The Trump Era Explained Through Talking Heads Song Titles
Lately I’m seeing a number of memes using Talking Heads songs, such as Once in a Lifetime and Burning Down the House, to offer up clever and funny commentary on current election news. The Talking Heads fit this bizzarro moment, with their language experiments, imagist poetry, funk, new wave and world pop vibes. Their lyrics and accompanying images have a way of cutting through the hypocrisies of modern society. Many songs contain a current of fear, as well as optimism about the human desire to connect.
Thinking back on my favorite songs from their 8 albums (plus one David Byrne song), I realized that the titles (not necessarily the content) help tell the story of the entire Trump era, from his nomination in 2016 to election week and its aftermath in 2020. This is how I am amusing myself in the anxious times.
2016
Television Man — The Apprentice star manages to win the Republican nomination.
On the Road to Nowhere — Trump wins the Electoral College and becomes President-Elect. Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote, graciously concedes.
2017
Blind — First 100 Days of Trump Administration
Slippery People — Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon shape executive orders targeting immigrants and Muslims
The Big Country — Good people everywhere mobilize quickly to protest travel bans and to provide sanctuary to the vulnerable
Psycho Killer — Trump praises authoritarian leaders with blood on their hands (ongoing)
Wild, Wild Life — the Senate gives big fat tax cuts to the super-rich
Sax and Violins — The Me Too reckoning on pervasive sexual harassment and violence against women (building since 2006) rocks every industry and branch of government, except for the Executive branch
2018
Girlfriend is Better — Early in the year, the Wall Street Journal breaks the Stormy Daniels story
Pull Up the Roots — Family separation crisis at the Southern border leads to inhumane caging of children, a human rights violation
People Like Us — Multiracial labor, community, and faith-based organizers got out the vote and give the House a Democratic majority
2019
Puzzlin’ Evidence — In March, Mueller’s report is complete; AG Barr redacts most of it and provides a pithy summary that appears to exonerate Trump
(Nothing But) Flowers — In June, Trump ends Obama’s Clean Power Plan
Perfect World — The House passes two articles of impeachment against Trump
2020
The Facts of Life — Because it is not a perfect world, the Senate acquitted Trump of both articles of impeachment
The Great Curve — White House response to the Pandemic is incoherent, at best
No Compassion — As the Pandemic worsens, the President attacks Democratic governors, health care workers, his own Pandemic task force, and, of course, China
Cities — The senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of police sparks protests around the country, and a reckoning with systemic racism
The Democratic Circus — The first virtual Democratic and Republican Party conventions are held in August
This Must Be the Place — Voting during a pandemic: record numbers of mail-in ballots are cast and over 93 million Americans vote early (many standing in line for hours). Election Day becomes election week
Stay Up Late — Several nights in a row, checking for updates on election results
And She Was — We elected the first woman, Black, West Indian, East Indian, child of immigrants, as Vice President of the United States of America
Once in a Lifetime — Rudy and his Four Seasons presser at the landscaping center; strip mall, porn store, crematorium.
Burning Down the House — Trump throws a fit, refusing to concede, filing multiple baseless lawsuits, firing Pentagon staff, and more. The tantrum is aided by Republican leaders. Shame, shame, shame on them all
The Good Thing — Meanwhile, the President-elect assembles his transition team and calmly but forcefully asserts his authority
2021
One Fine Day (David Byrne) — We’re going to close the book on this bizzarro chapter in our nation’s history and write a new, more boring one
