Living in Cardiff, you feel incredibly lucky to be able to casually rock up to the oldest record store in the world for RSD (Record Store Day). Many were not so casual though, with queues for the occasion already forming at 1:30am. The Paramore fans being particularly enthusiastic. According to very friendly and accommodating staffall things Paramore sold out half an hour after the shop opening that morning. This included the highly sought-after RSD exclusive 12-inch split featuring Paramore’s cover of Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" and David
Byrne’s rendition of Paramore's "Hard Times," playfully but aptly named "David Byrne Does Hard Times". I settled with getting a Talking Heads: Live On Tour RSD instead but it was certainly an incredible collector's item for those willing to go that extra mile.
It has been seven years since Paramore staggered fans with the release of Hard Times, a single full of funk and flair with Hayley Williams’ charismatic, quirky vocals, Zac Farro’s all around the kit groove and Taylor York’s vibrant guitar phrases. This led to After Laughter, which became the bands most critically acclaimed album to date, despite being a turn from their usual rock and pop punk sound, though some emo-ness lingered in the lyrics. Paramore always
wear their influences on their sleeve referring to countless 80s bands and artists as inspiration for the record, but Talking Heads stood out as one of the most obvious and most explicitly on Williams’ Hard Times vocals. Their influence can still be heard on their most recent album This is Why with the lyrical themes of anxiety in an increasingly mediated world being in parallel with many Talking Heads songs.
Burning Down the House initially released in 1983 by Talking Heads certainly fits these themes. Paramore released their take on the song as a part of a A24 collaboration project of various artists, Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, that is featured on
one half of the split. I would say confidently but controversially that this is one of those renditions that outshines the original. It is faithful to the bare bones of the original song encapsulating the rippling drums, pulsing synths, and groovy guitar but both more polished up sounding and with a bit more bite, especially in the vocals. William’s infectiously lets loose on the song, almost growling at times adding gritty riffs and shouts at the all the right moments making me wish I did wait all night to be able hear it on vinyl on demand. The cover could serve as a blueprint on how to do a tasteful cover with the attention to detail taken from the old version in combination with it’s fresh sound. David Byrne Does Hard Times un-
fortunately was a little disappointing. Though I certainly enjoyed the track, outside of its endearing context and it being an exciting full circle moment of two of my favourite artists, it doesn’t stand out as one of Byrne’s best performances, with his vocals sitting uncomfortably on the instrumental. The instrumental is great, I especially love the horns leading into the chorus and the peak of the song lies in the bridge and the outro of the song where the overall arrangement really stands out and Byrne is sounding less awkward. Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute To Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense will be released on the 17th of May and Paramore returning to Cardiffto support Taylor Swift the upcoming Era’s Tour show on the 18th of June.