Like Humans Do
by David Byrne (Lead vocalist and songwriter for the Talking Heads) This is a song that immediately comes to mind when given this prompt for the next project. The song is written from the perspective of an Alien who is learning to love and accept humans for their downfalls. The following are some lyrics from the song which I find the most interesting.
"For millions of years
In millions of homes
A man loved a woman
A child it was born
It learned how to hurt and it learned how to cry
Like humans do"
This extremely simplified verse encapsulates the narrative of humanity’s very short existence. It could be said that a consistent aspect of humankind is its tendency to be violent and sorrowful.
"I'm breathing in
I'm breathing out
So slip inside this funky house
Dishes in the sink
The TV's in repair
Don't look at the floor
Don't go up the stairs"
I interpret the chorus as the concept of the domestic space. I can totally imagine the alien in this situation pretending to be a human and inviting its fellow compatriates back to their abode. And always making excuses for the unkempt and slovenly state of its house. I almost always have to preface a guest before they enter my room due to the mess.
Well, How Did I Get Here?
So what does this all mean in relation to the project at hand? I think this song takes an interesting approach to see humanity from an “outsider’s” perspective. The very broad approach as well gives an over encompassing feeling to many aspects of everyday life. Most of the song focuses on the many accoutrements associated with a home. As someone who finds a home to be a tricky balancing act between materiality and mindset, this is very interesting to me. As someone who had moved to university and was only able to bring a limited amount of objects, I had to be very particular with what to bring. I knew moving meant that I would not be able to travel back to my childhood home for a very long time (because of covid and my parents no longer living in that house in particular). Which leads to my question, what constitutes a home? And what is this narrative, what do I associate it with that? I will hopefully find an answer with further research.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_Humans_Do#/media/File:David_Byrne_-_Like_Humans_Do.jpg)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_Humans_Do#/media/File:David_Byrne_-_Like_Humans_Do.jpg)
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