Talking Heads - Psyco Killer - CBGBs

[Anglynn74]

CBGBs was ok but boy was it in a lousy part of town, the Bowery uggh. Hated going down there sometimes.

[kdw456]

absolutely, priceless,,

[ThePhilosopher1996]

They played it very bad...but who cares, the name of this band is 'talking heads'

[dnikeb]

nice

[dnikeb]

niiiice!



[TheItalix]

is this country blues and/or blue grass. Actually, this is one of the best versions of this song. Later on you can hear that more main stream sound coming from your grocery or department store speakers.

[wsdraperv]

Imagine. Disco was the only thing on radio. KC and the Sunshine Band. Donna Summer. And this geeky guy from NY was about to make music change forever, along with Punks from England, Blondie, Ramones. What a time to see and be a part of.

[samatoid]

I just started at NYU when they were doing this. Little by little the cool kids from Weinstein ended up hanging out all the time at CBGBs. I went a few times but I wasn't one of them. I wore a plaid shirt. The New Yorker description of CBGBs from those days mentioned how you'd see a wholesome plaid shirt(me) among all the black leather and spikes. Hookers and junkies and other people you might not trust to watch your valuables. I don't know what the Talking Heads were doing there either.

[mylifeisimportant]

He's scared as hell

[ihasch]

They weren't really ready to record until they got a keyboard player. They tried to recruit Jimmy Destri from Blondie before Harrison joined. Actually they once tried to recruit Debbie Harry as their lead singer; not sure how Psycho Killer would have turned out. The Heads were one of the bands on the forefront of new wave.

[noah511285]

they led the new wave movement, without the heads, you wouldnt have well, anything.

[udohood]

@noah511285 this is true...but in only that they were 100% ready to record....the other bands were still jelling then...except for the heartbreakers who brought their own entorage with them  TURNED THE PLACE ON ITS EAR

[cokennyg]

If I were to guess it was a wednesday afternoon, and they were warming up. lol

[ncast54]

Was this his first gig, he looks a lot nervous

[BobbyeHorner03]

Dowwnload the audio from this tune at tubepull doht cohm.

[marko1978st]

bass is not tuned in at all, E string is out of it :)))

[Medalion]

This faster tempo really works

[Butch4President]

Uh...that was bizarre. David is obviously 3 sheets. Tina goes to the wrong bass line several times (granted at the time of this video, she had JUST learned bass)

[cjtal2005]

1974 to 1976 was a truly phenominal time musically between the USA, Great Britain and Australia.

It really is a shame we cant wind the clocks back, was the greatest musical time of my life - PUNK ROCK.

[gabepizza]

Man, imagine being there for that!

[stubstory]

Hi, I'm Rusty Banks, Content Director of Stubstory and I found your video today. I was curious you sharing images of your ticket stubs and the stories behind them into what we are doing. I'm really interested in your CBGB stubs and stories for a project I'm starting.

Would you take a look at Stubstory and see if you'd care to share some stories? I'm looking forward to hearing back from you.

[booboobradshaw]

is he drunk?

[CristoffandFriends]

very raw performance. the sound check, only one guitar, a couple hiccups, off-tempo, I LOVE IT!

[BeckPilgrim]

Anyone else think he looks a lot like Eric Forman?

[mizyama]

めちゃ、病弱なバーン氏、サイコキラーって、初めはこんなだった­んだ！

なんか、とっても納得しました。



[speereettoo]

waaauuuu... i love it... the first time on CBGB's... Thanks for this

[Locksmithj0e]

okay david must be drunk

[Felipe99262]

Just perfect! We miss it

[TheOpuzenac]

thanks for this video

[bartxg92]

uuh uuh uuh uuh Tina!!!

[vaavoosh]

Greatest American NEW WAVE/PUNK band ever!

[MaijaRae]

*Seemingly intelligent but more so arrogant comment about the how the band played during this recording*

[ShaneDignan]

I remember seeing this clip on some "History of Rock and Roll" documentary when I was eight or nine years old. I had no idea who the Talking Heads were at the time. To this day, when I hear the album version of Psycho Killer, the sound I hear in my head is of this recording. Awesome.

[Ynnadodgers]

@ShaneDignan Same here, dude! I was ten when I saw that documentary...I do the exact same thing with the album version... So weird to read this!

[snayll]

Oooh, Tina strayed into the bridge a little early @ the 2 minute mark... good recovery, tho.

[deBebbler]

Way to have a drummer fuck up the tune by coming in waaaaay too fast.

[banq0o]

@deBebbler yeah .. lol

[calgaryunderground]

@deBebbler as a drummer, yep.

[HorstWaldorf]

this vid is really great, cause this is the start of 'talking heads' - just hear how insecure david was! unbelivable that he converts a few month later into a real limelight hog :) he's a very good actor on stage. i like him and the music of talking heads. good luck and best wishes for him and - of couse for all readers.

[pbev7]

Thumbs up if Slate brought you here.

Love the Talking Heads.

[Mikle73]

The song is about the Son of Sam Killer in 1978. The song came out in 79. The video says 75? no

[ToxBoxProductions]

@Mikle73 No, the song was actually written in 1974, and was released in 1977. It's also not about the Son of Sam Killer.

[zeropro1]

It's fun to see such a young David Byrne. Are there order recordings from this concert?

[simplee67]

great early film but it's clear the band didn't really take shape until Harrison joined

[hammertoejoe]

I can't sleep coz my bed's on fire Pshycho Killer Quest'ce que c'est? Pa papapa papapapapapa better ru ru run run run runawaaaay o hoh o hoh ay ay ay yay MY FIRST WORDS!!!

[thelawsuits]

this is only 6 months after their very first show. crazy.

[J0EYbagaDONUTS]

It sounds like theres a dozen people in the audience. Got to love CBGB's ! Oh yeah and lets not forget about  Max's Kansas City Two of NYC's best night clubs ever !

[eklektos44]

@J0EYbagaDONUTS Sunday night Reggae at Max's, them were the days!

[crazylara101]

What an awkward start

[GeorgieWise]

We tune because we care,

[jasperbeardly]

Awkward Bastard...Still love him though

[spazola789]

David Byrne was fricking 23 years old.  God damn.

[wips101]

the bass alone is killer !

[snazzyceltic]

defines the perfect irony of the punk movement. In a good way

[b00017898]

drum beats are killer in this one.

[1Delly]

These guys are sooooo great! Saw them about 10 times and when CBGB's closed up shop , I almost cried! It was a legendary place for musicians just starting out! Love the Heads!

[toddpico]

Nice, but what happened to the "h"? Psyc_o

[edn172]

CBGB!!

[reoshadow]

Love this song! I enjoy seeing them perform it before it's really ready, the bass is in the wrong spot several times....makes it very real. Anyone who's ever played in a band knows the feeling of being in the wrong spot, it sucks....VERY cool to see this unpolished version of an awesome song.

[kerry1111111]

Well I can dig that beginning........

[misledprops]

since i was a kid my dad and late uncle used to play the talking heads. great band, great memories. even when i was "punk rock" in high school you would still see me blasting the Heads. such an original sound! first show was with the ramones, it wouldnt be the last time the two groups would play together either. beautiful

[gthang91582]

It's amazing...the bass is ALWAYS out of tune with them in this era.

This version is SUPER early. Before they figured out how awesome it would sound if they SLOWED THAT SHIZ DOWN!

[AZTEC999]

EARLY TALKING HEADS ...CBGB'S 1975

[TigerLikesTail]

Weymouth was tight even back then.

She was a country mile ahead of them in the beginning.

Thanks for the flashback

[brooklynlulu]

Dear God, I love this man! Awesome catch on the classic and I used to go to CBGBs, omg, wild memories, hmmm ehehehe. there was that one tricky step when just walking into the club and I used to trip on it often, it was always very dark in there. Miss you CBGBs. Lived across the street and used to watch all the wildness going on outside, those were the good days lol.

[eelwoman75]

@brooklynlulu ....SOOOOO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brooklynlulu]

@eelwoman75 It was a great experience, so sad they shut it down, dam recession! Losing a lot of landmarks hang outs in Manhattan it seems.

[DanGoguen]

it's humbling to see someone as famous and awesome as david byrne being so uncomfortably nervous.

[jizzy2k]

They sound out of sync

[jeanbean43]

OH MY GOD>>>I WAS THERE!!!!!

[ThaddeusRobe]

@jeanbean43 I envy you.

[jeanbean43]

@ThaddeusRobe thanx the only thing that is unfortunate is the fact that i was at so many good concerts in my 52 years that im subjected to this shit known as music today........

