Yes, he's a good lad 🙂 Personally I reckon he also doesn't like talking when he's not comfortable/into something or that he's listening & concentrating very hard. It's hard (or impossible) to know what's going on inside someone else's head, ha ha! (I don't actually know him in person. I'm just going by what I've taken away from books and interviews)
For a change. He normally insists on taking all the credit for everything about Talking Heads as if none of the others had anything to do with their rise to fame. True he was a very creative force and songwriter for the band but he didn't get to where he is without them. It would be like John Lennon saying if it wasn't for him The Beatles would never have been a band.
@@dogblessamerica instead of relying on your feelings...do your homework. I was a record producer and engineer and have personal experiences regarding Mr. Byrne. My "stories" are not exaggerated. He was quite often an asshole.
A-hole; ME. I had a few times to see them in the 1980s and - always had an excuse why I could not go. A friend of mine who lives in NYC- dated a guy that knew them and one night - he took her to a recording session ! I THINK it was for the final album OR the one right before it.
@ussexeter4601 Tina could give a fuck about david lining her pockets😂Her and chris wrote one of the most sampled songs of all time she’s doing just fine without davids help
@@sadboi7537 Any time Spike Lee spoke, my audience erupted in laughter. I can't comprehend that this was such an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity and the dude decided to get high and ramble about whenever Prince was touring. Let's get a round of applause for the BASS player! Damn man. Was like blowing up a balloon and letting it go to fly around the room making a fart noise as it slowly died
People need to stop asking for a reunion. Talking Heads are done, and have been for decades. Byrne has no reason whatsoever to give over time to a reunion, and it would serve no creative purpose. Instead, he gets to do whatever he wants without the rancor and angst. People need to let it go.
Totally agree. It's great he's moved on and has remained innovative and kept looking to the future. Also why would he want the difficulty of trying to work with and communicate with TW and CF? They've said some really unpleasant things about him in the past, to his credit I'm not aware of him publicly retaliating.
I saw this tour in 1983 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I saw the film twice this last weekend. What an amazing and joyful time!! People were up dancing in the movie theater!
I saw that concert tour in Atlanta at the Fox Theater and it really blew my mind. I was thrilled, but not surprised when I saw they'd made a film of it. BTW, the show in Atlanta was better than the one on the film. They played the songs slower in the Big A, not so sped up, like on the soundtrack. And the crowd, wow, Talking Heads crowds were always crazy, from all walks, and some with costumery, like the wildest theater groups from NYC and all so fun, so fun. Just really the time of my life. The place was surreal to say the very least. It was, without a doubt, the pinnacle of their careers, and certainly the best show I've ever seen. At the end of the show, they rolled a big bass drum case out on stage, plopped it down, and out sprung some guy, who stood up waving around at everyone. I still don't know who it was, maybe Demme, or Belew, or who knows? But it was festive!
Maybe I'm just talking shit, but it's safe to say a reunion tour won't ever happen lol. You can still sense a deep discomfort between the members. Tina especially seems like she doesn't wanna be there.
she would be first up to do it, there is no hostility between them today. just look at the facial expressions, nonverbal behavior between them or the eye contact. We watched it at our class haha
@@crystinamarie1 they offended him in press (in lyrics; interviews; chris's book, even crazy witchcraft stuff about david ). He was nice enough to show up here really. I guess he knew he wasn't perfect as well
I like the way Spike handled this interview. I can tell he's a Talking Heads fan for sure. My fav album of theirs is Fear Of Music. it would be great to see this film in IMax format, the sound must be unreal
Can we get a round of applause??? Can we get a round of applause for the BASSIST? Let's get a round of applause! What year did Prince do his tour??? Does anybody know?? WELL! Looks like we're out of time! Bye guys!
@@JeremyCoolDude i noticed that too. Spike pulling his "Black" agenda. When he got his own BS dismissed like a used tissue, he was clueless. You can see him thinking "Oh shit Prince didn't do this first?" and yet still not being so full of himself to simply Google. If Spike wanted to do his "Black thing" with Talking Heads, it would have been incredibly easy. "You guys used a lot of African rhythms, Fela Kuti in particular. And I think a lot of your sound and the movie benefits from African rhythms. Can you talk about that?" i mean, that would be a lame question, but it would be a helluva lot better than bringing up Prince out of the blue and assuming The Purple One invented the genre. But what does Spike know? He wants 40 acres and a mule for Black Americans while pimping for companies like Nike and Apple that nortoriously use slave labour. Spike made Malcolm X into a brand. Spike is not a friend of you, me, OR Black America.
