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Angélique Kidjo — Crosseyed and Painless
Album: Remain in Light
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1078









Released: 0
Length: 5:05
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Lost my shape - trying to act casual!
Can't stop - I might end up in the hospital
I'm changing my shape - I feel like an accident
They're back! - to explain their experience

Isn't it weird
Looks too obscure to me
Wasteing away
And that was their policy

I'm ready to leave
I push the fact in front of me
Facts lost - facts are never what they seem to be
Nothing there! No information left of any kind
Lifting my head
Looking for danger signs

There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us
There was a line
There was a formula
Sharp as a knife
Facts cut a hole in us

I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside

The island of doubt
It's like the taste of medicine
Working by hindsight
Got the message from the oxygen
Making a list
Find the cost of opportunity
Doing it right
Facts are useless in emergencies

The feeling returns
Whenever we close our eyes
Lifting my head
Looking around inside

Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
Facts don't stain the furniture
Facts go out and slam the door
Facts are written all over your face
Facts continue to change their shape

I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
I'm still waiting...I'm still waiting...
Comments (56)add comment
I'm a bit perplexed, but a banana cannot be denied.
original Talking Heads version is still way better
 bluefrog wrote:

My starting position is always "I don't like covers".
I LOVE this.  This sounds like what the song should have sounded like.
Also, really like her voice.

Not sure what's up with the hate for it.



As someone who hasn't heard the Talking Heads song this was a banger. There wasn't a point where I thought that it was a cover, all I thought was - Ha Fela Kuti influence here I guess.
F*ck YEAH
I PSDed from a Paul Simon remix to this one, and was happy that *this* cover actually does something new with the material that's worthwhile.  
love her sound- like Shirley Bassey
There's some very nice Bass playing going on here
I love this cover, another gem found thanks to RP. Solid 8
 jpfueler wrote:

bit of Shirley Bassey in her voice. 
That's a good thing.



Absolutely! I thought it was Shirley at the start. Anybody who sounds like Shirley has a great voice IMO.
bit of Shirley Bassey in her voice. 
That's a good thing.
Saw her perform this album several months ago - she was AMAZING!
 bc wrote:

Hm.   First listen.
I can't decide if I like this...
or if I love this.


Second listen. 
Moving rapidly toward "love this."

Hm.   First listen.
I can't decide if I like this...
or if I love this.
When Eno “joined” Talking Heads, he had a belief that some things could “use more Africa” in the sense of humanity, engagement, even chaos. So, he was clearly behind the TH version of this - but Kidjo has stripped away Byrne’s awkward stiffness and made it what it should have been in the first place.
Wow! I actually thought this was Shirley Bassey for the first minute until I checked the screen. 
 MassivRuss wrote:

Rating undecided. But, Shirley Bassie’s voice or what?



That is exactly what I thought when I heard the first few lines!  Spanking bass, as well.  I like Tina Weymouth, but this takes it to another level.
hmmmmm

amy whinehouse
 jjbchansen159 wrote:

Meh. Doesn't really do anything the original didn't. 



Yea it's exactly the same. WTF?
Bassist is on  
Just saw her in Berkeley on October 29th, and she was so good! Many of us were on our feet for this song.  
Meh. Doesn't really do anything the original didn't. 
 JohnnySockhead wrote:

What we are hearing in this song is the Afrobeat / Fela Kuti influence on Talking Heads turned back on itself!



Meta-Talking-Heads-Afro-Beat
This song is HOT!
 trailhead wrote:

People are commenting on the merits of this cover.  Yes, technically it is a cover.  It was definitely written by Talking Heads.  However, I found the interview with her on NPR when this album was release to be very enlightening (

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616145303/ang-lique-kidjo-connects-the-talking-heads-with-her-african-roots

)

Some excerpts:

"

And when I arrived in Paris, I was determined to catch up with the music I didn't have. I became a music junkie. I went to a party with some friends of mine and somebody started playing the song of the Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" and everybody was standing and dancing weird, and me, I was grooving. And I told them, "This is African music," and they go, "Hell no, this is rock and roll. You Africans are not sophisticated enough to do this kind of music."


.....

I always say, when you are inspired by a music, and you acknowledge that source of inspiration, it is cultural expansion....

The Talking Heads, when they released this album, in the press release they acknowledge the fact they were listening to Fela when they did this album. They were reading the book [African Rhythms and African Sensibility] of [John Miller] Chernoff, and they tell people, "You want to understand our album? Listen to Fela and read the book."

---

So yes it is a cover - of music that was directly influenced by the music that she grew up with and makes.  It was a great interview.


Thanks for this.

I'll bet David Byrne LOVES this. Strong powerful stuff.
Rating undecided. But, Shirley Bassie’s voice or what?
My starting position is always "I don't like covers".
I LOVE this.  This sounds like what the song should have sounded like.
Also, really like her voice.

Not sure what's up with the hate for it.
how to really kill talking heads it absolute shit in my eyes cover or not it stinks
 trailhead wrote:

People are commenting on the merits of this cover.  Yes, technically it is a cover.  It was definitely written by Talking Heads.  However, I found the interview with her on NPR when this album was release to be very enlightening (

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616145303/ang-lique-kidjo-connects-the-talking-heads-with-her-african-roots

)

Some excerpts:

"

And when I arrived in Paris, I was determined to catch up with the music I didn't have. I became a music junkie. I went to a party with some friends of mine and somebody started playing the song of the Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" and everybody was standing and dancing weird, and me, I was grooving. And I told them, "This is African music," and they go, "Hell no, this is rock and roll. You Africans are not sophisticated enough to do this kind of music."


