David Byrne American Utopia on Broadway Original Cast Recording 2019

So, if you have HBO, hopefully you've already seen the Spike Lee film of this fine stage presentation. Currently streaming on HBO+ and HBO on Amazon, it is an excellent show. And by show I mostly mean concert, although it is carefully choreographed and includes spoken interludes between songs that do not detract from a killer live performance, and give it a bit more of a theatrical quality than your typical rock concert. Not that David Byrne has ever been particularly typical. 

The song list includes four songs from Byrne's American Utopia 2018 solo release, his most well-received solo outing since the disbanding of Talking Heads. It also contains nine Talking Heads songs and six songs from either his other solo recordings or contributions/duets with other artists, plus one Janelle Monae protest song. So there is something like a 60/40 split between solo career and Talking Heads material.

Byrne, along with Talking Heads, is already responsible for one of the greatest concert films (and soundtracks) of all time, the inimitable Stop Making Sense. That tour was also theatrical in it's presentation, beginning with Byrne on acoustic guitar, accompanied by a boom box, singing Psycho Killer, and then slowing adding band members each song until the entire nine-member troupe is Burning Down The House.

American Utopia is even more theatrical in performance. Alongside Byrne and two dancer/singers, a keyboardist, guitarist, and bassist, and no less than six percussionists/singers (all of whom move around stage in carefully scripted moves by choreographer Annie-B Parson) turn the songs into stunning visual as well as musical theater. The music holds up quite well by itself. The soundtrack eschews the between-song narratives, and presents the songs in their staged order, and it is simply a splendid record. Song selection is close to perfect, with obscurities, or at least less obvious choices, showing up to excellent effect. So not a greatest hits by any stretch, but even better. 

The four songs from the original American Utopia studio release are all highlights, and nothing disappoints. The multiple percussionists make the band extra special. The whole ensemble is talented as heck, and really everything works. Byrne is in a celebratory mood, and positivity is the theme. Even without seeing the show, the soundtrack is excellent. If you've seen the show, it seems indispensable.

David Byrne How Music Works 2017

David Byrne is an interesting guy, and multitalented. As the leader of the Talking Heads, he always seemed a bit quirky in a smart, sophisticated, ironic sort of way. This book, essentially a collection of essays on his own career in music as well as music itself, is an excellent read. Part autobiography, part treatise on music in relation to performance spaces, technology, neuroscience, and society, the book is readable, insightful and well researched. This 2017 edition adds one chapter not included in the original 2012 printing.

Chapters investigate musical styles and the effects on music of the environments in which the performances take place (Chapter 1), how we choose what we listen to (Chapter 5), and how to sell music in today’s environment as well as how things used to work (Chapter 8). Other essays explore how new music can be encouraged by the “scene” that encourages performers (Chapter 9, mostly a explanation of why CGBG became a famous hole in the wall), a great treatise on financial support for the musical arts, music therapy and the social fabric of our relationship with music (Chapter 10), and a summary that touches on our personal experience of music, looking at neuroscience and social factors (Chapter 11).

The more autobiographical sections focus on Byrne’s performance (Chapter 2), his recordings, including several interesting insights into how recordings have changed (Chapter 6), and his collaborations with a wide variety of musicians from different genres since his days with Talking Heads (Chapter 7).

Two chapters (3 and 4) explore how Technology Shapes Music, and it’s a concise history of analog and digital technology’s effect on music and performance since the beginning of recorded music in the early 20^th century. It is a nice overview, intriguing and a bit controversial at times. Byrne makes some excuses for digital sound quality, but overall he handles the progression through the last century and a quarter with aplomb.  This section applies his research to both how we listen to music as well as how it is recorded and played back, and how these technologies interact with performance.

There is none of the dirt dishing about band members that fill many rocker’s autobiographies, and there is no real attempt at explanation of why he’s such a brilliant guy. And those, along with many other qualities, make this a book that probably shouldn’t be considered an autobiography at all.

It’s brilliant, it’s engaging, it’s original and fun to read. And you'll probably learn something, too.