For W Magazine’s Great Performances Issue, I was asked to speak with the legendary rock band, The Talking Heads.
“Your 1984 film, Stop Making Sense, was recently rereleased by A24. Its raw simplicity stands in contrast to the highly produced stadium tour films of today, and it is still widely regarded as the greatest concert film ever made. Was it your aim to do away with the smoke and mirrors so the audience could focus purely on the music?
David Byrne: The emphasis really goes to the performers when you remove all of that stuff from the show. As an audience member, I’ve discovered that you’re more interested in seeing people than you are in seeing fireworks. Fireworks make you go “ooh” and “aah,” but it’s people—and the interactions between them—that really move you.
Do you think that’s why it continues to resonate, particularly with younger audiences?
Jerry Harrison: I’ve seen the film more than anyone, and to this day I will see a glance, a communication, or a nuance that I’ve never seen before. As an older person, having had different experiences in your life, you interpret things in a new way. There’s a human side to it that allows people to find newness in it, almost endlessly.
Tina Weymouth: We came out of CBGB in a time of over-the-topness in music, kind of like now. Everything was just overkill, like banks of synthesizers and double drums. As a team, we had amazing chemistry, and we came up with all of this through supportive collaboration. It was very beautiful and very special.”
Click here to read the full article for W magazine.
