Book Review: A new biography goes long and deep on the rise and fall of rock band Talking Heads
Talking Heads fans, rejoice! Hard on the heels of the re-release of 'Stop Making Sense,' the 1984 Jonathan Demme film widely considered the best concert movie ever made, Jonathan Gould has published a comprehensive biography of the seminal band that injected an art school vibe into popular music and forever changed rock 'n' roll.
Gould, the author of well-received books on Otis Redding and the Beatles, chronicles in meticulous detail the rise and fall of the band that got its start in New York City's underground punk scene and ended up touring the world with a repertoire shaped by blues, funk and jazz.
He begins 'Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' with a vivid description of the drizzly June night in 1975 when the original trio – singer/songwriter David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz – made its debut at the seedy club CBGB in downtown Manhattan, opening for the Ramones before a handful of patrons. With their 'unremarkable haircuts' and 'nondescript casual clothes,' they offered a sharp contrast to the 'baroque turn' that rock fashion had taken in the 1970s, Gould observes.
'The qualities that characterized this neophyte group in their first public performance centered on the awkward, disquieting intensity of their singer-guitarist, David Byrne, their sketchy, skeletal arrangements, and the quirky intelligence of their songs,' Gould writes. 'Tall and thin, with a long neck and an anxious, wide-eyed stare, Byrne stood stiffly at the microphone, his upper body jerking and jiggling like a shadow puppet as he scratched out chords on his guitar.… Instead of doing his best to command the stage and the room, Byrne looked trapped by his surroundings, as if he were prepared, at any moment, to make a break for the door.'
Within a couple years of their zeitgeist-changing performances, they enlisted keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison, adding a much-needed dose of professionalism to the band. Gould, a former professional musician, writes exceedingly well about music but suffers from a kind of completism, cramming in an almost mind-numbing level of detail including the name of the elementary school in Pittsburgh where a young Frantz first took up drums to every military posting of Weymouth's naval aviator father.
Though much of the material is fascinating, including his observations about how Byrne's then-undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome may have influenced his music and relationships with the other band members, it is likely to be a bit too much for all but the most diehard fans.
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Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Toronto Star
A new biography goes long and deep on the rise and fall of rock band Talking Heads
Talking Heads fans, rejoice! Hard on the heels of the re-release of 'Stop Making Sense,' the 1984 Jonathan Demme film widely considered the best concert movie ever made, Jonathan Gould has published a comprehensive biography of the seminal band that injected an art school vibe into popular music and forever changed rock 'n' roll. Gould, the author of well-received books on Otis Redding and the Beatles, chronicles in meticulous detail the rise and fall of the band that got its start in New York City's underground punk scene and ended up touring the world with a repertoire shaped by blues, funk and jazz. He begins 'Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' with a vivid description of the drizzly June night in 1975 when the original trio – singer/songwriter David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz – made its debut at the seedy club CBGB in downtown Manhattan, opening for the Ramones before a handful of patrons. With their 'unremarkable haircuts' and 'nondescript casual clothes,' they offered a sharp contrast to the 'baroque turn' that rock fashion had taken in the 1970s, Gould observes. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The qualities that characterized this neophyte group in their first public performance centered on the awkward, disquieting intensity of their singer-guitarist, David Byrne, their sketchy, skeletal arrangements, and the quirky intelligence of their songs,' Gould writes. 'Tall and thin, with a long neck and an anxious, wide-eyed stare, Byrne stood stiffly at the microphone, his upper body jerking and jiggling like a shadow puppet as he scratched out chords on his guitar.… Instead of doing his best to command the stage and the room, Byrne looked trapped by his surroundings, as if he were prepared, at any moment, to make a break for the door.' Within a couple years of their zeitgeist-changing performances, they enlisted keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison, adding a much-needed dose of professionalism to the band. Gould, a former professional musician, writes exceedingly well about music but suffers from a kind of completism, cramming in an almost mind-numbing level of detail including the name of the elementary school in Pittsburgh where a young Frantz first took up drums to every military posting of Weymouth's naval aviator father. Though much of the material is fascinating, including his observations about how Byrne's then-undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome may have influenced his music and relationships with the other band members, it is likely to be a bit too much for all but the most diehard fans. ___ AP book reviews:
