| Talking Heads – The Great Curve Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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"The Great Curve" is about the Hubble Space Telescope or similar satellite in my opinion. Which by 1979, (A year before Talking Heads started to record Remain In Light) astronauts were training for the mission in an underwater tank to simulate weightlessness, using a telescope mock-up. This training was most likely publicised in newspapers all over the world, and on the evening news for David Byrne to have seen or read about. In 1981, the Space Telescope Science Institute was established in Baltimore, Md., to evaluate proposals for telescope time and manage the science program. The space telescope was named the Hubble Space Telescope. The forming of the institute and naming of the telescope was probably big news as well. There's too many lyrics that either describe how a satellite orbits/moves around the Earth. Or the function of and how telescopes are operated. And how the tools we use are impartial to all humans and are therefore objective because meanings are in people, not in the tools/things themselves. How satellites curve and move through space: "it swivels and bops... it bounces and hops.... She's gonna hold it move it hold it move it hold it move it hold it move it" The function of and how a satellite is operated and what they're made of: "A world of light..." Telescopes take in light to create a visual image. "Holding on for an Eternity" As long as a satellite is in working order it will obey instructions from ground control. If mankind gets destroyed, the satellites that have already been launched in space will hold on for eternity for new instructions that will never come. "She's only partly human" Satellites and telescopes are machines, not human but made by humans. "She's guided by remote control... The hands that guide her are invisible" Satellites are remotely controlled by "invisible" radio waves. "She shakes 'em up when she starts to walk." Spectators get excited when they watch satellites being launched into space. How the tools we use are impartial to all humans and are therefore objective because meanings are in people, not in the tools/things themselves: "She is moving to describe the world" "She's moving to define the world" "She has messages for everyone" "She loves the world, and all the people in it" "...she's gonna open our eyes up" "The Great Curve" takes on an almost tribal, ecstatic, "See only what's at the end of one's nose" blindingly optimistic tone, mood, and perspective of the early "Space Race" and space exploration in general. One of the reasons Remain In Light is such a great, timeless album is because all the songs tie into each other. In the same context, "The Overload's" contrast shows the creepy, sinister side of what mankind could discover in the vast dark corners of outer space. Or in Laurie Anderson's more concise words (A contemporary of David Byrne in space and time) "Big Science. little men." |
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| Talking Heads – The Overload Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[Wesley:10125] Lemont Sorry. I meant and was also talking about "The Great Curve" not "Houses In Motion." |
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| Talking Heads – The Overload Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I think "The Overload" has a much simpler explaination. Even though, I do like the tie-in with someone having a mental breakdown. Maybe the song has layers of different meanings. Nonetheless, I think the song is about the movie: Alien by Ripley Scott, which came out in May, 1979. (15 months before Talking Heads started recording in July, 1981. Which would have been a short enough time period for it to still be on some people's minds. Especially, David Byrne's self diagnosed Asperger's, obsessive mind.) The very first line of the song, almost explains it all. "A Terrible Signal Too Weak To Even Recognize" This could indicate the ship's computer, MOTHER, detecting a mysterious transmission, thought possibly to be a distress signal, from a nearby planetoid. But while on the Nostromo, Ripley determines that the transmission is not a distress signal but a warning. The line: "The Removal Of The Insides" expresses exacly what the "chestburster" does to its host body. The lines: "A Frequent Returning And Leaving Unnoticed A Condition Of Mercy A Change In The Weather" could express David's thoughts for How and Why the Alien came into being. One of the reasons Remain In Light is such a great, timeless album is because all the songs tie into each other. This song specifically sets a great contrast with the song: "Houses in Motion." Because that song is about the Hubble Space Telescope or similar satellite in my opinion. "Houses in Motion" takes on an almost tribal, ecstatic, "See only what's at the end of one's nose" blindingly optimistic tone, mood, and perspective of the early "Space Race" and space exploration in general. In the same context, "The Overload's" contrast shows the dark, creepy, sinister side of what mankind could discover in outer space. Or in Laurie Anderson's more concise words (A contemporary of David Byrne in space and time) "Big Science. little men." |
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