For the first time in 20 years, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and David Byrne are re-united. Despite the band’s split and subsequent bad blood between members, Talking Heads came together for the re-release of their concert docu-film Stop Making Sense (dir. Jonathan Demme, 1984) in August. Harrison has described the moment as a ‘healing’ one for the band and it feels like it for fans too.
Big suits, weird jerking dance moves, a whole array of props and words and noises: Talking Heads inspired generations of devout fans to embrace their oddness and spontaneity. With A24 re-distributing the film in cinemas and IMAX screens across the world, this charming weirdness is seemingly trickling down into younger generations too. On TikTok and Instagram, videos recorded inside theatres show hoards of viewers traversing down to a space below the screen and dancing, jumping and singing along to all the hits.
And that’s one of the best things about Stop Making Sense: it really is all the hits. The documentary was filmed during the band’s promotion for their 1983 album Speaking in Tongues. This record is considered by many their best, being their highest charting album on the Billboard charts and gaining the certified Platinum status the same year it came out. Therefore, it’s fair to say that Talking Heads were at their peak when Stop Making Sense was recorded and originally distributed.
Byrne enters the stage with a cassette player and says timidly, “Hi, I got a tape I want to play”. Immediately greeted with ‘Psycho Killer’, followed by tunes such as ‘This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody), ‘Once in a Lifetime’, and even a cover of Al Green’s ‘Take Me to the River’, the audience is presented with a relentless setlist. One that continues to draw in lifelong fans, mild enjoyers of the band and onlookers captivated by the frontman’s sporadic presence.
This presence is also a huge factor as to why the film garnered so much traction. David Byrne remains today as an equal part respected and admired giant of music and culture. As he keeps up with old and new fans via his vaguely poetic Instagram post captions and designer collaborations on the Met Gala red carpet, Byrne finds his place perfectly amongst the quirky and talented folks of the now. The thing that seems to solidify this position is his authenticity: he is who he is, and he always will be. Brian Eno’s anecdote entailing him and Byrne getting mugged in New York and Byrne yelling out “uh-oh!” as was “dragged off into the bushes” proves this: “an eccentric genius... he’s always been exactly like that” says Eno.
Yet as much as Stop Making Sense is a triumph for David Byrne, it is a triumph for Talking Heads as a whole. Seeing the band performing at the height of their popularity and peculiarity is a real moment for the documentation of pop culture. Something that sticks with me is hearing some of their greatest songs being played to a naïve audience, newly exposed to the touring record and unaware of the cultural impact it specifically will have. ‘This Must Be the Place’ is met with a smaller audience reaction when the band first starts playing it, something that seems bizarre when listened to now.
The band broke up in 1991 following some apparent severe disagreements between members. After Stop Making Sense, the band released three more albums (Little Creatures, True Stories and Naked), but none made the same commercial impact as Stop Making Sense. I see seventeen-year-olds just discovering the big suit and the weird lyrics for the first time on social media and, to sound as not corny as possible, it brings me nostalgia for a moment that I didn’t even experience. Talking Heads have a sense of timelessness through their silliness and these weird songs will never make sense, which makes them perfect for a current society where nothing ever does anyway.