"Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" is the opening track of the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

1980 album ''

Remain in Light ''Remain in Light'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 by Sire Records. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia during July and Augus ...

''.

Background and composition

The track has a prominent

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

and sets the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

tone of the album. A live rendition of the song was included, with a long bass intro, on the 2004 re-issue of the live album '' The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads''. It incorporates elements of

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

, continuing an approach used in an earlier Talking Heads song "

I Zimbra "I Zimbra" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their 1979 album ''Fear of Music''. According to Sytze Steenstra in ''Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Prese ...

". The

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

beginning at around 2:45 was performed by

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

, who joined the band on the following tour, and later went on to join

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic

Bill Janovitz Bill Janovitz (born June 3, 1966) is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, author ...

describes the singer as being "another alienated, lost soul seeing a world filtered through his delusions and paranoia," similar to the protagonists in other Talking Heads' songs. Janovitz points to the following lyrics to support this assessment: :''A government man'' :''Born under punches'' :''I'm a tumbler..I am not drowning man'' :''And I am not a burning building...I'm so thin'' Author Ian Gittens also describes the singer as being unstable, describing the song as being about "a harassed and apparently unstable 'Government Man'". Janovitz claims that the "thick menage of polyrhythmic percussion, staccato guitars, popping bass, and

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

-like electronic blips and bleeps" make this protagonist even more threatening than the one in the Talking Heads' earlier song "

Psycho Killer "Psycho Killer" is a song by the American band Talking Heads, released on their 1977 debut album '' Talking Heads: 77.'' The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974. The band also recorded an acoustic version of the song featuring A ...

". Gittens likewise concurs that the contrast with "warmth and gravitas" of the "humane backing" deepens the impression of the singer being unstable. Janovitz notes

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

's vocal performance in speaking and shouting his bitter lines and threats through the complex music. Gittens particularly praises

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, stating that the way Eno layered the multiple guitar, bass guitar and drum parts gave the song an "original, sharply conceived and imposingly textured" sound. It was named as one of the best songs released between 1980 and 1982 in the 2008 book ''

The Pitchfork 500 ''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, el ...

: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present''.

Release history

A medley of "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" with two other songs from ''Remain in Light'', "

Crosseyed and Painless "Crosseyed and Painless" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads. It was released in 1980 in the United States as a promotional single from their fourth studio album, ''Remain in Light''. Although the single failed to reach on the US ma ...

" and " Once in a Lifetime," reached #20 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. The song was released as a single in Japan. The single's B-side track is a live performance of "

Cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

" from the August 24, 1979 concert at the

Berklee Performance Center The Berklee Performance Center is a 1,215-seat theatre located on Massachusetts Ave. in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts.Hazell, Ed, ''Berklee: The First 50 Years'' (Berklee Press Publications, 1995), p.155 It is the largest theatre space ...

. An 8:24 extended version appears on the 2004 reissue of '' The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads.''Talking Heads. ''The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads'' (Rhino Entertainment, 2004). The song was included as the first track to

Röyksopp Röyksopp (), a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland. Berge and Brundtland were introduced to each other through a mutual friend in Tromsø, Norway. They enjoye ...

's mix album ''

Back to Mine ''Back to Mine'' is a series of mix albums, usually mixed by DJs or composers of electronic music. The compilations usually feature artists other than the artist compiling the album, and are based on what the artist would play in their home aft ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1980 songs Talking Heads songs Songs written by David Byrne Songs written by Brian Eno Song recordings produced by Brian Eno Songs written by Jerry Harrison Songs written by Chris Frantz Songs written by Tina Weymouth