In the 1970s and 80s, the American band Talking Heads was synonymous with avant-garde. With numerous sales and critical successes, they mixed punk, pop, funk, and Latin rhythms. Their lead singer, David Byrne, was already iconic and his performance on stage was incomparable. All band members besides David, drummer Chris Frantz, guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison, and bassist Tina Weymouth, were equally adored.

College mates, they stood out in New York’s punk underground, playing at CBGB before exploding on radio and MTV. In December 1983, director Jonathan Demme filmed three nights of the band’s shows in Los Angeles and created a classic: the film Stop Making Sense.

The phrase is taken from a song called Girlfriend is Better and the group was on tour to promote the album Speaking in Tongues, and the setlist was a retrospective of the band with their most popular songs, such as Psycho Killer and Burning Down the House. The film, released in cinemas around the world in 1984, not only became a rage but has since been considered one of the biggest and best concert films of all time, with pioneering technology and photography.

The band disbanded in the early 1990s when Byrne embraced a solo career and is barely talked about nowadays, refusing to consider a revival. The photo of the four on the red carpet at the Toronto Film Festival, TIFF, moved fans.

One of the most classic images from Stop Making Sense, and from David Byrne, is precisely the giant suit he uses as a visual effect at the end of the show. Partially inspired by Noh theater styles in Japan, it became a reference in the 1980s.

Seeing the band posing for photos rekindled the dream of seeing them playing together again (something that everyone vehemently discards). The last time this happened was in 2002 when they were inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. Stop Making Sense will return to theaters in special screenings. For those who haven’t seen it, here’s a recommendation. Is unforgettable.

Pesquisar

Pesquisar