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Talking Heads — City Of Dreams
Album: True Stories
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1791









Released: 1986
Length: 5:01
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Near where you are standing, the dinosaurs did a dance
The Indians told a story how it has come to pass
The Indians had a legend, the Spaniards lived for gold
White men came and killed them, but they haven't really gone

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake to find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town

From Germany and Europe and southern U.S.A.
They made this little town here that we live in to this day
The children of the white man saw Indians on TV
And heard about the legend, how their city was a dream

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake and find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town

The Civil War is over, and World War I and II
If we can live together, the dream, it might come true
Underneath the concrete, the dream is still alive
A hundred million lifetimes, a world that never dies

We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake and find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town
We live in the city of dreams
We drive on this highway of fire
Should we awake and find it gone
Remember this, our favorite town
Comments (145)add comment
 joanbcn wrote:
For those you dont like TH / DB ...
This is Radio Paradise and Radio Paradise is not Radio Paradise without Talking Heads or David Byrne

{#Nyah}



That may be correct but both are overplayed. Some bands I hear just now and than but TH en DB I hear every day
this is better then psycho killer IMOH
 eyeball wrote:

Thanks to RP I am swift becoming more of a TH fan. I guess I just wasn’t ready all those years ago. I love them now.



Radio Paradise showed me a side of Talking Heads that I connected with. Burning Down the House and Psycho Killer (the album version) never did anything for me.

RP played Strange Overtones, and I loved it, and I was like, okay, why don't I like Talking Heads? I do, I just don't like Burning Down the House and Psycho Killer 😅
True Stories was a truly wonderful, quirky movie full of great one-liners that I still quote to this day. An under-rated Talking Heads album, I feel.  Not their best, but worthy of a regular listen, still.
Not their best. 
 phlattop wrote:

I owned this album but never explored beyond "Puzzling evidence", "Wild wild Life" and another one. This feels like a cousin to "Heaven".

For all the hate the Heads and DB get here (along with other major artists), one should keep in mind that music is often inextricably linked with personal memories. The Talking Heads (pre -Naked) stuff takes me back to art school in the 80s. Great times. "Seagull" by Bad Company is playing now and while I loved it then and now, there isn't the same level of association.

To each their own. PSD away if you want. You might just get a favorite of yours.





I barely knew that TH existed back in the 80's. I truly like this band and not because the songs are linked to good memories.  One of my favorite bands on this station and there is a lot of good music on this station.
If someone asked me about my favourite bands, I doubt I would remember to mention Talking Heads. Yet, each time one of their songs comes up in RP,  I find myself cranking up the volume, stopping what I'm doing, paying attention to the lyrics and even singing along. What a band! 
Plod.
 jp33442 wrote:
Even though i find DB one of the biggest dicks ever, he is very talented 




I agree!!
 jp33442 wrote:
Even though i find DB one of the biggest dicks ever, he is very talented 



Are you living in any sort of modern city, even of dreams? I find it incomprehensible that in the second decade of this century anyone would choose David Byrne for this honor. Of all the better examples we have today! I think you may be exaggerating?
Just love this song, talking heads at their best
 TLynneHenry wrote:

Love this album, adore this movie. My college friends and I still quote it back and forth to each other almost 30 years later. 



Same here. 
These people have too much metal on their heads.
 phlattop wrote:

I owned this album but never explored beyond "Puzzling evidence", "Wild wild Life" and another one. This feels like a cousin to "Heaven".

For all the hate the Heads and DB get here (along with other major artists), one should keep in mind that music is often inextricably linked with personal memories. The Talking Heads (pre -Naked) stuff takes me back to art school in the 80s. Great times. "Seagull" by Bad Company is playing now and while I loved it then and now, there isn't the same level of association.

To each their own. PSD away if you want. You might just get a favorite of yours.

Even though i find DB one of the biggest dicks ever, he is very talented 

I owned this album but never explored beyond "Puzzling evidence", "Wild wild Life" and another one. This feels like a cousin to "Heaven".

For all the hate the Heads and DB get here (along with other major artists), one should keep in mind that music is often inextricably linked with personal memories. The Talking Heads (pre -Naked) stuff takes me back to art school in the 80s. Great times. "Seagull" by Bad Company is playing now and while I loved it then and now, there isn't the same level of association.

To each their own. PSD away if you want. You might just get a favorite of yours.
 gregorbill wrote:

Why, oh why did they ever part company with Brian Eno?



Because then we wouldn't have the latin-funky the "Naked" album, or great mainstream-poppy-hits from the "Little Creatures" album - or even this inbetween "True Stories" album that is kind of a soundtrack album to a weird movie.