.....

I always say, when you are inspired by a music, and you acknowledge that source of inspiration, it is cultural expansion....

The Talking Heads, when they released this album, in the press release they acknowledge the fact they were listening to Fela when they did this album. They were reading the book [African Rhythms and African Sensibility] of [John Miller] Chernoff, and they tell people, "You want to understand our album? Listen to Fela and read the book."

---

So yes it is a cover - of music that was directly influenced by the music that she grew up with and makes.  It was a great interview.



Paris, France.  I am not surprised.
I hear this very much as Fela-inspired African Music, so she is taking the original back to its roots of inspiration. I hear it this way because I don't have a stick up my ass.  
I prefer the appropriation to this reappropriation
"Angelique butchers the Talking Heads" should be the name of this CD. She has put out some excellent music on her "Oremi" CD,  that's what you should play.
Has it moments but doesn't do it for me.
People are commenting on the merits of this cover.  Yes, technically it is a cover.  It was definitely written by Talking Heads.  However, I found the interview with her on NPR when this album was release to be very enlightening (

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616145303/ang-lique-kidjo-connects-the-talking-heads-with-her-african-roots

)

Some excerpts:

"

And when I arrived in Paris, I was determined to catch up with the music I didn't have. I became a music junkie. I went to a party with some friends of mine and somebody started playing the song of the Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" and everybody was standing and dancing weird, and me, I was grooving. And I told them, "This is African music," and they go, "Hell no, this is rock and roll. You Africans are not sophisticated enough to do this kind of music."


.....

I always say, when you are inspired by a music, and you acknowledge that source of inspiration, it is cultural expansion....

The Talking Heads, when they released this album, in the press release they acknowledge the fact they were listening to Fela when they did this album. They were reading the book [African Rhythms and African Sensibility] of [John Miller] Chernoff, and they tell people, "You want to understand our album? Listen to Fela and read the book."

---

So yes it is a cover - of music that was directly influenced by the music that she grew up with and makes.  It was a great interview.
I don't even need to know that this is talking heads - she does a great job on this song! edited to say - she and her band do a great job on this song!
Ok, I admit I am well over 50 but am I really the only one who hears a very tired Shirley Bassey? My father  was a massive fan and  we were immersed at home in the heady mix of Dave Brubeck, Bassey, Cinco latinos, Bach, Britten, Queen and Shelley Berman! Then we would escape on the buses and tour Kings Rd, Carnaby Street and the markets and buy or swap for scratched Lps of The Clash, Pink Floyd, Beatles, King crimson and Bauhaus.  Radio paradise is somehow and often the sound of those moments which does not make any sense at all, although truth be told I never did get into Queen. 
Far from her best music
Pretty cool. 

I just saw this on HBO this weekend - fantastic.
Not sure about this. Love the Heads version.
Almost! Like Cely, I’m not sure how to rate this one. In some ways it is an interesting reinterpretation of a classic, but unfortunately without the speed and angst of the original. I like the horns and the African stylings, but imo it’s missing something somehow. 
every time I hear this on RP...I think I hear my phone ringing...📱
 cely wrote:
It's hard to know exactly how to rate a remake.  Points off for imitating.  Points on for taking something great and making it different but still good.  More points for having a better voice than David Byrne.  Points off for none of Byrne's angst.  Points on for a good band, but not as good as TH. I'll give it a 7.
 
"More points for having a better voice than David Byrne" was the only nice thing my ninth grade chorus teacher had to say about me on my final report card. She still flunked me that year.
 Sounds like what you'd expect, besides gastroenteritis, on a Carnival Cruise
This artist takes the pretentiousness out of the original and makes it exciting and fresh.
Annoying.
 AliGator wrote:

Indeed, she did. 
 
i would love to hear that!
If I was on vacation at an island resort and she walked on stage and was singing this I would be really engaged.  On RP (on the radio) in my office, not at all...
It's hard to know exactly how to rate a remake.  Points off for imitating.  Points on for taking something great and making it different but still good.  More points for having a better voice than David Byrne.  Points off for none of Byrne's angst.  Points on for a good band, but not as good as TH. I'll give it a 7.
Superb
 JohnnySockhead wrote:
What we are hearing in this song is the Afrobeat / Fela Kuti influence on Talking Heads turned back on itself!
 
So we're looking at an infinite loop?  Very mind expanding...
 AliGator wrote:

Indeed, she did. 
 

Yep! Here's a piece from NPR on the album. I'm super-excited to hear "Once in a Lifetime"! 
 SmackDaddy wrote:
Did she cover the entire Talking Heads album?
 
Looks that way:

http://www.kidjo.com/remain-in-light

Haven't bought an album in a long time, but this might be a good time to start!  Awesome cover.  Wonder what the rest of the album is like?

What we are hearing in this song is the Afrobeat / Fela Kuti influence on Talking Heads turned back on itself!
 SmackDaddy wrote:
Did she cover the entire Talking Heads album?
 
Indeed, she did. 
Did she cover the entire Talking Heads album?