#39 Remain in Light

Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980, by Sire Records. The band's third and final album to be produced by Brian Eno, Remain in Light was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in New York in July and August 1980. After the release of Fear of Music in 1979, Talking Heads and Eno sought to dispel notions of the band as a mere vehicle for frontman and songwriter David Byrne. Drawing influence from Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, they blended African polyrhythms and funk with electronics, recording instrumental tracks as a series of looping grooves. Session musicians contributing to the album included, guitarist Adrian Belew, singer Nona Hendryx, and trumpeter Jon Hassell. Byrne struggled with writer's block, but adopted a scattered, stream-of-consciousness lyrical style inspired by early rap and academic literature on Africa. The album's artwork was conceived by bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, crafted with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computers and design company, M&Co. The band hired additional members for a promotional tour, after which they went on a year-long hiatus to pursue side projects. Remain in Light was acclaimed by critics, who praised its sonic experimentation, rhythmic innovations, and merging of disparate genres into a cohesive whole. The album peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned the singles "Once in a Lifetime" and "Houses in Motion". It has been featured in several publications' lists of the best albums of the 1980s and of all time, and is often considered the band's magnum opus. In 2017, the Library of Congress deemed the album "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry.