Everyone’s getting involved, for better or worse: Delving into the disappointment of A24’s Talking Heads tribute album
Everyone’s Getting Involved. The title of A24’s new tribute album to new wave progenitors Talking Heads is an apt one. The collection features artists ranging from alt-pop stars Lorde and Girl in Red to jazzy producer collective BADBADNOTGOOD to pop-punk outfit Paramore, who each take it in turns to honour the anniversary of arguably the greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense. And this time, everyone’s getting involved, for better or worse.
After the successful restoration and theatrical re-release of Stop Making Sense last year, A24 had Talking Heads fans in the palm of their hands. The opportunity to don an oversized suit and dance down the aisles of your local cinema had not yet been afforded to new audiences, who relished in the opportunity to witness David Byrne twirling around a lamp on the big screen. But the cult production company seem to have lost sight of their audience with their latest attempt to honour Byrne and his bandmates.
The charm and quality of Stop Making Sense is undoubtedly difficult to replicate, but it seems as if A24 and most of the artists they selected gave up at the first hurdle. The covers range from just fine to uninspired to downright blasphemous, with Miley Cyrus’ opening offering burgeoning on the latter. Following the videos of the popstar performing ‘Psycho Killer’ live at Chateau Marmont a couple of months back, Cyrus takes her studio recording in an entirely new direction, turning it into an overproduced love song of sorts.
The playful, country-inspired rendition Cyrus teased back in March feels miles away from her finalised take on ‘Psycho Killer’, which has somehow metamorphosised into some kind of punchy, ‘Thriller’-esque track. She buries the bubbling menace of the original under layers and layers of synths before topping things off with strange backing vocals and a gratuitous additional verse penned by Cyrus herself. “I love you psycho killer, gonna love you forever,” she sings, turning the grisly tale into something else entirely.
Things do improve a little following the album’s unfortunate opener. The National, The Linda Lindas and El Mató A Un Policía Motorizado are much more successful in the quest to recreate Talking Heads’ distinctive sound, bringing Byrne’s lyrics into their own sonic palettes a little more seamlessly. Blondshell’s take on ‘Thank You For Sending Me an Angel’ is a particular highlight, turning the anxious energy of the original into a subdued, soft pop track.
Jean Dawson’s take on ‘Swamp’ aims to achieve a similar feat, swapping the menacing vocals and instrumental murkiness of the original track for gentle keys, acoustic guitars and even strings until the song becomes nearly unrecognisable. It’s pretty at times, but it seems to completely disregard its source material.
Many artists opt to provide faithful but forgettable takes on their track of choice, failing to harness the energy that makes Stop Making Sense so charming and compelling. But those who do try to take the songs out of their comfort zone often fail too. Kevin Abstract’s rendition of the band’s signature track ‘Once in a Lifetime’ perhaps marks the height of this. The instrumentation, while pleasant, seems to remove the intrinsic life of the original track, the bounciness and breath that makes it so addictive. But Abstract’s vocals are where he really lets the song down, hiding the emotion of the track under robotic vocal manipulation. It sounds like an AI voice trying to replicate Prince.
He’s certainly one of few artists who attempts to turn the track into something new, but unfortunately it misses the mark, and the entire appeal of the original track. The rest of the album tracks are fairly standard covers, and it’s easy to see why Lorde and Paramore were selected as the lead singles. Not only are they two of the biggest names on the album, but their covers opt to simply pair familiar instrumentation with a new voice.
Everyone’s Getting Involved is not a collection of covers tailored towards Talking Heads fans, but it doesn’t seem to be a covers collection aimed at A24 fans either. Perhaps it’s not even an attempt to pay homage to Stop Making Sense, or an attempt to introduce a new generation of listeners to Talking Heads. Maybe it’s just an attempt to flog something else on their extortionately priced-merchandise site.
While there are a few songs worth checking out on Everyone’s Getting Involved, the collection as a whole feels messy and misjudged. Such a huge range of artists could have provided quirky, considered takes on an iconic live album, revamping them for a new generation, but the majority of the record, instead, falls flat. Everyone’s getting involved, but maybe they shouldn’t be.
