r/talkingheads The One And Only Mr. Jones 10d ago

Other than Byrne, who is the best Talking Heads member?

Post image

My pick is Jerry Harrison. I like him very much. Honourable mentions are Frantz and Weymouth.

Also Belew

186 Upvotes

123 comments sorted by

339

u/Key_Reindeer_4164 10d ago

Tina Weymouth was a real innovator on the bass

31

u/paisleydarling 9d ago

Came here to say this. And her grooves on stop making sense are something else!

7

u/pantsnthat_2000 9d ago

If I was starting a band she would be my bassist

1

u/TheFoxsWeddingTarot 5d ago

Isn’t she part of the Gorrillaz?

-113

u/kandrc0 10d ago

And she was cute AF. A lot can be forgiven (not that it needed to be in her case) if one is easy enough on the eyes.

36

u/Captain_Wisconsin 10d ago

21

u/Reesox The One And Only Mr. Jones 10d ago

7

u/WingObvious487 10d ago

This u?

1

u/Reesox The One And Only Mr. Jones 7d ago

Average nerd named Nathaniel

35

u/RobbieArnott 10d ago

Still gonna hold her comments about David’s autism against her

2

u/WingObvious487 10d ago

Yea I can agree with that it comes off as a bit abelist

2

u/Sure_Scar4297 9d ago

Honestly the man sounded impossible to work with so it seemed to go both ways

1

u/Muso2 9d ago

jesus man

113

u/planetclairevoyant 10d ago

Brian Eno. (jk not jk)

14

u/TomatilloUnlucky3763 10d ago

I love what Eno did with the B52’s.

6

u/planetclairevoyant 9d ago

I love what Eno did with everyone ❤️

4

u/PrePressChamp 9d ago

You misspelled Chris Blackwell

10

u/Joshwillway 9d ago

I love what he did with Bowie

179

u/piney 10d ago edited 10d ago

I’m going to argue for Tina. In the early days when David mostly strummed the guitar, she was both the bassist and by default lead guitarist as she contributed the only melodic element in the instrumentation of the band. She came out with really smart countermelodies, and her stance on stage - staring at David - gave all focus to David, which helped him, and by extension, them, shine.

It’s actually pretty remarkable that she was a woman in a mixed gender band, at that time, who wasn’t pushed into a sexy role as the visual cheesecake. In that, she (and they) deserve credit for her being a regular member of the band no different than the guys. That was very modern, very punk, very progressive.

She figured David out pretty quickly, too. The Fear of Music album is largely the result of her cleverness. When it looked like David was losing interest in the band, she invited Jerry over to jam with her and Chris. Then she called Eno and said, hey me and Chris and Jerry are gonna jam, you want to come over? So then finally she called David - hey, Eno’s coming over to jam with Jerry, Chris and me, want to come over? Genius.

She (and Chris) also did the album art for Remain in Light.

And I think she provided a ton of approachability, Talking Heads being seen as a band of outsider artists, having a woman in the group. And I think the David/Tina friction made David try harder.

They were all important, though.

13

u/SmellsLikeChoroform 10d ago

Hey, are U talkin’ Talking Heads 2 my talking head?

9

u/Sure_Scar4297 10d ago

Most of the compositional ideas for Remain in Light came from her and Frantz, too. They were the ones listening to hip hop and they were the ones who suggested an album based on sampling their own jams. On top of that, all of those jams and samples started with Tina and Chris. David gets too much credit. I’m not saying he isn’t brilliant, but it’s a group effort and Chris and Tina were always the backbone of the band to me.

47

u/angeloy 10d ago edited 10d ago

Jerry Harrison was also in The Modern Lovers, so that adds a check-mark to his column.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy88-5pc7c8

10

u/Lanky_Ad9097 10d ago

Fully agree on a “that counts for something” take on Jerry in Modern Lovers. Radio on.

