Back in the day it was my job to figure out if a song “had legs.” A song with legs had a durable framework that would lend its familiarity to a cover version without requiring the authenticity of the artifact of the original. There’s a reason why there’s a DJ at weddings now. People don’t want an imitation of the thing they like. It’s fairly easy to make an improved version of most pop songs live, but most people don’t think improving things is an improvement. They have invested the original artifact with meaning and it’s hard to wean them off it. Otherwise someone that looked vaguely like Tom Hanks would be playing at every cinema in the world.

This is one of the oddest songs I ever encountered that has legs. David Byrne is a very odd person to be producing pop songs. That’s what made them wonderful, I guess. They’re bent in an interesting way. Still, here we are, with the backwards chicken plucking getting over one more time.

My bandmates thought Psycho Killer had legs but it didn’t. It’s instantly recognizable so it gets played during a third down timeout, but people want the actual thing. There’s no there, there.

This song? It’s got a face with a view.