Hymnal

Last month, we made our way to Denver to see David Byrne performing songs of Talking Heads and D. Byrne/Brian Eno. What a great show, aside from the feeling lousy and passing out briefly during the last song. The songs were tight and the band was great. Below is a sampling of the songs from David Byrne and Brian Eno's new album, most of which was performed at the show. It's a self-described collection of gospel songs made by two atheists.

Most of the set was awe inspiring, with a good mix of favorites and obscurities, but one of the most arm-hair tingling moments came when they performed 'The River' from the new album. Upon the first few listens, I took it as a simple gospel song about the cycle of life and the tragedies and triumphs with the rebirth/renewal imagery of the river. I heard in an interview with David Byrne that it was inspired by Katrina. Okay, that seems quite obvious now. But it's still an incredible and emotional song that still gives me chills every time I hear it. I listened to it again this morning while walking to work and it felt especially relevant today, the day after the election results. My favorite bit is where the backing vocals kick in right as he sings "a change is gonna come". Take a listen.

(Some other highlights are Home, Strange Overtones and One Fine Day)