"Girlfriend Is Better" is a 1984 song by new wave band

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

, from their fifth studio album ''

Speaking in Tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid voc ...

''. The song's single version was a live version, recorded at Pantages Theatre,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of their 1984

concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...

Stop Making Sense ''Stop Making Sense'' is a 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads. The film was directed by Jonathan Demme and executive produced by Gary Kurfirst, the band’s longtime manager. The fi ...

'', named for a lyric from the song. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

described the song: "On the surface, 'Girlfriend Is Better' is a brassy, straightforward bump number sparked by Byrne's animated bragging ... and by the kind of rapid, zizagging synth squeals so common on rap and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

records. But the edgy paranoia smoldering underneath ... is colorfully articulated by guitar and percussion figures that burble along in a fatback echo, sounding like a sink backing up." An edited version of the concert piece from the film was issued as "Stop Making Sense (Girlfriend Is Better)", in both 7" and 12" format, in November 1984. A cover of the song by

girl in red Marie Ulven Ringheim (born 16 February 1999) known professionally as girl in red (stylised in all lowercase), is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer. Her first EPs ''Chapter 1'' (2018) and ''Chapter 2'' (2019) were recorded in her ...

was released as a single for the 2024 tribute album '' Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense''.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1983 songs 1984 singles Live singles Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by David Byrne Song recordings produced by Jerry Harrison Songs written by David Byrne Talking Heads songs