A music podcast where we discuss our favorite albums, song by song. New episodes every other Tuesday.

155: Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)

“You should never listen to music as background music. Ever.”

–Mark Hollis

If you only know Talk Talk for their ‘80s night staple “It’s My Life,” you might well wonder what an experimental weirdo like Mike is doing hosting an episode about them. However, if you know a little more about their strange and fascinating career trajectory, it makes perfect sense. The sparse, atmospheric Spirit of Eden couldn’t be more different from Talk Talk’s synth-pop origins or from anything else in the musical landscape of 1988, and it more or less doomed the band’s career when it came out, but the sound of rock music in the 21st century wouldn’t be the same without it. Listening to Spirit of Eden is an experience that’s almost impossible to relate by means of such quotidian devices as “words,” but Mike, Phil, Rich, and John are all going to try anyway.

Miscellany

• We previously talked about post-rock in our 2023 episode on Spiderland by Slint, and if you’re wondering what the hell that genre name even means, John will be unpacking it in our next episode on Millions Now Living Will Never Die by Tortoise.

• Our playlist for this episode is bonkers even by Discord & Rhyme standards, featuring Claude Debussy, Radiohead, AC/DC, Charli XCX, Igor Stravinsky, No Doubt, Y Kant Tori Read, Eberhard Weber, Jane’s Addiction, and more Miles Davis than the full running time of Spirit of Eden.

• Speaking of Radiohead, Mark Hollis’s stage presence is particularly Thom Yorke-esque in this performance of “It’s My Life” from Talk Talk’s 1986 Live at Montreux concert video.

• For even more of a Radiohead connection, the drums from Talk Talk’s song “New Grass” were sampled in UNKLE’s collaboration with Thom Yorke, “Rabbit in Your Headlights.”

• “Desire” never had an official music video, but in 1995 it was the subject of a fascinating mixed media project by visual artist Steve Mackay that received the official blessing of Mark Hollis. 

Other links 

• "I Believe in You" music video (YouTube)

• Hugh Davies’s Music for Invented Instruments, featuring the Sho-Zyg (Bandcamp)

• Talk Talk on Political Beats (National Review)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Spirit of Eden playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• Mike DeFabio (host)

• Phil Maddox (moderator)

• Rich Bunnell

• John McFerrin 

Spirit of Eden tracklist

1. The Rainbow

2. Eden

3. Desire

4. Inheritance

5. I Believe in You

6. Wealth 

Other clips used 

Talk Talk:

• Talk Talk

• Living in Another World

• Life's What You Make It

• It's My Life

• Give It Up

• Chameleon Day

• Ascension Day

• Such a Shame 

Others:

• Yes - Endless Dream

• King Crimson - Elephant Talk

• Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song

• The Music Machine - Talk Talk

• The Psychedelic Furs - So Run Down

• Roxy Music - Re-Make/Re-Model

• Charli XCX - Talk Talk

• Todd Rundgren - You Need Your Head

• Kate Bush - Get Out of My House

• Beastie Boys - Hey Ladies

• Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

• Pink Floyd - One of These Days

• Sparks - Talent Is an Asset

• Aphex Twin - To Cure a Weakling Child

• Iron Maiden - Aces High

• No Doubt - It’s My Life

• Dire Straits - Six Blade Knife

• Miles Davis - So What

• Claude Debussy - Nocturnes: I. Nuages

• Miles Davis - He Loved Him Madly

• AC/DC - Hells Bells

• Justin Bieber - U Smile (800% Slower)

• U2 - Running to Stand Still

• Elton John - Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, Part 2

• Y Kant Tori Read - The Big Picture

• Van Halen - When It's Love

• Wilco - Quiet Amplifier

• The Moody Blues - Here Comes the Weekend

• Igor Stravinsky - Violin Concerto

• Jane's Addiction - Three Days

• Pink Floyd - Absolutely Curtains

• Mogwai - Like Herod

• Eberhard Weber - The Colours of Chloë

• Radiohead - Dollars & Cents

• The Mothers of Invention - Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme

• David Bowie - Word on a Wing

• Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

• Bark Psychosis - Eyes and Smiles

• Van Morrison - When Heart Is Open

• Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches

• Can - Bel Air

Band/album personnel 

• Mark Hollis – vocals, electric guitar, organ, melodica, piano, Variophon

• Lee Harris – drums

• Paul Webb – electric bass guitar

• Tim Friese-Greene – harmonium, piano, organ, guitar, production

• Martin Ditcham – percussion

• Robbie McIntosh – dobro, twelve-string guitar

• Mark Feltham – harmonica

• Simon Edwards – Mexican bass

• Danny Thompson – double bass

• Henry Lowther – trumpet

• Nigel Kennedy – violin

• Hugh Davies – shozygs

• Andrew Stowell – bassoon

• Michael Jeans – oboe

• Andrew Marriner – clarinet

• Christopher Hooker – cor anglais 

• Choir of Chelmsford Cathedral – vocals

• Phill Brown – engineering, bowed guitar 

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• Talk Talk - Desire (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Spirit of Eden and other albums by Talk Talk at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

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