I am fairly sure that we would have some great albums if they continued with Brian Eno. We will never know. But these are all great.

I really like David Byrne's post-Talking Heads stuff; and just like you miss the "sound" of Brian Eno with them, I do miss the sound of the TH band with David Byrne. To me, it feels like DB never found his true "broader sound" after he disbanded TH. I cried when I listened to them playing live one last time for their 2002 induction ceremony to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now THAT was a true BAND.

Take a listen: https://bit.ly/3d6SJLb
 geonuine wrote:
A rating of 7 at most. Admitting, their prime has passed when launching this album/song 
 

If they had perhaps generated songs like this in '79, I would have been more partial to them.  Hearing Psycho Killer 300 times almost turned me into one. 
A favorite from this album. Loved the movie!
A rating of 7 at most. Admitting, their prime has passed when launching this album/song 
Better then psycho killer
a SOLID 8 from me.....
Thanks to RP I am swift becoming more of a TH fan. I guess I just wasn’t ready all those years ago. I love them now.
Just changed it from 8 to a 9. I almost never give 10s. This song is perfection.
Love this album, adore this movie. My college friends and I still quote it back and forth to each other almost 30 years later. 
YOU GUYS ARE BRILLIANT!!
 DChas wrote:
I agree!
 

Me too!
Wait. What?
As an aside - saw Adrian Belew last night - it was great, and included a handful of Crimson tunes. Check out his current tour if you are a fan and you can!
I agree!
this is a beautiful song
the melody, the key changes, the lyrics
yes, it's low energy, but it's a lament, so it's appropriate
 Shimmer wrote:
Talking Heads were a spent force by the time they made this album, and it really shows in this dull song.

 
They were a very different band at this point from their early albums like "More Songs About Building and Food." "True Stories" wasn't as weird/neurotic/conspiratorial as the early stuff and some of it was boring but this is a great song. Reminds me of college friends and the better angels in our nature. 
Great, wonderful song from an excellent band
 bam23 wrote:

No. Dull observation. This is brilliant and conceptually covers more ground than most efforts to create something worthwhile.

 
Completely agree. This is a more effective and evocative song than some of those droning snarky surrealisms TH pumped out circa 1980 and thereby lost me. 
The decline of TH was rather precipitous. 
 Shimmer wrote:
Talking Heads were a spent force by the time they made this album, and it really shows in this dull song.

 
No. Dull observation. This is brilliant and conceptually covers more ground than most efforts to create something worthwhile.
Talking Heads were a spent force by the time they made this album, and it really shows in this dull song.
My favorite TH song

2 > 3
Not my most favourite song by them.
Good song! Passionate. Intelligent. Catchy.
Talking Heads' worst album, IMHO. 
If there's any band overrepresented on RP, it must be Talking Heads.
I can see your expression when you hear the talking heads... 
 George_Tirebiter wrote:
Love this album - my kids grew up on it.  {#Bounce}
 

Lucky kids.
I confess to not understanding why so many listeners dislike this artist and specifically this song. It touches on a subject, or subjects, that  rarely get discussed, let alone sung about. Oh well, if you don't like, you don't. Oddly, it touches me emotionally and intellectually.
allright, crappy songs hour it is then, i rest my headphones...
LOVE THIS SONG!
 Ag3nt0rang3 wrote:
Ugh, this is bad. I love the Talking Heads, but not this song. 
 
What they said

David Byrne by johnwmacdonald
John W. MacDonald
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/

David Byrne, the renowned musician, visual artist and author, lead a discussion on urban living and alternative transportation, featuring Marie Lemay from the National Capital Commission, author and urban theorist Jeb Brugmann, and Roger Plamondon from Montreal's innovative bike sharing system BIXI. The event was at St. Brigid's Centre for the Arts & Humanities, Ottawa International Writers Festival.

This photo was taken on October 23, 2009 using a Nikon D3.

Copyright All rights reserved

This song seems rather melancholy to me.
Ugh, this is bad. I love the Talking Heads, but not this song. 
city of dreams?  Nope its a night mare!
Love this album - my kids grew up on it.  {#Bounce}
David is a god.  Not as good as the stuff from 1977 and near but his voice jumps out at you 30+ years later.


 horstman wrote:
This album came out in 1986, it was the seventh album by the talking heads. There is no way that they had become this polished in 77. That's when the first album came out and it was raw and unrefined. This is ultra pasteurized. And I'm not being complementary.

Still an okay song, though.
 
i agree.. i have most heads albums but not this one. i'd expect this tune to be on the corporate album (little creatures)..

