Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" | |
---|---|
Single by Talking Heads | |
from the album Remain in Light | |
B-side | "Cities (live version)" |
Released | 1980 |
Recorded | July – August 1980 |
Genre | |
Length | 5:46 |
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
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'".
"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
- ^ Terich, Jeff (March 2, 2009). "The 90-Minute Guide: New Wave". Treble. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Janovitz, Bill. "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ Schill, Fred (November 18, 1980). "Talking Heads:The beat deepens". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9780634080333.
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
- ^ "Dance Club Songs - Week of November 29, 1980". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Talking Heads (2004). The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (CD liner notes). Los Angeles: Rhino Entertainment. R2 76489.
- ^ "Röyksopp - Back to Mine Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.