There's a subconscious cut-and-paste going on in our head that doesn't seem too strange at all. It seems like the most natural thing in the world. It's the way we live now. It's certainly what things look like, and increasingly what they sound like.

The songs speak for themselves, so I might as well stop here. But what they don't say is how they came to be... who, where, when, etc. So here's the story:

This record was recorded in collaboration with a number of other musicians, bands and producers — Morcheeba in London, the Black Cat Orchestra in Seattle, Devo in L.A., Joe Galdo in Miami, and Hahn Rowe and C'n'A in NYC. There were a fair number of frequent flyer miles racked up, but most of the time we recorded economically, in home-style studios.

A few things occured to me after having written and made demos of a number of songs: that home studio recordings now sound as good as big-name studio recordings, and that often the vibe in that environment is more conducive to creativity. Also, that the songs appeared to be in a wide variety of styles that might best be interpreted by different groups of musicians.

In the writing I appear to have mixed musical styles freely... which is always good for a laugh. One song, “The Gates of Paradise” developed into a blend of jungle and country & western with a slight punk attitude. Another song, “Daddy Go Down” mixes Cajun with Indian drones and sitars.

None of this was intentional or premeditated. We all seem to have all these musical styles and reference points floating around in our heads, things we've heard at one time or another, that rub off on us — sometimes in small ways, as a feeling in a melodic turn of phrase, other times in the overall style of a song. There's a subconscious cut-and-paste going in our heads that doesn't seem strange at all. It seems like the most natural thing in the world. It's the way we live now. It's certainly what things look like, and increasingly what they sound like... ad hoc... patchwork. Borrowing from both the past and the future, from here and there.

I'd heard it in Brazil on Chico Science's record, in Argentina on Illya Kurlfaki's record, already with Bjork and Portishead in UK, with Beck and Cibo Matto in the U.S.

So, I began working on a few songs at a time, first with Hahn Rowe, a DJ, programmer and musician here in NY (he used to be in a band, Hugo Largo, and now works with the singer from that band, Mimi Goese, whose first solo record will be on Luaka Bop). We worked in my rented apartment/studio in Chelsea, mixing live instruments with samples, loops and affected soundz... recording on fairly basic home equipment. “Soft Seduction” was completed here.

Warner Bros. Records A&R rep Meredith Chinn sent me an advance copy of Morcheeba's record “Who Can You Trust?” and on it there was a similar impulse to blend musical styles and to mix samples with live instruments in a loose song structure. So I called them up and asked if they wanted to work on a few songs together... and see how it went.

I took a couple of guitars and some pedals to London and we holed up in their “home” studio in Clapham... it went quickly and we got along really well. We all loved the results. In the next few months, when they had breaks from live dates, I'd show up and we'd cut a few more songs, until we'd done half the record.

I'd heard the Black Cat Orchestra during a night out in Seattle... and they naturally came to mind when I imagined the way “They Are In Love” might sound. So I flew out there with my Dobro, which we never used, and we recorded the tune pretty much live.

I'd worked with Andres and Camus (C'n'A) previously on a duet with the Brazilian singer Marisa Monte for the Red Hot + Rio record (doing a herky jerky trip-hop travesty of the classic “Aguas de Março”)... so we did a couple of songs in their Brooklyn apartment/studio.

I met Joe Galdo in Cartagena, Colombia, at a fantastic music festival there. Both of us were knocked out by a lot of the groups there and especially the group Burning Flames, a kind of techno-Caribbean/Calypso/Soca P-Funk! Joe had done an Anjelique Kidjo record which I'd loved... both for the songs and for its joyous blend singing and Afro-techno production... a sound not too dissimilar from what I'd imagined for “Miss America”... in my dreams. So that's what I was aiming for. The great singer Paula Cole sang backup to the song at my apartment in New York and Joe brought in Betty Wright, best known for her hit “Clean Up Woman.”

I'd met Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale of Devo a while ago. Naturally enough, I'd always admired their robot-gone-haywire sound and their amazing videos... their Akron humor somehow seemed not too distant from my Baltimore upbringing. Mark was recording mostly for film and television in his own home studio. “Wicked Little Doll,” with its obsessive, twisted, robotic riff and mechanical rhythms, seemed particularly Devo-esque, like a marriage already made... in my head, at least. So we consummated it.

