Music of the Day, 2 September 2024

drop me in the water

This morning, I discovered that we have no running water, due to a water main break. Sounds like we’ll be without for most of the day today. Ugh. If I were inclined to conspiracy theorizing, between our previous comm problems and this, I might be feeling a little paranoid right now.

Instead, the radio station in my mind provided a pleasant distraction to keep me out of those weeds.

I knew that Talking Heads would show up here at some point, but I wouldn’t have put any money on “Take Me to the River” to be the band’s first MotD appearance. It’s only the water connection that brought it to mind today. But I remember how big they were in the ‘80s: it seemed like every time I was at my friend TEB’s place, MTV would play “Burning Down the House.” We didn’t complain. The song and video were both juggernauts.

If I’d been able to clearly hear the complexity of “Take Me to the River” on the radio, I probably would have liked it much more back in the day. Tina Weymouth’s bass groove grabbed me, but I don’t think I heard much of Jerry Harrison’s organ, nor many of the more subtle sounds that make the song so great. Many of those flourishes are no doubt legend Brian Eno’s contributions.

Today I learned that the Talking Heads didn’t write the song; theirs is one of many covers of the piece that Al Green and Mabon “Teenie” Hedges wrote. That accounts for some of the churchy feel, especially in the organ. If I were feeling the song more deeply today, I’d be exploring some of those other renditions. Since I didn’t shower yesterday, I don’t need to get any more, um, aromatic by dancing to this great tune while waiting for our water to return.