Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense” released on this date, September 12th, 1984. The LP accompanied the release of the concert film (recorded in December ‘83 at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood while the Talking Heads were on tour for their album Speaking in Tongues). The movie has been hailed as one of the best concert films of all-time and the album received almost as great accolades, appearing on several best-of lists and peaking at #41 in the US and #37 in the UK.

So many great tracks! “Psycho Killer,” from Talking Heads: 77 leads off the album. A super-spirited version of “Burning Down the House” comes a bit later followed by “Girlfriend is Better” which Talking Heads released as a single in December ‘84 (the studio version originally appeared on Speaking in Tongues). Side B’s “Once in a Lifetime,” which was the first single released from the LP, is still an iconic moment in 80′s pop culture: the seizured herky jerky dance moves seared into collective consciousness. “Once in a Lifetime” was first released in ‘81 from Remain in Light and did pretty well on the charts (#103 in the US, #14 in the UK); the live version from Stop Making Sense hit #91 in the US in ‘84. “What a Day That Was” is ridiculously rhythmic and then there is the soulful epic “Take Me to the River,” originally by Al Green and Mabon Hodges, to conclude the album.