“Psycho Killer” (Talking Heads Cover) by Miley Cyrus, Monday, October 14, 2024


Last year was the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads’ concert film Stop Making Sense. The concert film was selected as part of the United States National Film Registry in 2021. The media company A24 obtained the rights to the film, remastered it and sent the concert back to theaters globally. After Talking Heads formed in the New York punk scene in 1975, they became pioneers in New Wave and eventually predecessors of Alternative Rock artists. Their musical influence on future generations stemmed from their use of polyrhythms, diverse musical genres such as reggae, traditional African music, and contemporary composers experimenting with avant-garde and minimalism. The band amassed a strong following and rock and minor pop hits. The 1982 concert film Stop Making Sense highlights the band’s greatest hits. After the film, the band released three more albums before officially breaking up in 1991.

I CAN’T SEEM TO FACE UP TO THE FACTS. On January 10th, Paramore uploaded a video to their social media announcing A24 Music’s tribute compilation to the Talking Heads’ concert film Stop Making Sense called Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute Album to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense.  Paramore released a cover of “Burning Down the House,” the first single from the upcoming album which was released on May 17th.  The band had previously talked about their Talking Heads influence. It was the first single the band released after lead singer Hayley Williams fulfilled her 20-year contract with Atlantic Records. The tribute album features current artists covering the classic concert setlist. Miley Cyrus, Paramore, Lorde, girl in red, The National, and eleven other acts contributed sixteen tracks to the 1983 classic concert setlist. The full album received mostly positive reviews. Emily Swingle of Louder particularly praised The Linda Linda’s version of “Found a Job” as “the finest tribute.” 


YOU START A CONVERSATION, YOU CAN’T EVEN FINISH IT. The concert film Stop Making Sense opens with Talking Heads’ first hit, “Psycho Killer.” The song originally appeared on the band’s debut album Talking Heads: 77, released in September 1977. Many people thought that the song was about the New York serial killer the Son of Sam, but lead singer David Byrne claimed that the band wrote the song long before the 1976 killings. The 2024 tribute album also opens with “Psycho Killer,” performed by Miley Cyrus. In a flamboyant performance, Cyrus changes a few lyrics and updates the sound of the classic rock track. Cyrus’s version is scary with the deep vocals spelling psycho throughout the song. The cover also seems to differ from the Talking Heads’ version with Cyrus taking cues from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” or “Poker Face” and David Guetta’s “Titanium.” Cyrus said that she took inspiration from Kylie Minogue when recording her cover of “Psycho Killer.” The cover and the original differ in perspective, with the original seeing singer David Byrne channeling the killer and Cyrus as a horror film victim who “love[s] a psycho killer.” Both versions are spooky editions of a Halloween playlist. Hopefully, the tribute album reignites interest in the quirky work of the Talking Heads.

Talking Heads version:

Miley Cyrus version: 




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