Play It Again, Daddy!

My 2-year-old thinks it's 1984. Ever since I checked out the "Stop Making Sense" soundtrack cd from the public library a few months ago, he's decided his favorite song is "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel." This was not one of the more notable songs from the Talking Heads' extremely entertaining concert film, but somehow it's captured my tyke's imagination.

Only David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz perform on this one, although they give off a much larger sound. The tune rollicks along to Frantz's snare drum, with Byrne sounding like a madman, assuring us that (with a little practice) "you can walk, you can talk just like me!" My son dances both with me holding him or by himself, stomping around the living room and jumping in time to the cymbal crashes. He requests it constantly.

I have now heard this song no fewer than 100 times. Fortunately, it's only about two minutes long, so I guess it's only taken up about three hours and change of my life. Actually, watching the little guy dance to it is about as entertaining for me as almost anything he does.

Lately, my son allows us to listen to other songs on the album, and there are many, many fine ones. The Talking Heads were one of the best bands of their time, and that film is really a work of art. I saw it three times when it was released, and still feel mesmerized by the music and staging.

I guess the little acorn doesn't roll far from the big nut, or something like that.