You should do psycho killer from stop making sense it is the best part of the whole concert movie.its just David with a boombox and a acoustic guitar 😏 its funky
easily one of the best concert videos of all time -- and like i've been saying, Spike Lee has filmed the newest David Byrne (lead singer here) concert on Broadway, and it airs tomorrow night on HBO/Amazon for one night. sometime later it should be for sale, but who knows when. the newest concert they did everything wireless so the entire band moves around the whole stage dancing the entire time. i love your reaction to this, man. and Bernie Worrell from Parliament/Funkadelic on keys back there, laying down that funk. and the lyrics for "Life During Wartime" are great too -- it's a whole little movie in that song. another great track from the Talking Heads is "Nothing But Flowers," came out a little later than this one. thanks, Jamel!
@Braden C McClure No for real. Byrne and producer Brian Eno were massive arseholes to the rest of the band. To the point they were planning on not crediting any of the other band members on Remain in Light. They had no respect for their own rythmn section which was one of the best in the world
@@christophermoore8524 Tina and Chris wanted to fire David and replace him with Adrian Belew. That would have been amazing, but Belew declined. Instead, we got King Crimson and Tom Tom Club.
@@brucegrossman3531 sorta, they met at RISD, Byrne and drummer, Frantz were students, as was Frantz's gf, Tina Weymouth, who hadn't learned to play the bass yet. Byrne nd Frantz broke up the band they had in Providence, moved to NYC and when couldn't find a bassist, encouraged Tina to learn
Stop Making Sense is such an incredible concert film. Talking Heads weren’t just performing the music- they were expressing themselves in movement, dance, lighting, costume, images, and colour. There’s so much energy and passion, it’s contagious when you watch them.
Hands down best concert film ever. They shoot what you want to see. Not a bunch of crowd shots or distant shots. It all feels personal. Everyone was dancing in the theater every time I saw it.
I got to see this in the movie theater when it came out, I was a fan before the movie, and when I left it I was in a stone cold sober daze, the whole thing was an experience. The creativity and diversity of talent the Talking Heads had was incredible, and the willingness to experiment kept them from getting stale.
"Stop Making Sense" is an extremely rare case where every single song is performed better live than the studio versions. It's my personal favorite concert film. David Byrne is a true artistic genius. Not sure if you found out what happened to them, but it was a pretty messy breakup (after the rest f the band finally figured out David wasn't coming back). Lawsuits and such. But they were able to get back together for the RRHOF induction and that seems to be about it. They're not on friendly terms. Check out Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love." I'd recommend the actual music video in this case due to the funky animation.
They run because like the title says, this is life during wartime. The sound is funky, but the lyrics are incredibly dark. The singer is a rebel, moving in disguise from place to place, setting bombs, cutting phone lines, causing mayhem. He cannot stay still for fear of being found, so he runs and runs. One of their best songs!
In reality they run because there was a concept from the beginning by David Byrne. At the time aerobicise was very popular made so by Jane Fonda. It was his idea to make the entire show and aerobicise show. It had nothing to do with him being some kind of a fitness freak . Just another brilliant idea from a brilliant mind . Thus the continuous movement. Now David Byrne and his sheer funkiness is just a force of nature.
The entire band was beautifully extended with the talents of Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt backing vocals, Steve Scales percussion backing vocals, Alex Weir guitar backing vocals and Bernie Worrell on keyboards. Jonathan Demme directed it brilliantly and then went on to win an Oscar for directing Silence of the Lambs. Sometimes when bands bring on extra people it really doesn't do what was done in this concert. This was a great concert from start to finish and has become an iconic film in the history of concert films because it showed how versatile and adaptable Talking Heads really have been throughout their career.
It amazes me how often Tina's skill on the bass is discounted. She rarely appears on a top 20 or top 10 list, but she was likely the most influential bassist of the era
“Burned all my notebooks / What good are notebooks? / They won’t help me survive” I love this song because it’s so funky and upbeat and David Byrne is so silly, but the lyrics are actually dark af.
The Talking Heads were at the height of their popularity during my college years, and so I know all these songs note-for-note... so much so that I take them for granted, and haven't listened in a long time. Seeing Jamal's reaction reminds me just how good this band was and brings it all back. THANKS!!!
I’ll never forget the first time I saw this concert. I never paid close enough attention to realize how good they really were. Then I just plain stumbled across it one day flipping channels and was blown away. Idk how anyone CANNOT like this! What a show.
I was at this show, at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. I remember the camera crew filming the event. The energy in the room was INSANE. I saw Talking Heads several times... five shows, I think. This was the best. The band was on fire!