Now I know why Talking Heads' music irritates me most of the time:  David Byrne has the young, male equivalent to the quavering voice of the old lady who always sang in the congregation when you were a kid and were forced to go to church!
This album came out in 1986, it was the seventh album by the talking heads. There is no way that they had become this polished in 77. That's when the first album came out and it was raw and unrefined. This is ultra pasteurized. And I'm not being complementary.

Still an okay song, though.
 Jelani wrote:
I generally like Talking Heads, but I do not like this. At all.
 
Funny, the opposite for me.
For many of us, those dreams are starting to crumble. Still, this is a cool song. {#Music}

I generally like Talking Heads, but I do not like this. At all.
Oh, no, not again.
one of my very favorite TH ~ thanks Bill
Music isn't music without TH/DB. Amazing how little middle ground there is on that subject on RP. It's almost like red state/blue state. Assuming DB would be blue (he gets around by bicycle for instance), I will just say, "Blue Rules." He's a genius and that was a great band. The movie True Stories is really funny, too—the fashion show at the mall has to be seen.

 
joanbcn wrote:
For those you dont like TH / DB ...
This is Radio Paradise and Radio Paradise is not Radio Paradise without Talking Heads or David Byrne

{#Nyah}
 


sehr gutes Stück......{#Music}
Certainly I love this song....but DB's "Dirty Old Town" would *really* bring Moe's super-lite "New York City" (just played) down to earth.

 DaveInVA wrote:
{#Puke}{#Puke}{#Puke}{#Puke}
 


{#Puke}{#Puke}{#Puke}{#Puke}
 lmic wrote:
9 -> 10
 
3 -> 2. Fine lyrics, seriously dull delivery {#Sleep}
 lmic wrote:
9 -> 10
 



+1
 Hannio wrote:


How many times you going to say that?
 
——say it again
Good one online radio dude.
For those you dont like TH / DB ...
This is Radio Paradise and Radio Paradise is not Radio Paradise without Talking Heads or David Byrne

{#Nyah}
9 -> 10
...sounds a lot like brian eno!..
Most TH / DB songs get a one from me. This one wasn't as bad - it gets a 2.
 ThePoose wrote:


But Bill loves Byrnin' down the house.
 

