Top Ten Songs to Dance To: Burning Down the House (#4)

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Yesterday’s song may have been considered cheating, given that half of it was a little slower than you’d expect for a song to get you moving. I promise, we have NO such issue today. Get out those dancing shoes and rock on! #4: Burning Down the House - Talking Heads Yep, it’s one of my all-time favorite bands, back to make you exercise! I’m glad this song is only four minutes long. I couldn’t stand trying to walk around the track to it if it were one of those prog rock 12-minute tunes. The title came from a remark George Clinton made at a P-Funk concert that rhythm section husband and wife Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth attended, where Clinton invited the audience to burn down the house. The band took it from there, complete with front man David Byrne’s typically-disjointed-but-not-really-if-you-think-about-it lyrics (the opening line, “Watch out, you might get what you’re after” is a pointed warning to anyone and everyone). This was Talking Heads’ biggest chart success in terms of singles. And, to show you how versatile they could be, their next studio album’s lead single was inspired by polka. That’s one of the reasons I love them so much. Burning Down the House Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth Recorded by Talking Heads From Speaking in Tongues, 1983 I don’t know what you expect staring into the TV set: