yeah, it’s a Frankenstein existence up there.
Cool song, though. fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better than many others.
Thinking about how things change and stay the same, even while changing. Details change, but the broad sweeps of progress often take so long, we fail to see them. Perhaps, for some, it’s because we’re buried so deeply into the way things are that we can’t see the change from our vantage. Foremost among all of this, I was thinking about how the Democratic and Republican parties have changed. Once upon a time, the Republicans fought against the expansion of slavery. Now, they embrace white supremacists. It’s the same as it ever was, because political parties hunt the winds of change to develop a political advantage.
“Same as it ever was,” right? Here are the Talking Heads with “Once In A Lifetime,” from nineteen eighty.
It’s a joy when a song is out there that satisfies on several levels. It’s even better when several performers or musical groups cover it, and you find that you can listen to these versions and like them all, but for slightly different reasons.
That’s the case with today’s songs. My dreams last night ended with me awakening to this song, “Take Me to the River.” My brain was originally streaming Al Green’s version. I mean, it’s Al Green. But I drifted to the Talking Heads’ take on it, and that stayed with me as I walked and got into the writing mood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ar2VHW1i2w
But, just in case, here’s Al Green performing, with a few guests. I enjoy the different lyrics from the Heads’ version.
Michael Seidel, writer 