So this is it. A schizo version of the inside of my head...as rendered by many different bands and musicians. The Many Sides Of... The Mystic Moods Of...

This was a dream record to make. It was like picturing in your mind how you imagined a song to sound and then hooking up with a group who did just that. Sometimes it worked. And sometimes it was beyond painless... fun even.

It seems to me that with the fairly recent advent of relatively cheap home-type recording equipment with studio quality sound that not only will anybody with two turntables and a microphone be making records, but everyone else too, in an incredible variety of styles and approaches... and everywhere... this stuff is going to put musicians all over the world on an even more equal footing with Western pop/alt/urban musicians. They were always equal as far as playing and writing, but now more and more of us will be able to express what it feels like — the global media atmosphere that we breathe every day.

The cover — he's a real doll. It was first attempted with computers. I had my head scanned with a laser in Emeryville, Ca., but in the end the Luddites won this round. We ended up, the designer Stephan Sagmeister and I, begging Yuji Yoshimoto who makes giant super realistic plastic candy bars and Cheerios for Saturday morning commercials, to sculpt real dolls of me expressing four of my typical moods — pissed off, crying, stupidly happy and dull gaze.s. The result had just the right amount of unreality. It was really odd, as you might expect, to see my little self, to hold my little self (no Little Elvis jokes please!) and to see him packed away in his little bubble-wrap coffin.

As is common in this business called show, I've often felt like an object, like a product, like a piece of meat, like a walking cartoon. Here the transformation process is complete... my worries are over.

-David Byrne

info: davidbyrne.com

Attempting to inject some adventure into his multicultural, worldbeat-inflected avant-pop, David Byrne dabbled with trip-hop and drum'n'bass on Feelings . These tracks, including a collaboration with Morcheeba , are essentially window dressing, a way to distract attention from Byrne's lack of new ideas. The songs that work best on Feelings , like "Miss America," are reminiscent of the percolating, Latin-tinged Rei Momo ; when Byrne tries to sound contemporary, he simply seems out of touch. Still, Feelings is stronger and more adventurous than David Byrne , even if it never quite fulfills its ambitions.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
info: allmusic.com

Morcheeba: Skye Edwards, Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey

All songs Written by David Byrne
Except "Miss America" written by David Byrne/Joe Galdo
and "Fuzzy Freaky" written by David Byrne/Danielle Fossatti/Christian DeAndre

"Fuzzy Freaky" contains elements from "Nel Bene E Nel Male" (Fossatti/DeAndre) EMI Music Publishing Italia/Getar SAS/Blue Team ED. Performed by Christian DeAndre. Used courtesy of WEA Records Italy.

Akua Dixon appears courtesy of Savant Records, Inc.
The Balanescu Quartet: (appears courtesy of Mute Records, Inc.) Alexander Balanescu, Clare Connors, Paul Martin, Nicholas Holland.

The Black Cat Orchestra: Lori Goldston, Russ Meltzer, Don Crevie, Scott Granlund, Kyle Hanson, Matthew Sperry, Joseph Zajong, Ed Pias.

Morcheeba production is Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey & Pete Norris

Produced by: David Byrne, Morcheeba and Joe Galdo
Engineers: Pete Norris, Ceasar Sogbe, Hahn Rowe
Mastered by: Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC.

CD design by Sagmeister, Inc., New York, NY
Photography by Tom Schierliitz
David Byrne doll model and additional model making by Yuji Yoshimoto, doll clothes by Adelle Lutz with Michael Daube

Fuzzy Freaky

Rose is tattooed in a perfect place
She bears the burden of a pretty face
The monkey boy, the leopard girl
The strange is also beautiful

It's summer time and the grass is high
Fuzzy freaky, funny family

It's my body and I'll eat it too
To do whatever touches you
My body speaks, my tongue cannot
My belly rumbles but the words are stuck
So come out

It's summer time and the weeds are high
Fuzzy freaky, funny family

All amplified, she's scandalized
And I'm changing size
Who was it?, jump on it
He's talking trash, and he can't get back
But he's meant to last
Inspired, desired
I'm walking low, my grass has grown
And I won't stay down
Excited, delighted

