"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)"
Japanese vinyl single
Single by Talking Heads
from the album Remain in Light
B-side"Cities (live version)"
Released1980
RecordedJuly – August 1980
Genre
Length5:46
LabelSire Records
Songwriter(s)David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, Brian Eno
Producer(s)Talking Heads, Brian Eno
Official audio
"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" on YouTube

"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads. It is the first track on their 1980 album Remain in Light.[3]

Composition and recording

The track has a prominent bassline and sets the funk tone of the album. It incorporates elements of African music, continuing an approach used in an earlier Talking Heads song, "I Zimbra".[4][2]

The solo was performed by David Byrne using a Lexicon Prime Time delay unit and was recorded piece by piece, with each part speed-manipulated upon playback. However, during live performances, the solo was played by Adrian Belew, who performed with the band on the album and its subsequent tour.[5]

Reception

AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz describes the singer as being "another alienated, lost soul seeing a world filtered through his delusions and paranoia," similar to the protagonists in other Talking Heads' songs.[2] Janovitz points to the following lyrics to support this assessment:[2]

A government man
Born under punches
I'm a tumbler..I am not drowning man
And I am not a burning building...I'm so thin

Author Ian Gittens also characterizes the singer as being unstable, describing the song as being about "a harassed and apparently unstable 'Government Man'".[4] Janovitz claims that the "thick menage of polyrhythmic percussion, staccato guitars, popping bass, and Devo-like electronic blips and bleeps" make this protagonist even more threatening than the one in Talking Heads' earlier song "Psycho Killer".[2] Gittens likewise concurs that the contrast with "warmth and gravitas" of the "humane backing" deepens the impression of the singer being unstable.[4] Janovitz notes Byrne's vocal performance in speaking and shouting his bitter lines and threats through the complex music.[2] Gittens particularly praises Brian Eno's production, stating that the way Eno layered the multiple guitar, bass guitar and drum parts gave the song an "original, sharply conceived and imposingly textured" sound.[4]

"Born Under Punches" was named as one of the best songs released between 1980 and 1982 in the 2008 book The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present.[6]

Release history

A medley of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" with two other songs from Remain in Light, "Crosseyed and Painless" and "Once in a Lifetime", reached No. 20 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.[7] The song was released as a single in Japan. The single's B-side track is a live performance of "Cities" from the August 24, 1979 concert at the Berklee Performance Center.[8]

An 8:24 extended live version appears on the 2004 reissue of The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads.[9]

The song was included as the first track on Röyksopp's mix album Back to Mine (2007).[10]

References

  1. ^ Terich, Jeff (March 2, 2009). "The 90-Minute Guide: New Wave". Treble. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Janovitz, Bill. "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  3. ^ Schill, Fred (November 18, 1980). "Talking Heads:The beat deepens". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Gittens, I. (2004). Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime : the Stories Behind Every Song. Hal Leonard. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9780634080333.
  5. ^ Bosso, Joe (October 25, 2022). ""It's Still a Record That Stands up Today, Very, Very Well:" Adrian Belew and Jerry Harrison Talk 'Remain in Light'". Guitar Player. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  7. ^ "Dance Club Songs - Week of November 29, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) (Media notes). Tokyo: Sire Records Company / Nippon Phonogram Co. (日本フォノグラム株式会社). 7PP-23.
  9. ^ Talking Heads (2004). The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (CD liner notes). Los Angeles: Rhino Entertainment. R2 76489.
  10. ^ "Röyksopp - Back to Mine Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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