"This ain't no Mud Club... or CBGBs... I ain't got time for that now..." Mud Club and CBGBs were two notorious unground music venues, both in New York City. And if you like Tina (and who doesn't), in this same movie they feature her side project The Tom Tom Club doing "Genius of Love".
As much as some people seem to think of Talking Heads as being David Byrne (and he is incredibly talented), a lot of the Talking Heads sound is in Tina Weymouth‘s excellent bass and she kills it on this song. The whole band was great. Also, as good as these individual songs were on their original albums, they were truly elevated by the Stop Making Sense live show, and this is one of my two all-time favourite live albums, along with “12 Years of Tears” from Marc Almond.
Jamal is absolutely HILARIOUS ! When he started mimicking what they were doing on stage and was putting on those faces I was laughing so hard my stomach was aching. Thanks for the laughs.
I saw Talking Heads in Berkeley CA on this Stop Making Sense tour and every attendee was on their feet through the whole night, most dancing in place. I knew they were fantastic but I certainly wasn’t expecting this level of GREATNESS... What a night!! SO FUN!!! For the encore they did BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE...they’d done it earlier and it was so good they did it again for the encore. And one of the 2 background singers brought her 2 year old daughter out for the encore and we were all charmed to see the little one dance too!
"I got some groceries, some peanut butter \ To last a couple of days \ But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones \ Ain't got no records to play"
I'm happy for you that you enjoyed this video so much! I'm taking my dad (who's well into his 70s) to see the 4K rerelease, in order to thank him for introducing me to Talking Heads (and having the presence of mind buying the 77 LP 2 years after I was born).
The song where Byrne dances with the floor lamp is one of the best songs of the whole concert, Jamal. It's called 'this must be the place (naive melody)' 😉👌
I'm not one for recommending live versions to anybody that has never heard a particular song but this video always amazes me with Byrne's energy and it's pretty close to the studio version anyway. My favorite Talking Heads track regardless. Take Me To The River, Swamp or This Must Be The Place are also worthy of reactions.
Totally agree. I always believe that people should start with the studio versions and work their way to live versions. Live version audio is either piss poor or the band changes the song so much that it can be hard to know why people enjoy it in the first place. This song and this album/DVD is the exception to that rule. Anything on here is straight fire and a worthy first listen/watch.
Different strokes for different folks! I'm totally the opposite. I will watch & listen to any live show & ignore studio almost every time. Good thing there's something for all of us! 😁
As live performances go, this to me was the best concert i have ever seen. Talking Heads arent my favorite but do rank up there, but this whole concert from beginning to end was so entertaining!
I second this must be the place. Also recommend I zimbra, road to nowhere and sax and violins the most all masterpieces. I zimbra is cool cause it has Robert fripp as a guest
Saw them live here in Detroit at the Masonic Temple during the 80's. Stood at the foot of the stage by Tina, watching her hammer that bass right in front of my face. What an incredible show!
Dump The Chump - if you like ‘This Must Be The Place’ AND you liked the movie American Psycho...look up Miles Fishers version of This Must Be The Place on RU-vid :-) An excellent cover.
If you can watch all of Stop Making Sense. It's often cited as the best concert movie ever. Life During Wartime is a highlight, but there are a bunch of other amazing moments.
War has broken out across the country and they had to run full speed for the whole song to escape being shot. That was the idea behind all the running. Awesome band, crazy awesome song. Love this band.
Listen to the lyrics. It's from the perspective of an American in a foreign war zone. All through the 50's, 60's and 70's the US instigated warfare abroad to the benifit of US corporate interests. Great music, great presentation, great message.
I'm so glad people are still appreciating Talking Heads. There are so many bands that only get remembered for like one big hit they had, and they miss _all_ the stuff like this. To get a sense of how great the Talking Heads were, their greatest hits album was a double album and didn't even include all of their best songs. Even separate, as you've found out, they're incredible.
Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons, Packed up and ready to go Heard of some grave sites, out by the highway, A place where nobody knows The sound of gunfire, off in the distance, I'm getting used to it now Lived in a brownstone, lived in a ghetto, I've lived all over this town This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, This ain't no fooling around No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain't got time for that now Transmit the message, to the receiver, Hope for an answer some day I got three passports, a couple of visas, You don't even know my real name High on a hillside, the trucks are loading, Everything's ready to roll I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nighttime, I might not ever get home This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, This ain't no fooling around This ain't no Mudd Club, or C. B. G. B., I ain't got time for that now Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit? Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.? You oughta know not to stand by the window Somebody see you up there I got some groceries, some peanut butter, To last a couple of days But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones, Ain't got no records to play Why stay in college? Why go to night school? Gonna be different this time Can't write a letter, can't send no postcard, I ain't got time for that now Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock, We blended in with the crowd We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed We dress like students, we dress like housewives, Or in a suit and a tie I changed my hairstyle, so many times now, I don't know what I look like! You make me shiver, I feel so tender, We make a pretty good team Don't get exhausted, I'll do some driving, You ought to get you some sleep Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks? They won't help me survive My chest is aching, burns like a furnace, The burning keeps me alive
@@patrickshipley7638 The other one that chills me lately is "What A Day That Was." (Originally a David Byrne solo song, done for Twyla Tharp's dance piece "The Catherine Wheel," but it became a live Talking Heads song.)
I just rewatched this entire concert last night in anticipation of this reaction (first saw it when I was in college). The highlight song of a phenomenal concert experience. So glad you can now appreciate it.
"This looks like a damn aerobics class" and this before he starts running laps. I never thought anyone could top "The song remains the same" as a concert movie and then this came out and did it.
They just ran like a half a mile. 😄 Coolest, most creative, fun band ever! BRILLIANT lyrics. Solid groove. I remember when this came out, my friends and I couldn’t get enough of it. Thanks for covering this one. It’s been years (decades) since I’ve seen it, but just watched it 3 times back-to-back.
I love when you get introduced to a band you haven't seen before and it's suddenly "I must see everything they've ever done!" Love Talking Heads. Thanks so much for your enthusiastic reactions.
Most of the black performers are actually members of Parliament/Funkadelic. They put on a lot of legendary shows on their own. My fave might be back in the 1970's when they have a giant UFO slowly descending towards the stage, and the singer is beckoning it to come down to him during the song. I actually saw them live once, in a smaller venue around 1990, they didn't have anything expensive like that, but still a wild show.
There is no music in this generation that can match what we had in the 70's and 80's.......the uniqueness of so many bands and types of music were incredible.
I think music has evolved to look and sound different, but it didn't get any less genuine and unique from band to band, at least if you turn your head away from the mainstream. People like Lemon Demon, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Death Grips, Ariel Pink, Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, MGMT, the list goes on. Only difference here these bands almost never cross over into the mainstream, so it's easier to omit them from the bigger picture of what's going on in music right now. But I can assure you people can, and are, matching the greatness you speak of in totally unexpected ways in this generation. Take care, and keep liking whatever you like as long as you get some joy out of it.
you really haven't listened to much modern music if you think uniqueness died with the 70s and 80s. animal collective, of montreal, hell radiohead, sigur rós, m. ward..so many awesome artists, they just aren't that well known usually
I saw the Talking Heads at Radio City Music Hall in 1980. Let me tell you, they rocked that old hall! The lineup was very much like this, and Tina stole my heart that night! I had just got out of the Army and this was the first concert I went to since I got back in country. I hung out in CBGB's and The Mudd Club too, so this song has a special resonance for me. I love your videos, Brother! You are the most entertaining reactor on RU-vid! Please, keep up the good work!
I never saw Talking Heads in concert, but I did see Tom Tom Club (Tina and Chris Frantz's band) at the 9:30 in DC around 1986 or '87. I remember their encore was "Psycho Killer" with Tina singing lead. It was pretty amazing. (And I caught David Byrne's American Utopia tour when it hit Boston a little while ago--one of the best shows I've ever seen, and about half of it was classic Talking Heads songs.)
I saw Talking Heads back at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, in ‘78 or ‘79. It was just the basic four. I brought my Dad; and he thought they were good, but he thought they were boring. They just stood and played their instruments, and they did that really well. Tbh, I preferred that to this big production. I’d been to CBGB (that sure was an experience), but not MUDD (even though I had friends who’d played there). I’ve also seen Tom Tom Club at Irving Plaza much later. They were opening for the Psychedelic Furs (who were amazing, btw). And the last two tunes they did were “Take Me To The River” and “Psycho Killer”. They were so low key compared to this. But it was perfect. I still think Tina is amazing, just as I did when I first heard ‘77. 💜💜💜
@@katsujinkin60 My ex used to say that I started disliking bands when they got popular. Ha. In a way that’s kinda true. I really liked their older stuff, but the late 70s was a tremendous time for music for me. I graduated high school in ‘79, so (from what I can recall) the alternative/new wave/punk stuff is what stuck with me. And yes, Tina was and is freakin’ awesome. 💜
Alex Weir was my favorite guitarist in the world, for about three years, after seeing this show live in Charlotte NC, 1983. Best live show I've ever attended and then they released a movie version of it, a year later. Wow. It doesn't get any better. I saw the movie, in the theater, twice.