I'm awfully cute, I'm awfully cold
I'm sometimes rich and I'm sometimes poor
A butterfly when I graduate
You'll have to stop me if I get too big

Stop me

It's summer time and the weeds are high
Fuzzy funny, freaky family

He's in reverse, he'll kiss himself
In perfect health
Inflated, x-rated
And I smell you now
In a haunted house
In a squeaky sound
Inspired, desired

Now I'm wide enough
And I'm almost grown
And I won't stay down
Somebody, somebody

Inspired, desired

Excited, delighted

Miss America

I love America, her secret's safe with me
And I know her wicked ways
The parts you never see

Oh super-girl, you'll be my super-model
Although you have a reputation
Can I afford to move above my station
I'm not the only heart you've conquered

And I love America, but boy can she be cruel
And I know how tall she is
Without her platform shoes

Oh super-girl, you'll be my super-model
Although at times it might seem awkward
Don't run away, oh don't you recognize me
I'm not the only heart you've conquered

And I kissed America, when she was fleecing me
She knows I understand that she needs to be free
And I miss America and sometimes she does too
And sometimes I think of her
When she is fucking you

I love America
Yo siempre he confiado en ti [=I have always trusted you]
I love America
Por que me tratas asi? [=Why do you treat me like this?]

Oh super-girl, you'll be my super-model
Although your pants are round your ankles
And when you're down, I'll be your Dirty Harry
It will be just like in the movies

Oh super-girl, you'll be my super-model
Although at times it might seem awkward
Don't look away, I'll be your teenage fanclub
I'm not the only heart you've conquered

A Soft Seduction

The words of love are not enough
Though sweet as wine, as thick as blood
Passionless moments and we are homeless
Out on the street

But life is cool and things aren't bad
Got what he wants, lost what he had
He's soon adjusted and got accustomed to these new ways

Blame God, how can you loose
Singing such sweet rhythm and blues
Strange days, she said to me
Being in love don't mean you're free

But night reveals what daytime hides
Who lingers on, who sleeps outside
The soft seduction, the strong attraction
Somewhere downtown

A junkie's song, a dancer's knees
The laws of chance strange as it seems
Take us exactly where we most likely need to be

A junkie's song, a dancer's knees
The laws of chance strange as it seems
Take us exactly where we most likely need to be

Dance On Vaseline

I'm taking back the knowledge
I'm taking back the gentleness
I'm taking back the ritual
I'm giving in to sweetness

Come preacherman, shoot me with your poisoned arrow
But I dance on Vaseline
And I'm tripping out working on a revolution
You don't let the music in

I'm taking back the children
I'm taking back the ceremony
I'm taking back my offerings
And I'm taking back what you mean to me

You're dangerous, shoot me with your poisoned arrow
But I dance on Vaseline
And I'm slipping out I'm working on a revolution
Don't let the music in

And war is all around us
Your Gods are dead and buried underground
I was a silly putty
Your big ideas are useless to me now

My baby saw the future
She doesn't wanna live it anymore
Its lousy science-fiction
It's on your skin and seeps into your bones

Come preacherman, shoot me with your poisoned arrow
I dance on Vaseline
And I'm tripping out working on a revolution
Don't let day begin

And you're dangerous, shoot me with your poisoned arrow
But I dance on Vaseline
And I'm slipping out working on a revolution
Don't let the music in

It started in Oklahoma
You always think it happens somewhere else
This madness is attractive
Until the day it happens to yourself

And power might seem sexy
But check her in the cool grey light of dawn
A legislative body
And all at once your lust for her is gone

And I'm tripping out working on a revolution
Don't let the day begin
We'll turn you down time to time for evolution
Don't let the music in

And I'm tripping out working on a revolution
Don't let the day begin
We'll turn you down, make a time for evolution
Don't let the day begin

The Gates of Paradise

I am nothing like my sister
I am nothing like my mom
You can't see me in my father
Wonder where did I come from?

