Song · Talking Heads
“Puzzlin' Evidence” by Talking Heads
From the album True Stories (1986)
“Puzzlin' Evidence” by Talking Heads appears on 16 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1986 and 2014. It was first released in 1986 on the album True Stories. Its best result is #46 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1986. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #57 alternative song of 1986 and #2,499 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Talking Heads - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Puzzlin' Evidence" comes from Talking Heads' True Stories, released in October 1986, and it's David Byrne's song from top to bottom: he wrote the words and music and sings lead. The secret ingredient is the Bert Cross Choir, whose voices swell behind him and turn the track into something close to a revival meeting.
Underneath, the band grooves hard. Tina Weymouth's bass and Chris Frantz's drums lock in tight, Byrne and Jerry Harrison share the guitars, and Harrison adds keyboards and joins Weymouth on backing vocals. Talking Heads produced it themselves, with Eric Thorngren recording and mixing and Paul Christiensen engineering. It's a sly, rollicking sermon that sounds like it could go on all night.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 46 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1986 | 107 |
| 1986 | 67 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1704 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1704 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1704 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1696 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1681 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1681 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1679 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2007 | 1347 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1297 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 1328 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 1363 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 1427 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 1476 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 1532 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
Also listed as: Puzzling Evidence.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Puzzlin' Evidence" by Talking Heads.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.