How many times you going to say that?
I must agree with earlier comments to ignore the detractors. At this point one must be really jaded to not appreciate this unique musician.
Painful...it exists as an anthem to my memory of what we might have been. It's all just a city of dreams.
bmeador wrote:
That's enough, David Byrne.
But Bill loves Byrnin' down the house.
EssexTex wrote:
Do you think "Sand in the vaseline" is a parody of "Sticky when wet"...."sticky fingers" etc?..
It's from the old joke poem: From the bedroom came a scream: who put sand in the vaseline?
A very interesting sound from the Talking Heads. Different side of the group. I'll need to hear it a few more times before adjusting my rating.
reason06 wrote:
Really? I think this is one of their worst, sound wise.
I love it, too. Understand, I usually find Byrne irritating, but this is lovely.
LaurieinTucson wrote:
My favorite talking heads song. Beautiful.
Really? I think this is one of their worst, sound wise.
EssexTex wrote:
Do you think "Sand in the vaseline" is a parody of "Sticky when wet"...."sticky fingers" etc?..
My favorite talking heads song. Beautiful.
dmax wrote:
This is so not the Talking Heads the I adored. It misses the pathos of "Big Country" while trying to be in the same neighborhood. Gave it a 1.
Interesting. I'm exactly the opposite. Not a big TH fan, but this song is quite lovely! Takes all kinds....
EssexTex wrote:
Do you think "Sand in the vaseline" is a parody of "Sticky when wet"...."sticky fingers" etc?..
no... it just really sucks
InTexas wrote:
Another fine Talking Heads song.
Another retread from byrned out . . .
Do you think "Sand in the vaseline" is a parody of "Sticky when wet"...."sticky fingers" etc?..
Another fine Talking Heads song.
dmax wrote:
This is so not the Talking Heads the I adored. It misses the pathos of "Big Country" while trying to be in the same neighborhood. Gave it a 1.
While I agree with the premise - this is not your father's Talking Heads - I do think it comes close to evoking Bryne's earlier imagery of hope amidst alienation. I'll clock it at 6.
the style and lyrics are remeniscent of some sort of personal music/journal entry.
Saw him play this at the 1991 International Design Conference in Aspen. It was quite a bit faster, much more sparse and a thousand times better (I'll give that one a 6000 as opposed to this version's 5 or 6). It was allegedly his first solo performance, and he seemed pretty wound up and nervous, all alone with only an acoustic guitar and a little drum machine. He also did a great cover of Greenback Dollar (traditional, not the Kingston Trio/Hoyt Axton song).
Do not stop playing TH or DB. Do not mind about the ones who do not like him. DB is a genious and nobody can discuss that Thanks Bill There\'s another genious called Prince. What about him? Maybe u should try to play something of him... I am going to London just to see him next saturday. I will tell you about that...
mindless wrote:
Boring, awful track. I can see what some people like in David Byrne but, not in this track!
yup...I thought it was Byrne solo
shayborg wrote:
There is no way this song would ever be played here if it weren't by the Talking Heads.
Amen! This is worse than a middle-school talent show pseudo-profound "message" song.
widespread panic does an amazing cover of this
Boring, awful track. I can see what some people like in David Byrne but, not in this track!
There is no way this song would ever be played here if it weren't by the Talking Heads.
That's enough, David Byrne.
Reconsidered, I think the whole True Stories venture was very underrated. Perhaps the satire was too gentle for some.
Great music.
I like one song from the Talking Heads. That was in 1986. It wasn't this one.
eastcoast wrote:
Its amazing how you can trash talk the station because of one song you don't like...just give your commentary on the song.
decent song. I like it. I feel like the chord changes are a little manipulative of emotion. Love DB. 6
decent song. I like it. I feel like the chord changes are a little manipulative of emotion. Love DB. 6
Its amazing how you can trash talk the station because of one song you don't like... Ando wrote:
I like the heads a lot, and have most of their albums. This song is one of their weakest efforts. Wanting to hear from outside the box is great. But it doesn't mean you have to go find the suckiest song in the TH catalog just to prove how eclectic you can be. I didn't know that the RP focus was on being inside/outside/about/near/over/under/without/of/for/around/through the box. I thought the focus was on playing a variety of GOOD music. (which most of the time they do quite well, thanks Bill)
lmic wrote:
True Stories - Such a tender & touching little movie. "Who's to say it isn't beautiful?" 9
I can't agree more! True Stories is probably one of the most original movies I've ever seen. Yes, touching and tender indeed.
I don't know why but I totally like this song. White greed and oppressions exploited by white music artist who bring us social commentary...still like it though.
True Stories - Such a tender & touching little movie. "Who's to say it isn't beautiful?" 9
I don't like this song but I don't care. RP rocks. Who gives a f--k about the wizzer naysayers and their petty wet comments.
Yes, there are better TH songs. I find it refreshing, however, to hear something different from them that I am not so familiar with.
Ando wrote:
I like the heads a lot, and have most of their albums. This song is one of their weakest efforts. Wanting to hear from outside the box is great. But it doesn't mean you have to go find the suckiest song in the TH catalog just to prove how eclectic you can be. I didn't know that the RP focus was on being inside/outside/about/near/over/under/without/of/for/around/through the box. I thought the focus was on playing a variety of GOOD music. (which most of the time they do quite well, thanks Bill)
I disagree respectfully. I hear (feel?) a lot of emotion coming from Byrne's voice in this song. It strikes me every time I hear it. The lyrics are simple, but I think carry a lot of meaning for them (and for some of us too)
Oh, those first few notes...I thought we were going to hear the live version of Heaven .....but this is pretty good too.
Ando wrote:
I like the heads a lot, and have most of their albums. This song is one of their weakest efforts.
Agree completely. At best they made you dance and laugh at the same time. This just drones on.
I like the heads a lot, and have most of their albums. This song is one of their weakest efforts. Wanting to hear from outside the box is great. But it doesn't mean you have to go find the suckiest song in the TH catalog just to prove how eclectic you can be. I didn't know that the RP focus was on being inside/outside/about/near/over/under/without/of/for/around/through the box. I thought the focus was on playing a variety of GOOD music. (which most of the time they do quite well, thanks Bill) Marr wrote:
Hmmm. So we should limit RP to the songs that were played on the HIT STATIONS? I think as a group RP listeners are sophisticated enough to want to hear songs from outside the box.
meower215 wrote:
Um, their Lyrics, danceability, leadership in changing the scope of music at one point in music histroy to name a few
not that this one is particularly dance-able
renlat wrote:
The more you play TH or any D Byrne songs the less I send money. Sorry. Does anyone can explain to me what's so good about them?
Um, their Lyrics, danceability, leadership in changing the scope of music at one point in music histroy to name a few
snurfer wrote:
There are tousands of better T H songs....
Hmmm. So we should limit RP to the songs that were played on the HIT STATIONS? I think as a group RP listeners are sophisticated enough to want to hear songs from outside the box.
The more you play TH or any D Byrne songs the less I send money. Sorry. Does anyone can explain to me what's so good about them?