I read Chris’s book and I came away from it thinking that although he and Tina had every right to be angry at things David had said, did and hadn’t said, Chris’s book was full of bitterness and resentment. And I get that to a point. But he glossed over the fact that David was really talented and did genius things in the band. To illustrate his point, Chris even mentioned the time they went to David’s childhood home where David’s parents pointed out art he did as a child and Chris was petty enough to rip on the art David did as a kid but also the way his parents had them on the wall. I didn’t understand that even being worth putting in the book other than the fact he, not only Tina, are still unable to move on. It was almost like saying, “See he was no genius after all! These kid paintings are terrible and his parents are fools for displaying them!” The book was called Remain in Love, and it sort of focused on his relationship with Tina while together in the band, but I also think the main objective was to air out everything. But Chris comes off as a guy who knew his and Tina’s career was over when David left the band taking the most creative part of the band with him. What they’re really mad at is they wouldn’t have the same level of success David did because he was so preternaturally talented and they knew it. I’m guessing the shows he’s developed and the books he’s written (no tell all but about the creative process) just irk them to no end. I don’t think Tina even wants an apology from David she just prefers holding onto the resentment as seen by her speech at the rock and roll hall of fame which was no place to air her issues. Pretty tacky. But yeah, that book was about bitterness and that mostly overshadowed the book for me. That’s too bad. Would have preferred more in depth detail on the creative process rather then details about how about David wasn’t such a great person and therefore we should dismiss him as a great artist. The way he downplayed David’s contributions was so obviously because they can’t stand his success - made Chris look like a small man. Disappointing read. And as seen in this interview there’s still bad feelings. Oh and by the way, David has said numerous times he has Asperger’s or some form of autism and that explains a lot on why he didn’t handle things the right way within the band. So hope they truly get over it. They say they did but based on body language I don’t think so.
Chris comes off as a very affable chap, so it's strange. I think he is protective of Tina who appears to have some deeply weird issues around David Byrne. In the 90s they made an album called "No Talking Just Head" which features a David Byrne-looking voodoo doll on the back cover, stuck with pins and knives and epithets like 'racism' 'egotism' 'lies' and 'greed'. And then they wonder why David wasn't particularly keen to work with them again.
@@dogblessamerica oh wow I didn’t know about the voodoo doll - sounds like Tina needs to just sit down with him and get it all out. You could see the discomfort through the whole interview which was extra weird contrasted with Lee’s lack of awareness of the tension as he enthusiastically asked questions.
I read it too; I don't think they're jealous of David's talent (Chris has some nice things to say about his guitar playing and lyrics), it's more the jealousy that he started separating himself and hogging all the credit at every opportunity. And that Chris & Tina weren't taken seriously as major contributors to the sound that really made Talking Heads special. Tom Tom Club proves that they weren't just along for the ride. Talking Heads is singular because of David's weirdo genius, but Chris + Tina + Jerry are why you can dance to it.
I adore Chris and Tina, but I have to agree with you about the book. There were definitely things for Chris to be justifiably angry about, but there was also a level of pettiness that made me think "Oh, grow the f up already. You're too old for this shiz." I still love him, though...he's a blast.
@@StellaMayfair7 I agree with you, definitely petty. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I couldn’t believe the level of pettiness and as I reading the book I wondered if I was just reading into it but glad to get some sort of affirmation that I most likely wasn’t.
The 99 dvd has some fantastic Easter eggs. Haven’t seen any of it online. All the stage notes are there. Including costume and lighting notes for each song.
In every single interview that they’re together after the rerelease of stop making sense, they have been sat in the exact same arrangement it always goes David, Jerry, Chris, Tina (we all know why)
I'm pretty sure just about every question Spike asked has been answered by David Byrne in interviews for like 10+ years now. Dude did absolutely NO homework and asked the most basic, uninteresting questions ever. And when it started to fall apart, he just didn't adjust?? He never even tried to get the band members to converse with one another. Everybody in my theatre was laughing at him
I wish they'd apply the new clean-up technology to the Rome 1980 show (which is on RU-vid). That show is more exciting than Stop Making Sense, but obviously not as well filmed.
David, in the past 20 years, seems less weird and LESS guarded. Remember how he used to be? Happy that they will never do a reunion tour . Keep the past SACRED.
Having read through all of the bickering here, and also listening to this interview, it reminds me of my time in my own band. Bass-ically, I would be sitting where Tina is sitting, lol. I'm trying to distill this down into just a few words, as if it was displayed on the ticker-tape in Times Square: "Hi maintenance relations band who wrote and played some very good music gets its own group therapy session, moderated by World Wrestling Federation CEO, Spike Lee"
If you’ve read his book how music works, they actually spoke about wearing very similar outfits throughout the concert (just the grey outfits) and the story is told through david since he is literally the frontman so thats why his outfit changes.
Can someone elaborate on what they think Chris means when he says "Something wild influenced my work going forward" @ ~ 18:49 ? Is he talking about nose candy?
@@andygower2299 that makes total sense. Based on how they were talking about him in this interview it made me decide I really need to check out more of his films - and the fact that I didn’t know that was one proves it! Thank you :)
@@johndeleonardis901 One of their very best, Jonathan Demme and Ray Liotta. Feature music by David Byrne (opening credits). Spike sucked. Best question not asked but easily answered. Any chance of a reunion?
Heard an interview with Chris a couple years ago when the book came out. He said they weren't really mad at each other, they just don't get each other. And now they interact through emails a few times a month about business things.