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: A new biography goes long and deep on the rise and fall of rock band Talking Heads
Talking Heads fans, rejoice! Hard on the heels of the re-release of 'Stop Making Sense,' the 1984 Jonathan Demme film widely considered the best concert movie ever made, Jonathan Gould has published a comprehensive biography of the seminal band that injected an art school vibe into popular music and forever changed rock 'n' roll. Gould, the author of well-received books on Otis Redding and the Beatles, chronicles in meticulous detail the rise and fall of the band that got its start in New York City's underground punk scene and ended up touring the world with a repertoire shaped by blues, funk and jazz. He begins 'Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' with a vivid description of the drizzly June night in 1975 when the original trio – singer/songwriter David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz – made its debut at the seedy club CBGB in downtown Manhattan, opening for the Ramones before a handful of patrons. With their 'unremarkable haircuts' and 'nondescript casual clothes,' they offered a sharp contrast to the 'baroque turn' that rock fashion had taken in the 1970s, Gould observes. 'The qualities that characterized this neophyte group in their first public performance centered on the awkward, disquieting intensity of their singer-guitarist, David Byrne, their sketchy, skeletal arrangements, and the quirky intelligence of their songs,' Gould writes. 'Tall and thin, with a long neck and an anxious, wide-eyed stare, Byrne stood stiffly at the microphone, his upper body jerking and jiggling like a shadow puppet as he scratched out chords on his guitar.… Instead of doing his best to command the stage and the room, Byrne looked trapped by his surroundings, as if he were prepared, at any moment, to make a break for the door.' Within a couple years of their zeitgeist-changing performances, they enlisted keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison, adding a much-needed dose of professionalism to the band. Gould, a former professional musician, writes exceedingly well about music but suffers from a kind of completism, cramming in an almost mind-numbing level of detail including the name of the elementary school in Pittsburgh where a young Frantz first took up drums to every military posting of Weymouth's naval aviator father. Though much of the material is fascinating, including his observations about how Byrne's then-undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome may have influenced his music and relationships with the other band members, it is likely to be a bit too much for all but the most diehard fans. ___ AP book reviews:
Global News
6 days ago
- Global News
Why many music fans are having more ‘remember when' conversations
Episode 15 of Season 6 of The Sopranos features a scene where Tony and Paulie are out for dinner with some friends. After Paulie's endless stories about the old days, Tony becomes irritated and declares that ''remember when' is the lowest form of conversation.' He then gets up and leaves in a low-level huff. It's understandable that some people find certain types of reminiscing annoying. They believe in living in the moment and looking forward to the future, not rehashing the past. Nostalgia was, in fact, a medical condition that described a particular kind of melancholy fused with sentimentality. Things got quite melancholic and nostalgic for me on Friday night when I attended a reunion of dozens of people who worked in Winnipeg radio over the decades. These were mentors, peers and followers from a time when AM radio still played music and FM had time to play 20-minute album tracks. There was even a special session entitled 'War Stories' where it was all 'remember when.' 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Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Remember when we all danced to Join in the Chant in dark clubs where everyone was wearing the blackest clothes they could afford?' I confess to saying all those things over the past week. Those conversations dovetailed into other related topics. It's been a 'remember when' kind of time. Rock stars are supposed to be immortal. After all, the things they do seem superhuman, so why should they be subject to the frailties of human existence? How many millions (billions?) of people have lived their entire lives knowing that Brian Wilson walked the earth? It's constantly said that the world has gone downhill since David Bowie and Prince died in 2016. Story continues below advertisement But death, they say, is undefeated. It will come for all of us one day. In the not-too-distant future, there will be no more living Beatles. 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