BEST OF ‘08: “One Fine Day” by David Byrne

[Talkin' the best songs of 2008]

David Byrne performed in Indianapolis a few months ago, and very few of my friends — pretty much all of whom have always regarded Byrne with the proper reverence — chose to go. It wasn’t even like they’d seen Byrne before, or had recently undergone some sort of major life crisis that made rock ‘n’ roll seem as insignificant to them as it probably should seem to me. They just didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Of course, I went — I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

This made me worry: Is my enduring fervor for certain rock artists an indication of some sort of arrested development? I considered the possibility, but then realized that some of those same friends of mine who elected to skip the Byrne concert spend a good chunk of cash and time on video games, personal effects and other things that are just as commonly enjoyed by elementary school students. So it’s not like they’ve become emotionally frozen adults who only care about the undulations of the stock market. They love entertainment.

And that’s why I had such trouble figuring out their indifference to the David Byrne show. Here was an entertainer of monumental proportions (HELLO, Stop Making Sense) and one of the most significant rock ‘n’ roll figures of the final quarter of the 20th century right in our own backyard. And unlike a lot of his peers (Sting, Michael Stipe, etc.), he’s still making excellent music.

What was wrong with my friends? Should I continue to think of them as friends at all?

Cutting ties with my pals wouldn’t solve anything. I could simply ask them why their priorities are so misaligned. But I know their answers wouldn’t satisfy me (“I didn’t want to spend the money” “I had plans” “I really don’t listen to much of Byrne’ solo music.”) As my friend Damon (who, ironically, is among those who skipped the show) is fond of saying, some people just don’t like fun.

Anyway, if you get the chance to see David Byrne in concert (he’ll be trotting around the globe throughout February and March), GO. Byrne’s stage show is as awesome and engaging as ever — he’s got a great corps of dancers and back-up singers. His voice may sound even crisper and clearer now than it ever has. He still plays some great Talking Heads numbers (when I saw him, he played “I Zimbra,” “Heaven,” “Air,” “Crosseyed And Painless,” “Life During Wartime,” “Burning Down The House” and “Once In A Lifetime.”) And his new material, which he recorded with Brian Eno on the 2008 album Everything That Happens WIll Happen Today is excellent — especially the soaring gospel-influenced number “One Fine Day,” which I regard as one of the greatest songs of the year. Listen to the MP3 here:

And watch Byrne sing it with the folks from Young At Heart here: