Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense

Another gem found in the vaults of Netflix. This is a concert shot from the early 80's by Jonathan Demme. Yes, the same director of Silence of the Lambs. Silence is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I was confused why this was on his resume. Of course this was from early in his career, but after watching the film, I can see why he would want to be a part of this project.

Shot over the course of three nights, the concert unfolds in a very unique and memorable way. David Byrne opens the concert by walking out onto an empty stage with only a boombox and a guitar. He does one song, and after that one member of the band comes out to join him for another song. This pattern continues until the entire band is on stage.

While I had heard the Talking Heads before, I would not consider myself a fan. I always would write them off as a quirky band that never grabbed my attention for any ammount of time. But through this film, I was captivated and transformed into a fan.

While the band plays well together, the addition of some soulful backup singers and Bernie Worell (keyboardist for Parliment Funkadelic) the songs transform into heavy funk driven experiences. David Byrne carefully choreographed and planned out the lighting of the stage to accentuate the band and show them as a cohesive unit. There were none of the now common quick cuts and jumps with extreme closeups and strobe lights. Simple white lighting coupled with wide shots of the band playing were all that were used.

I was impressed with the vision of Byrne and Demme. They were deliberate with how the presented the material and limited the uses of camera tricks and crowd shots. Without the crowd noise and shots of them enjoying the show, it allowed me to form my own opinions of how the show was going.

It was also funny to watch David Byrne do his thing. Years ago my friend Courtney told me a story about one of her friends that hooked up with David Byrne in the 90's. After falling asleep in David's apartment, he woke up to see David's butt hovering above his chest. Apparently he was trying to give the dude a Cleveland Steamer. Now that would have been a memorable experience.