Paramore and David Byrne Trade Covers for Record Store Day Exclusive

Former Talking Heads frontperson David Byrne has reciprocated the tribute bestowed on him by American rockers Paramore by recording a cover of their 2017 song "Hard Times." Byrne's cover will be the A-side to Paramore's take on Talking Heads' "Burning Down The House" B-side, available via a limited edition 12" vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20.

The Tennessee natives had recorded the Heads' classic "Burning Down The House" as part of the tribute album Everyone's Getting Involved, which ties into the remastered and re-released 1984 Jonathan Demme-directed music documentary Stop Making Sense. The trio's point-on remake was the teaser first track to a covers compilation that showcases 16 tracks from 16 artists.

A release date has not yet been announced, though the track listing was revealed on January 31.

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Byrne, through a social media post on Mar. 5, noted: "The band told me that their song 'Hard Times' was inspired by Talking Heads, so I learned it and recorded my version of their great song with a horn section. This was fun!" While there has been no audio tease (as of yet), the songs are closely aligned in style and form and as one Redditer pointed out, "Hard Times was fully a David Byrne impression so it kinda comes full circle with him covering it lol."

This mutual admiration society stems from the 40th-anniversary release of Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, a live concert filmed over three nights at Los Angeles' Pantages Theater in December 1983. The group was touring in support of Speaking In Tongues and the singles "Burning Down The House" and "Girlfriend Is Better." Long considered one of the best-filmed music documentaries and a cult classic, the 2023 IMAX version spawned a remastered live version of "Cities" (first recorded on 1979's Fear Of Music) but never released during the film's original soundtrack run.

In a passage from a release for the remastered soundtrack, Byrne states: "As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that's why a lot of folks discovered us via this record."