Ironically if you watch the movie, the whole band is in neutrals (under orders of David Byrne, according to the commentary track!) except for Chris, who rebelled and wore a blue polo shirt.
Thanks for posting, I went to the iMax show with some friends, but after 20 or so minutes of waiting for the interview to come on, we walked. Now at least I’ll get to see it.
Yes it would. None of that is going to happen. And to be honest I think that's a good thing. TH were brilliant then, would they be now or would they be disappointing? A pale shadow of former glories?
@@MaterLacrymarumterrible Jagged uncomfortable performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with instruments Out Of Tune and the whole thing was just really a disaster.
I'm glad that Jerry hinted at the overdubbing that was done (Sorry folks, it wasn't an entirely live album/film. I know, I know: I'm a party pooper, ha ha!) 🙂
I listened to the commentary track on a DVD and they discussed that too. The DVD had the movie audio and the live audio as options. The live audio was slightly better to my ears, I prefer raw and punchy. The live audio would go out of sync with the movie at times because the footage was shot over two or three nights and cut together.
Jesus Christ, Spike is an awful interviewer. Ending with a dud question about Sign O' The Times (No, that was four years after this) and... It's time to wrap it up, and he actually says The Talking Heads right after.
Put the shit aside. Needs to be a Talking Heads world tour before it's all too late. World stadiums. Total sell out. £300k a ticket, everyone goes home happy. You owe us that much FFS. David we've had quite enough of Staying Hungry....we need fed!
If it were a different moderator, maybe? Spike just...made EVERYTHING so much more awkward. I really hope the band members had a private get together after this to really hang out. If not, yikes..
I have a very strong sense that Tina really wanted to turn to David Byrne and say, "You treated us like shit and killed the band when it didn't have to die." For the photo call and the stage interview, Tina is as far away from Byrne as she can get.
@@ericmalone3213 David byrnes writing is lovely, and the two albums have SOME good songs, however, the obsession with latin pop and the whole yeehaw texas shit was awful imo. Though I haven’t heard most of his solo work, I have heard people say he did albums similar to “Naked” better on his own
@@ericmalone3213 If you read the comment, it quite clearly states that i’ve listened to their last albums. Davids solo albums, which are irrelevant in this situation, I have not heard MOST of but have listened to a great deal of. My YT name is literally named after a talking heads song, why the fuck would I have not heard their final albums?
Oh this is really emotionally unsatisfying and not very informative. Tension thick as pea soup and Spike Lee is not really holding it together very well. I always believe they should get together again even though people say , why should they go back, why go back? sometimes you got to do things that are uncomfortable for you in order to show gratitude to the fans. Without the fans they wouldn't have houses and cars and memories of joy and not this movie. Do something for the fans I always said to myself, even if it makes you unhappy. But after seeing this I wouldn't ask them to be in the same room together ever again. Really uncomfortable and just a really vacuous interview overall.
That’d be nice, but David is good doing his one thing. It’s the same Reason Roger Waters will never reunite with David Gilmour. He’s pretty well off on his own. Plus the old wounds could reopen and no one wants that. They seem to have settled after decades now and most likely they’ll leave as be. If you really want to see live TH songs, Jerry is currently on tour playing Remain in light. Idk when David’s next tour will come but he’s always active
That shouldn't reform because they don't want to. Byrne is in his 70's, and he's had a great career. His last live show was lauded everywhere. Why would he go back to Talking Heads? The issue is that some people want things to go on forever. We get "goodbye" tours that last four freaking years. Enough already! And you know the worst reason to tour? For the money.
@@MaterLacrymarum Well, he behaved like a passive-aggressive jerk, refusing to communicate with the band, so they had to read things he said in interviews. He was happy to take credit for everything, never mentioning Chris Tina & Jerry's contributions to the press, treating them like his backing band. When he finally walked out in 1991, they later decided to carry on as a trio calling themselves The Heads, and he sued them. That's a lot of disrespectful bullshit. Nothing much to thank him there for.
@@mrdave777 My biggest understanding was that he got (or took) a lot of the writing credits. I have read interviews that talk about how collaborative the song-writing process was, with Life During Wartime the main example, where Tina and Chris developed the original beat and riff. Then, David got the song-writing credit, but this was changed later. A lot of collaboration seemed to only benefit David. That is only my brief understanding of it.
i suspect that DB’s stage show and the re release of SMS will net the other 3 some payments, the latter especially a more equitable arrangement. otherwise, Chris and Tina would not be there at all. Jerry has been touring Remain in Light with Adrian Belew and others. so clearly theyve come to a business arrangement.
Spike Lee May be a great director…. But he’s a god-awful interviewer Jon De Demme ??? Huh??? Lee can’t even pronounce his name I’m pretty sure it’s Jonathon Demme….. NOT DE-DEMME Lee’s awkward pausing between question and though betrays early “old-man” syndrome …… his words ARE NOT FIRING at the same speed his brain thoughts are firing …….also repeating everything they answered ….”yes…..Bernie…..Bernie Worell” Lee says “ I’ll go on record…..” best Concert film We all know how many Gaffs Spike Lee has had when he “goes on record”
