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1979: “Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons, Packed up and ready to go. . . “

FROM AN INTERVIEW GIVEN BY DAVID BYRNE IN 1979:

“There will be chronic food shortages and gas shortages and people will live in hovels. Paradoxically, they’ll be surrounded by computers the size of wrist watches. Calculators will be cheap. It’ll be as easy to hook up your computer with a central television bank as it is to get the week’s groceries. I think we’ll be cushioned by amazing technological development and sitting on Salvation Army furniture. Everything else will be crumbling. Government surveillance becomes inevitable because there’s this dilemma when you have an increase in information storage. A lot of it is for your convenience – but as more information gets on file it’s bound to be misused.” Life During Wartime by Talking Heads 

Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons,
Packed up and ready to go
Heard of some grave sites, out by the highway,
A place where nobody knows
The sound of gunfire, off in the distance,
I’m getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto,
I’ve lived all over this town

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
This ain’t no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey,
I ain’t got time for that now

PLEASE. . .
AND THANK YOU!
OR BY MAIL WITH “CASH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER” TO
Gerard Van der Leun // 1692 Mangrove Ave Apt: 379
Chico, CA 95926

Transmit the message, to the receiver,
Hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, a couple of visas,
You don’t even know my real name
High on a hillside, the trucks are loading,
Everything’s ready to roll
I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nighttime,
I might not ever get home

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
This ain’t no fooling around
This ain’t no Mudd Club, or C. B. G. B.,
I ain’t got time for that now

Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
Somebody might see you up there
I got some groceries, some peanut butter,
To last a couple of days
But I ain’t got no speakers, ain’t got no
Headphones, ain’t got no records to play

Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time
Can’t write a letter, can’t send a postcard,
I can’t write nothing at all
This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
This ain’t no fooling around
I’d like to kiss you, I’d love you hold you
I ain’t got no time for that now

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock,
We blended with the crowd
We got computer, we’re tapping phone lines,
I know that ain’t allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives,
Or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle, so many times now,
I don’t know what I look like!

You make me shiver, I feel so tender,
We make a pretty good team
Don’t get exhausted, I’ll do some driving,
You ought to get some sleep
Get you instructions, follow directions,
Then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day,
Whatever you think is best

Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks?
They won’t help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace,
The burning keeps me alive
Try to stay healthy, physical fitness,
Don’t want to catch no disease
Try to be careful, don’t take no chances,
You better watch what you say

PLEASE. . .
AND THANK YOU!
OR BY MAIL WITH “CASH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER” TO
Gerard Van der Leun // 1692 Mangrove Ave Apt: 379
Chico, CA 95926

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Tom Hyland October 3, 2021, 6:43 PM

    Butt-rocking great music. And SO relevant. Gotta say David Bryrne is quite the prophet.

  • Callmelennie October 3, 2021, 7:23 PM

    This song should be played at the end of every wedding reception. Call it the reality check song — This aint no party; this aint no disco; this aint no fooling around.

  • Casey Klahn October 3, 2021, 9:48 PM

    I enjoyed his really existential stuff, at the time. I had no idea he was a FutherMuckin prophet.

  • Dan Patterson October 4, 2021, 3:39 AM

    As painful and sad as the predictable decline is, and as happy as the cretins who engineered it are, the echo of what was is worse.

  • Tom Hyland October 4, 2021, 6:35 AM

    Why America is not going to turn into a prison colony like Australia?? We got guns. The Aussies handed over almost every one of theirs. However, we are having an ammo shortage. Anti-gun freak David Hogg says he’s young and alive and his peer group will outlive everyone and then the utopia of a gun-free world will reign. He’s wrong. Plenty of folks his age want guns, ammo, and a nice quiet place to practice. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/college-students-beg-ammo-millennials-and-gen-z-embrace-guns

    • Jack October 4, 2021, 7:56 AM

      Tom, I don’t know where you live but the ammo shortages for the more popular cartridges and calibers are slowly disappearing. If they are out where you are, you might consider checking into what is available and in what supply and then buying a gun or guns to accommodate those rounds and stocking up. And, there is always the riot shotgun….they are usually pretty easy to locate and everybody and his brother has hot loads for them. Just pick a gauge you and possibly your family members can manage and remember that a .20 ga will lay ’em down just as quickly as anything larger.