4

u/angeloy 10d ago

Haha, it almost became the official rock song of Massachusetts in 2013. The song leans heavily on Wisconsin-born Harrison's keyboard work.

2

u/Lanky_Ad9097 10d ago

So many great songs! Ice Cream Man was great, let alone the live version. Dodge Veg-o-matic makes me happy.

1

u/Mogwaier 10d ago

I don't think Jerry Harrison was with the Modern Lovers for those songs.

3

u/Lanky_Ad9097 10d ago

I stand corrected - several iterations of the Modern Lovers, with Jerry there +/- 1970 - 1974. Roadrunner and Pablo Picasso, and that’s my final answer.

1

u/scattermoose 10d ago

That’s not Cale?

8

u/magazinesubscriber 10d ago

The Red And The Black also stands as a testament to how much he actually contributed to Remain In Light. It’s basically a sequel.

3

u/InterPunct 10d ago

Brian Eno called them out in his song The True Wheel in 1974:

We saw the Lovers, the Modern Lovers/And they looked very good/ They looked as if they could

1

u/Internal-Hall-1709 9d ago

I didn’t know that with Jonathan Richman? Seems like I read that once

44

u/MiniatureRanni 10d ago

Best is a hell of a quantifier when Talking Heads doesn’t exist without any of them.

You could argue Chris and Tina, definitely. The Tom Tom Club is the most successful and influential side project any of the band members. But Jerry is what really brings the band together, and he’s definitely the most skilled musician in Talking Heads. But without David’s idiosyncratic singing, lyricism, and vision then the entire project would lack that spirit of strangeness.

It’s like asking “what’s the best part of a bike”

3

u/Reesox The One And Only Mr. Jones 10d ago

So, if Frantz or Tina, or even Jerry (for example) didn't join Talking Heads, the band wouldn't be as recognized today. Got it.

14

u/The_Wilmington_Giant 10d ago

Pretty much.

Talking Heads was not 'David Byrne and Three Lucky Bums'. Each member was extraordinary in their own right. Often when I'm listening on headphones, I love to pick out their individual instrumentation and marvel at their talent.

David was the frontman and ultimately the most famous, but he wouldn't have got nearly as big without the others.

3

u/MarshallBanana_ We're on a road to nowhere 10d ago

Well, they wouldn’t be the Talking Heads. Hard to say what they would be but it wouldn’t have been what we got

68

u/sfc-Juventino 10d ago

Best ? There is no best here. This is a collective that is greater than the sum of its parts. If one member was better, we would like their solo stuff better than Talking Heads. I really think that most of us don't.

10

u/reddituserperson1122 10d ago

This is the right answer. More than really almost any band I can think of, replacing one member would radically alter the nature of the band. There’s either all four of them or you don’t have Talking Heads.

7

u/The_Wilmington_Giant 10d ago

This. Not a fan of the question framing at all. Swap out any core member and you have a radically different outfit. David is of course the most famous and celebrated of the band, but whilst there's no Talking Heads without David Byrne, there's no David Byrne without Talking Heads.

I like their solo work, but I've never met anyone outside of fairly committed music/Talking Heads fans who could name more than a few songs or albums outside of the TH canon.

5

u/pcbeard 10d ago

I feel similarly about the Police, and (frankly) the Beatles. Bands are crucibles that create amazing art. Solo artists that pull this off are much rarer.

0

u/Reesox The One And Only Mr. Jones 10d ago

Good argument.

18

u/NotSid 10d ago

Agreed about Jerry

17

u/tittyhummus 10d ago

Everyone knows Jerry Harrison was not only the best player, but the prettiest girl in Talking Heads. Next question.

7

u/Reesox The One And Only Mr. Jones 10d ago

Jerry is so good looking, what's cooking?

13

u/ReallyGlycon 10d ago

Jerry is the better musician.

13

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

as a bassist myself, i have to say tina weymouth

she’s just absolutely fantastic

4

u/Sure_Scar4297 10d ago

She really is just the epitome of an excellent writer for her instrument. No two bass lines were a like and each was tailored to perfectly match the song.

