Punk Rock Countdown: No. 11 "Life During Wartime," by Talking Heads
This ain't no party!
This ain't no disco!
This ain't no foolin' around!
No time for Mudd Club
Or CBGBs
I ain't got time for that now...
From the Heads' third album, Fear of Music, came this signature tune -- one of the band's most popular. Building around funkish tones, lead singer David Byrne's usual quirky vocals take on new urgency as he describes a world under seige, an underground, guerrilla warfare in which the combatants "dress like students, we dress like housewives/or in a suit and a tie." The war has spread from its origins -- from London and New York -- to faraway lands like Houston, Detroit, Pittsburgh, PA.
The message: the punk and new wave sound has spread. The underground movement is gaining ground. But it isn't a party; it's serious business.
Well, maybe that's the message. With the Heads, you can never be too certain.