      • EX-Californian Pete October 4, 2021, 1:38 PM

        Tom and Jack-

        Funny how little David Fagg (Hogg) turned around and exposed himself as a total hypocrite- now being FOR gun ownership. But we know that’s typical for Libtards.

        As for ammo shortages, they’re pretty much over, as supply has pretty much caught up with demand, but ammo prices are still fairly high for now- probably (as I predict) to go lower by February or March of ’22. Some reloading components (like primers) will probably still be scarce for a few more months, but I’m currently seeing 209 (shotgun) primers in my LGS and gun shows, although still overpriced.

        Yes, get a shotgun. $200-$250 will get you a good, cheap pump- like a Mossberg Maverick or similar brand. Spent shotshell hulls (especially in .12 gauge) are more than plentiful at about every range, and they’re cheap to reload. And a shotshell reloading press? REAL cheap- https://leeprecision.com/shot-shell-reloading/shot-shell-reloading-press/

        And shotshells can be loaded with all kinds of stuff- rock salt, thumbtacks, slugs, BBs, gravel, broken Safety Glass pellets, AA batteries, (no kidding!) and a plethora of other stuff. One of my favorites is “wax slugs”- cheap, deadly, and fun.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-NtsK1tlOI

    • Dirk October 4, 2021, 3:05 PM

      You may be short on ammo, I on the other hand have wayyyyyyy wayyyyyyyyy more then my fair share. Guys who hasn’t seen this coming for the last thirty years. Don’t show me your surprised look, I’ll only embarrass you

      Boys and girls IF YOUR NOT prepped by now, you won’t be. It’s a priority kinda thing. Your hoping someone will save you from yourselves. They won’t!

      Heyyyyy I got an idea, let’s wait for the govt, who created this shit show to save you.

      Your plans sucks on many levels. Bye bye.

  • Mac Siccar October 4, 2021, 7:52 AM

    Somebody oiled that dude’s hinges.

  • Dirk October 4, 2021, 8:04 AM

    David was, Burning Down The House!.

    Simply awesome. Thank you.

    Dirk

  • nunnya bidnez, jr October 4, 2021, 8:43 AM

    Let’s not forget :

    R.E.M. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It .. and I Feel Fine..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsxavPANO8s

  • EX-Californian Pete October 4, 2021, 1:00 PM

    Great and timely song. Lively, too.
    And a good tune to do a cardio workout with- the band sure did.

    Makes me think of the Oingo Boingo song from ’80 or ’81 called “Only A Lad.”
    That song so perfectly describes Liberals, Millenials, BLM, and Antifa-tards.

    It’s also pretty catchy and lively, and has some pretty intricate percussion and instrumental parts.
    Here’s the video of it with lyrics- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slaI3wH-kHE

    Cool fact- Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo also wrote the theme song for “The Simpsons.”

  • SteveS. October 4, 2021, 3:24 PM

    DB is undoubtedly the eccentric genius behind Talking Heads. The band live was pure 100% frenetic energy, the whole stage in motion. Lyrically, Byrne, like most visionaries, always looked beyond the obvious in a spiritual/poetic way.

  • SteveS. October 4, 2021, 3:33 PM

    Pete, Boingo, and principally Elfman were great. Danny had a tongue in cheek style of writing that made one think he was sympathetic to twisted characters, think the perv in “Little girls”. Or in “Only a lad” where after all the liberal sympathizing with poor little Johnny, “hey there Johnny boy, I hope you fry”. Hahaha, greatness.

  • Casey Klahn October 4, 2021, 11:04 PM

    Next: I give my tactical breakdown of China v Taiwan. Stay tuned.