And the laws of men are not the laws of heaven
And angel's breath is like the desert wind
And terrorists are acting out of love, sweet love
To bring us home again

It's a sin to seek perfection
It's a sin to help the poor
It's a sin to hold convictions
For none of them are true

And the laws of men are not the laws of heaven
And angel's breath is like the desert wind
And terrorists are acting out of love, sweet love
To bring us home again

Beware of good intentions
And the passion in their eyes
For none of them can open
The gates of paradise

Amnesia

Peace on earth, soon we will be
Where nothing worries us
Lazy days, cool is the breeze
Across the universe

Armies of soldiers are sleeping tonight
And moonlight is kissing their eyes

When you awake you will be free
I'll be your lullaby

Alcohol, no need to feel
Rest in these fuzzy arms
Ease on down, amnesia
Baby's on valium

Keep us from danger and safe from all harm
From the wind and the rain and the fire

When you awake you will be free
I'll be your lullaby

When you awake you will be free
And then I'll be your lullaby

You Don't Know Me

You're looking at me but you can't see me
I'm invisible to the naked eye
I'm a part of everything you're doing
I'm a part of you down deep inside
I'm the part that sings those gooffy love songs
I'm the part of you you can't control
I'm the part that fucked up your promotion
I'm the part that hurts when you're alone
On this beautiful night by the bright disco light
We will dance till the pain is all gone

If love is alive why can't I touch it?
Does it feel like Jell-O or a fire?
I can tell by the taste it was not poison
But it sure did mess up my insides

There's nothing else like you on my planet
You see me now in my true form
I did not come here in a spaceship
I came the moment you were born

On this beautiful night by the bright disco light
We will dance till the pain is all gone

Daddy Go Down

The sun sinks low in the western lands
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
And a woman's heart is like the wind
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

And he could not put her from his mind
And love is strong and it will not die
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

Protect me now from what I am
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
For I'm in too deep and I cannot swim
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

And he cursed his hands and he cursed his tongue
For what he'd said, for what he'd done
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

Love, love, love's obsession
What keeps a man alive
By some strange possession
I stay safe inside
My heart's on probation
It was my first time
This world, world of wonders
Stick your head outside

Now the ass can speak but he don't say much
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
His words of wisdom, come but once
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

So build your house on solid ground
And stay indoors when the rain comes down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down
Go down, daddy go-down, daddy oh daddy go-down

Finite = Alright

Three-hundred-fifty cities in the world
Just thirty teeth inside of our heads
These are the limits to our experience
It's scary but it's alright
And everything is finite

Only one record, in this whole wide world
Where Jimi Hendrix sings House Burning Down
Another Elvis will not come along
He got wasted but it's alright
And everything is finite
Yeah, wasted - it's alright
Everything is finite

I'm just a baby in my daddy's arms
Who will protect me from these women's charms
I'm six foot tall but I barely speak
My - mind goes crazy when the taste is sweet
Well we've known each other, eight years and twenty days
It's - terrifying, it's beautiful too
Things have an end
But feeling is infinite
We're changing but it's alright
And everything is finite
Yeah, changing's alright
Things finite

Wicked Little Doll

Wicked little doll, lovely to look at
Wicked little doll, charming to hold
Wicked little doll, you are not human
Wicked little doll, you have no soul

Wicked little doll, I'm not your victim
Wicked little doll, you need me too
Wicked little doll, I'll be your partner
Wicked little doll, can I play too?

Wicked little doll, collapsing beauties
Wicked little doll, cities in flames
Wicked little doll, devil or angel?
Wicked little doll, they're both the same

Wicked little doll, we're chained together
Wicked little doll, I'm just like you
Wicked little doll, it's human nature
Anyone can see you love me too

Those guys, some of these guys
We're one big happy family
I love my little dolly
... I surrender

Wicked little doll, your perfect body
Anyone can see you're never wrong
And isn't it a world worth taking over?
There's a little doll in everyone
Make a little love, some parts are missing
Any little song that has will do
Wicked little doll, you speak my language
Now I'll always be in love with you

Wicked little doll, Wicked little doll

Burnt By The Sun

Atom-smashers in the cocktail lounge tonight
Opera singers in the graveyard keeping time
And the DJ mixes them all
And the music rhymes but it crawls
And the music comes from hydrogen bombs
Rock bands died when amateurs won
Data in a hurry, using the new rubble
Wipe it up baby, gonna get yourself in trouble

We were burnt by the sun
Having way too much fun
Sleepless downtown overload
Does the daylight bring you down?