I have been Watching You Tube since it first appeared. I have never left a comment but...I had to share that I was at this concert and it was one of the highlights of my life. The whole crowd was dancing in the isles and I their seats, it was pure joy. I love and enjoy your appreciation of it. TH has always been in my top ten bands list.
It's funny - I've watched this particular recording of Life During Wartime about 20 time in the past year. It's so GOOD! The whole concert, too. Glad you enjoyed it!!
RIP Bernie Worrell on keys... founding member of Parliament Funkadelic! Was blessed to see him perform with Steve Kimock at the Flood City Music Festival back in 2012. I remember the show being so good that we all stayed and convinced them to play encores and we were late for the headliner but didn't care... I don't even recall who that headliner was!
My 4th favorite band ever with 1 of my locked for life top 5 favorite live performances in rock&roll history, So happy you got to the Heads Stop Making Sense classics. What a movie.
If you count the amount of ways this stage and performance are different from most rock concerts it is absolutely astounding. Like 50 novel things. Start with this - where are the amps?????
The song is about working as a mover. Wartime is moving day. Its physical work. They are running from one move to the next. This entire concert is available on RU-vid. Its one of the best productions Ive ever seen.
In the 90s in Berkeley, at the UC Theater, big old theater, lotta space between the front row and the screen. The place held several hundred people. Sold out show. We are all up and dancing within 2 songs. Everyone. You could not stay in your seat! So good.
This is THE WAY to see every Talking Heads' song included. The ONLY way to enjoy these. This entire concert was a tribute to the work that performers COULD do, and very very few every go to these extremes.
David Byrne is a real freak!! It's a work-out just listening to it! Love the backing vocal girls in their cute shorts. Love the bass from Tina Weymouth. She's a great bassist. I've always loved Talking Heads and I usually play the bass - it was only 5 or so years ago that I realized it was a girl playing it!!! :) Wow!! brilliant!
You've stepped in it now, brother. I can see you at three, dancing away to this. Any song off "Stop Making Sense" or the "Remain In Light "album is gold. Let's smooth this thing on out with a little slow melody, This Must Be The Place, from this DVD.
That's Funkadelc keyboardist Bernie Worrell rounding out that amazing group! So glad to see something I requested get viewed. That was my face when I first saw it! Simply amazing!
Saw Talking Heads at a one-day festival here in New Zealand about the same time as this movie came out, and they pretty much performed what was in the movie. They were fantastic, and topped off a great day (other acts included The Pretenders and Simple Minds). Best music festival I've ever been to. I know you've reacted to "Psycho Killer" before, but the version from Stop Making Sense is so different and effective that it's worth its own reaction.
If you have HBO I would recommend tuning in tomorrow night for David Byrnes "American Utopia". Concert film directed by Spike Lee following David's Broadway run of his "American Utopia" show. I saw one performance in 2018, one of the greatest shows I've seen! If you tune in clear the living room because you'll be on your feet dancing!
American Utopia is a must to see! I saw it in February at the Hudson Theater. One of the best performances I have seen in my lifetime. Hard to stay in your seat ya just wanted to get up and sing and dance!
It's so cool to see someone react to this in real time. With pretty much the same reaction I have every time I see it. Is there any doubt after watching this video that aside from James Brown, David Byrne is the funkiest man ever born. To anyone who has never seen this before it truly shows the full power of the Talking Heads at their peak. I will repeat what our host said. Every single person on that stage is giving everything. All respect to Tina Weymouth and David Byrne. Pure genius. Probably my favorite Talking Heads song and definitely favorite performance closely followed by David in the once-in-a-lifetime video which still manages to convey his live energy. Thanks for posting this. Like I said it's great to watch somebody else watch this and notice the same sheer funkiness of the man. Like he said he got so much he has to go run it off.
As a preemptive answer to what is sure to come I will add George Clinton and Bootsy Collins to that list. I didn't want to phrase it this way but we'll leave it at funkiest white man ever born.
Finally someone reviewing the talking heads concert stop making sense. I tried for like 6 months to get lost in vegas to review and they haven't. So this is cool.
Saw this at a midnight show when it came out in 1984. No one was seated, as everyone in the theater was up and dancing. Completely changed how I thought about music and live performance.
I've used this video many times over the years to introduce people to the brilliance of the Talking Heads. If you can't get down to this, you need your pulse checked.
We used to go to the midnight movie after work on weekends back in the day when this was playing. The whole audience would get up and run around the theater during this song. Good times.
I don't always listen to the Talking Heads, but when I do, my mouth hangs open, my knoggin bobs, and my heart tells me "David Burn, and this band, are great.
