The Talking Heads’ most celebrated album Remain in Light, turned 40 this month. On Remain in Light, The Talking Heads created their most fully realized sound, which went on to influence various artists in both it’s music and it’s production techniques. The 1980 masterpiece remains one of rock music’s most important releases, and is celebrated today as one of the greatest albums of all time.

In a staged promotional interview for the band’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the band’s de-facto leader David Byrne explains that music “is very physical and often the body understands it before the head”. With that quote, Byrne captures the spirit of the Talking Heads’ appeal. In many ways their music isn’t one conducive to thinking about, trying to describe the appeal of this album would be like trying to describe the feeling of a religious sermon (which Byrne and co. draw numerous parallels to).

The most iconic song on the album, the immortal Once in a Lifetime, would make no sense without the music. The verse of the song seems to describe some sort of an existential episode,

And you may ask yourself, well

How did I get here?

… 

And you may ask yourself

Am I right? Am I wrong?

And you may say to yourself

“My God, what have I done?”

yet the chorus of the song has no answers. David Byrne, in his typical fashion, proceeds to list a series of surrealist visions, which doesn’t answer any of Byrne’s psychotic questions.

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

If you’ve never heard Once in a Lifetime, you probably think I’m insane, but believe me, in the moment, Byrne’s lyrics make perfect sense. 

Songs with a clear meaning and purpose are in the minority on this album, but that’s kind of the point. The opening track Born Under Punches describes a narrator put down by the “hand of a government man”, but the song’s meaning is portrayed more by the frantic paranoia of Byrne’s voice and the scattered instrumental, than any of the cryptic lyrics. The music is about the visceral experience of listening, the inexplicable urge you get to shake your hips or tap your foot to an addictive beat. “The body understands it before the head.”

Instrumentally each member of the band is at the peak of their strengths. Tina Weymouth lays down some killer basslines, Jerry Harrison’s guitar solos are psychedelic and heady, and Chris Frantz’s drumming gives an addictive edge to the beats. Much of the band’s magic on this record is owed to its producer, Brian Eno, who edited together small loops from the band’s jam sessions into the impeccable instrumentals present on the album. In today’s digital age, songs built off of looped instruments are practically the norm in genres like hip-hop, but in 1980, this production style was another one of the numerous ways in which the album was ahead of its time.

None of this is important in understanding what makes this album so good. What’s important is the feeling you get in the moment from the music. Just stream the album and try and stop yourself from dancing.