[TVindustries5000]

@jeanbean43 amen! its almost all a load of crap :P well devo is still good

atleast

[FuyuAkiWorld]

@jeanbean43 Lucky. My parents were like 10 then.

[PresidentFillmore]

Yay RISDS

[Paris876]

This is vintage stuff.  Pre-spaz David! Thanks for posting this!

[Robbed768]

Cool Beans!!!!

[209116032]

yeah he seems like nervous or something. kind of surprisingly bad actually. This was still really cool to see tho so thanks

[Jignasty5]

you can see and hear evolution taking place here.

[splent]

OMG David Byrne is just so not animated here. I think he's still looking for his niche at this point.

[f15mos]

This was supercool. Thanks for posting.

[ombrapr]

byrne is so funny and totally uncool here )

[mindingosafado]

the old grey whistle test version is way more enthusiastic

[AriiBrito]

Like Talking Heads, but this music is +/-

=DD

[barakobama]

Great!  Thank you! so much

[jtmunch]

Tht was a terrible version of tht song. Not dissing yhe band. Just the version

[kiely]

@jtmunch

really, i like this early version with the different lyrics quite a bit

[tvanriet]

were u get da mp3 please help

[2bin]

Actually, I really love this early version and been looking for this for awhile. You gotta love that first cymbal attack and driving drum beat before those heavenly acoustic guitar chords strike to the throbbing, motorik bass.

[RockinRollBand09]

WOW! They Have Really Gotten WAY Better Qver Time!!

[dullsvillain]

How lucky I was to see them in this period!!

( BooHoo ...I'm old )

[Jostins]

they have definitely got better since then

[The4thGuy]

Lookit, David has definitely changed over time!

[theebadnun]

i would love to have been here at the time!

[tribute0019]

why does byrne go aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh

[tralfasian]

Er, he's sound-checking his mic. Obviously not a standard check phrase, but you know...Talking Heads don't exactly follow norms.

[ramones1940]

@tralfasian what is the norm anymore ahhaah

[Schmann213]

Sound check

[titopoulos]

Thank you very much! This is music history.!!!!!!

Thank you for sharing

[vagizz]

music is not like it used to be :)

[Nohname1]

Nope sure isn't. Every now and then a new band will get my attention but it's a rarity.

[Nohname1]

Cool to see them when they were still rough around the edges. It was there but they weren't polished yet. I grew up with the 80's Talking Heads always liked them but I like seeing bands before they made it big.

[oceanairguitarforce]

uuh uuh uuh uuh uuh uuh. that cracked me up

[shadowtriber666]

go to playlist(dot)com to add this song in my play list and nothing show up im like WTF

[visionaryzzz]

The only reason to watch this is Tina Weymouth. I'd say the same thing about Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth but they suck.

[Diatonic5th]

Great vid! A bunch of odd RISD students making music history.

[PROVJOEB]

Like Seth MacFarlane & friends of Family Guy Huh? But cartoon history insted of music...

[citybug]

Nice to see the variety of alternate lyrics that exist...

[geoffhutch]

A year and a half before Son of Sam!

[heyyman255234]

they are weird ?!

[CC7Films]

Classic!

[jaythomas1975]

fook i was born this year his songs never age

[LegendaryGIR]

The genius of David Byrne... it just really shows here.

[goldlessbassist]

great early performance

[realHorrorshowLike]

fucken historical!! thAnx for posting

[absurdstranger]

he's so shy

[samoshitt]

It's his act, his persona; quirky, awkward, nervous.

[BenPumpiner]

Thanks for posting this historic video.

Makes the first song on "stop making sense" concert dvd make sense...and he only had a boombox for that performance...awesome song!

[Pitumisio]

Can't believe I've been on that same stage -as a tourist. I just can't believe it.

[happyprescriptions]

thanks for posting this... so awesome to see their beginnings. what a great fucking band.

[simmy3000]

your a liar I don't remember seeing you there?

[okeyeye]

I was AT that show, and many of their others! [Pals we were...] It is certain because I can be seen throughout in old rugby shirt, behind Tina to the left, also on the captured still growing outa DB's arm--I was available to join the band as 4th member, was probably learning the chords from audience perspective! They went w/ another famouser Pisces :) so I said Come On!

[curroprr]

magnifico!!!!!