Money pours down and it drowns the little man
Parking lot attendants stuff their pockets with their hands
And the children laugh in your face
They can see what you have erased
When dogs make love they don't look at themselves
Checking out each other by the way that they smell
Rubbing and a'scratching, itching all the time
Stop me if I talk too much, do another line

We were burnt by the sun
Having way too much fun
The church of private enterprise
Did the daylight bring you down?

I love salt, I love sweets
I know there's danger but I fall asleep
The curves, the gasps, the love of life
Headlines, gum box, faceless paradise

Life rafts bobbing at the bottom of the pier
Wood burns faster if it's soaked in gasoline
All these towns look the same, everybody's clean
Roll 'em out, cheap and fast, kiss me when I fall

We were burnt by the sun
Having way too much fun
Sleepless downtown overload
Did I stay outside too long?

Alcohol, razor-blades
All the clouds are miles away
Take me down, far away
Everyone's on holiday
Alcohol, razor-blades
All the clouds are miles away
Take me now, fly away
Everyone's on holiday
All the clouds are miles away
All the clouds are miles away
Everyone's on holiday
Everyone's on holiday
Everyone's on holiday
Everyone's on holiday
Everyone's on holiday
Everyone's on holiday

The Civil Wars

I got a right to be out on my mind
I got a right to be who I am
Love me, love my problems
The good times and the rotten

The war is in me, the war is in you
The war is in everybody now
Shake this tone, out of control

They are fightin' with knives and forks
Demonstrating how democracy works
God's good and God is great
So I wear my happy face

The war is in you, the war is in me
The war is in everybody now
The wolf is loose, he's living in you
There'll be a celebration
Johnny comes marching home
His eyes are on the ceiling
It ain't no fashion show
A heavy situation
Does things to your skin
Although it ain't no party
Dying to get in

Sex is something if it's looking good
A ceasefire in the neighbourhood
We bleed and stain the carpet
We start our own republic

The war is in me, the war is in you
The war is in everybody now
The greatest look
In heaven above

There'll be a celebration
Johnny comes marching home
His eyes are on the ceiling
It ain't no fashion show
A heavy situation
Does things to your skin
Although it ain't no party
Dying to get in

[Untitled]

Light floats down day river on uh red raft o' blood
Night blocks out d' heaven like uh big black shiny bug
Its hard soft shell shinin' white in one spot well
It's hard place dat I'm livin' but I'm doin' well well
The white ice horse melted like uh spot uh silver well
Its mane went last then disappeared the tail
My life ran thru my veins
Whistlin' hollow well
I froze in solid motion well well
I heard the ocean swarmin' body well well
I heard the beetle clickin' well
I sensed the thickest silence scream
Then I begin t' dream
My mind cracked like custard
Ran red until it sealed
Turn t' wooden 'n rolled like uh wheel well well
Thick black felt birds uh flyin'
With capes of solid chrome
With feathers of solid chrome
'n beaks of solid bone
'n bleach the air around them
White 'n cold well well
Till it showed in pain
The hollow cane clicked like ever after
Its shadow vanished shinin' silence
Well well

They Are In Love

She put the scar on the side of his face
When he disappeared for three days
And they say that they are in love

He took her cocaine when she was asleep
Friends say he gave half away
And they say that they are in love

Run away, run away
Run away, before it's too late

There is danger but they will not see
If they're blind then it's blind that they'd rather be

This town's destroyed more than one friend of mine
Funny, they never leave
They say that they are in love

Some say it's rotten, some say it's wrong
Some say it's hard to believe
And some say that they are in love

Move away, move away
Move away before it's too late

Then the lion sleeps with the lamb
Only love let's me forget who I really am

This land is small, it's cold and it's damp
There's no place that I'd rather be
I know that I am in love

Ethnic divisions, screaming demands
A little bit like you and me
I guess that we are in love

Stay away, stay away
Stay away, you might end up like me
It's the pain that keeps us alive
But that beauty is all that we need to survive
That damn beauty is all that we need to survive