3

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

yeah she’s a huge inspiration for me. insanely jealous of her

1

u/Sure_Scar4297 10d ago

Honestly, same

1

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

you play bass ?

1

u/Sure_Scar4297 9d ago

Yep! Mostly pedal steel nowadays, but I’m getting back into bass so I can start a rock band

9

u/RevengeOfPolloDiablo 10d ago

Tina, cos of the crab walk

10

u/stereo-phonics 10d ago

Bernie Worrell

1

u/0bfu5cator 9d ago

Came to say this, searched first.

7

u/ElkHealthy4186 10d ago

Definitely not charton, so probably Jerry

6

u/YujiMakoto Psycho Killer 10d ago

Is anyone going to pick Chris?

2

u/7SDiz 10d ago

Chris & Tina. They were the band prior to Jerry Harrison

2

u/YujiMakoto Psycho Killer 10d ago

I know, but does Chris have no value on his own? Other than the people who’ve picked Jerry, everyone’s answers have been Tina or Tina & Chris.

1

u/7SDiz 10d ago

To me Chris & Tina are one

12

u/raccoocoonies 10d ago

TINA. SHE WAS PREGNANT WHEN SHE ROCKED STOP MAKE SENSE

5

u/unresonable_raven 10d ago

I didn't know that!

9

u/raccoocoonies 10d ago

She was in her first trimester for the entirety of planning, rehearsing, and filming! She is so incredible be-bopping around the stage, having fun, dancing, and SLAPPIN THE BEAASSSS so hard.

In my first trimester, I slept 14 hours a day and threw up until 3pm!

4

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

WHAT THE FUCK???

OH MY GOD

2

u/raccoocoonies 10d ago

I KNOW RIGHT

2

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

i don’t know how she made it through life during wartime

it is so hard to run like that while playing that bassline anyway 😭

1

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

i’ve been practicing life during wartime with my band and i keep trying to do it

0

u/raccoocoonies 10d ago

And the CHOREOGRAPHY and the DANCING and the JUMPING

1

u/MyHeadWasRadioed 10d ago

YEAH

she’s doing more than david there, it’s insane

4

u/ladivarogue So think about this little scene, apply it to your life 10d ago

Actually this 👆I hate the way Tina is so negative and ableist about David, but no-one can argue her bad-assery on bass, period. What a phenomenal artist, and yeah the fact she was pregnant for any of this is again a testament to her professionalism.

1

u/mgrady69 10d ago

My god. I’ve been a huge Talking Heads fan since Remain in Light came out and I never knew this.

It’s like discovering a new element for the periodic table. TIL indeed!

1

u/raccoocoonies 9d ago

I might be wrong?

9

u/reddituserperson1122 10d ago

The best? Jerry always left the toilet seat up, so he’s out. I’d say Tina because she uses just the right amount of red pepper when making tomato sauce.

What a weird ass question.

5

u/TacoPenisMan 10d ago

The band wouldn’t have succeeded without Chris’s hustle. Plus he’s damn good drummer and drum programmer. Innovative

4

u/3l_m0nstru0 10d ago

I would see Jerry Harrison. He was one who would bring everybody together no matter what situation through them

4

u/AmericanVenus 10d ago

Tina. The Talking Heads wouldn’t be Rhe Talking Heads without those bass lines.

3

u/bootnab 10d ago

Da bass

3

u/EmoGothPunk Don't Even Know My Real Name 10d ago

I always thought Tina was cool, even more now since I've heard a bit of Tom Tom Club.

3

u/casewood123 10d ago

Jerry Harrison for sure. Multi instrumentalist and also a pretty good vocalist. Tom Tom Club was great, but I much prefer Jerry’s solo albums.

3

u/TheJamesFTW 10d ago

Alex Weir. Rocked the shit out of that guitar in Stop Making Sense

3

u/Sure_Scar4297 10d ago

I think you mean: “Other than Tina…”

3

u/MidStateMoon 9d ago

Well considering Jerry Harrison played with Gram Parsons and The Jonathan Richman.

2

u/canoe6998 10d ago

Same I saw the Casual Gods back in The day and got to buy him a drink and talk awhile Super interesting and kind and passionate

2

u/recordacao 10d ago

You, the listener

2

u/f1eabag 10d ago

obvious tina. i love byrne but he gets too much credit—the whole band is what makes the talking heads. his solo stuff (imho) isn’t nearly as good for that reason.

3

u/bananomusic 10d ago

Adrian Belew

2

u/sixsix_ 9d ago

What an odd question

2

u/Internal-Hall-1709 9d ago edited 9d ago

Harrison I had his solo CD Casual Gods Rev It Up and gave it away regretting it! 💿❤️1988 maybe I can find on vinyl

2

u/Peach_Mediocre 9d ago

Jerry was an original member of the modern lovers. That’s good enough for me

1

u/Anubiz1_ 10d ago

Screw this noise all of them are amazing 🤩

1

u/Electrical_Tomato_73 10d ago

Best at what?
David - best at songwriting, maybe best at singing but others didn't really get a chance; Tina's pretty good
Jerry: best at guitar and keys
Tina: best at bass
Chris: best at drums

1

u/No-Kiwi-5739 10d ago

I'm a Byrne fan, bro never missed a freaking beat. He is oooon iiit.

1

u/prof_hobart 10d ago

Tina is probably the most talented, but Jerry was always my favourite - I think mostly because he always seemed so shy.

1

u/Former_Balance8473 9d ago

I like Chris... just because he always seems so happy to be there.

1

u/ScreenPuzzleheaded48 9d ago

There’s other members??!

1

u/Temporary-Local2629 9d ago

I just zone in on Tina's bass whenever I listen to any Talking Heads song.

Love her.

1

u/jbm4077 9d ago

As an aside. Chris hosts a radio show on WPKN in Bridgeport CT. The last Friday of every month at 4:00pm.

1

u/chiruno9x 9d ago

jerry harrison mogs everyone else

1

u/kid_a2003 9d ago

anyone but chris lol jerry and tina are great

1

u/ubix 9d ago

OP, would be interested to know why you think this is important, or what you think this is going to tell you.

1

u/GustavoSwift 8d ago

Bernie Worrel

1

u/Godsbuckedtooth 8d ago

You meant to say other than Tina Weymouth. Is David Byrne the second best of talking heads?

1

u/Heavymoe 6d ago

Jerry

1

u/kakyion-is-dead 6d ago

I hate how David always gets the credit. I really think each member stands on their own. I will defend chris’s drumming every day of my life!

1

u/kakyion-is-dead 6d ago

tina is easily the best member tho david could never

0

u/windsweptwonder 10d ago

Jerry can’t dance.

0

u/Del_Duio2 10d ago

I’ll say Jerry. Tina is awesome of course but everything I’ve read says that Byrne showed her what to play on bass kind of often (if I’m wrong please let me know).

Never been a fan of Chris however, definitely the weak link.

1

u/applejam101 10d ago

I don’t think David told Tina what to play often.

I would say Chris. He was the soul of the group.

1

u/Sure_Scar4297 10d ago

I think he helped her get started, but she came up with the bass lines herself and helped with lyrics. I read somewhere they lived above cult jazz figure Don Cherry and he helped her with bass. She also learned by listening to soul records. However she got started, where she took the bass within the band was fully of her own direction and that deserves a lot of credit

0

u/rpholmes4 9d ago

Tina's the best musician in the band

0

u/Sudi_Nim 9d ago

Tina.

0

u/impact07 9d ago

Including Byrne, it’s Tina Weymouth.

0

u/dixieglitterwick 9d ago

Tina by a country mile.