David Byrne puts on the big suit once more for A24’s remastered release of Stop Making Sense
Jonathan Demme's legendary Talking Heads concert film will show in theaters worldwide
Music News Stop Making Sense
After working with A24 for the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, David Byrne is once again linking up with the production and distribution company for a restoration and wide theatrical rerelease of Talking Heads’ pivotal concert film, Stop Making Sense.
In the nostalgia-tinged promotion video, we see David Byrne pick up the trademark oversized suit from the dry cleaners nearly forty years the film’s original release. Byrne (who famously loves cycling) then takes the suit back home, and looks sharp as ever when putting the big suit back on.
In December 1983, Stop Making Sense was filmed by director Jonathan Demme (The Silence Of The Lambs) over the course of three nights at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theater. Those on stage included core band members Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison, as well as Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, and Edna Holt.
The concert film pioneered the use of 24-track digital recording, resulting in “extraordinarily clear” sound. Some would even dare say some of the live versions recorded during the concert are better than the studio-recorded tracks (for example: “Life During Wartime,” “Take Me To The River,” and Tom Tom Club’s rendition of “Genius Of Love”).
In the New York Times review of Stop Making Sense from 1984, Janet Maslin wrote, “The film’s visual style is as coolly iconoclastic as Talking Heads itself. Mr. Demme has captured both the look and the spirit of this live performance with a daring and precision that match the group’s own … It’s worth noting some of the things that are not to be found here: Screaming crowds, gaudy skintight costumes, candid scenes of the band members backstage. Talking Heads’ performance style is unlike anything that has ever been captured by a standard concert film, and Mr. Demme is very well attuned to the group’s eccentricities.”
She adds, “Stop Making Sense owes very little to the rock film-making formulas of the past. It may well help inspire those of the future.”
Paired with the 4K restoration, label Rhino is reissuing the soundtrack for digital and vinyl release on August 18, which will feature the Stop Making Sense concert in its entirety for the first time.
25 Comments
Take. A. Look. At. These. Hands.TAKEALOOKATTHESEHANDS!The hand typesThe hands of an A.V. Club manWell, I’m on TumblrBorn under KinjaI’m so fucked
Hmm, I’m not seeing the remastering detail very well – it looks the same as it ever was.
BOOOOO 🍅🍅🍅
oh for fucks sake….here’s your star
The suit is now CGI and Jonathan Demme shoots first.
Nothing is better than that! Is it?
Really? I think it looks fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-far better.
And you may ask yourself, why is this suit so largeYou may ask yourself, can this suit be taken in a littleYou may ask yourself, didn’t the store have any mirrors
These are not my beautiful comments!
My God! What have I typed?
Pro tip, Stop Making Sense on a projector screen with a good sound system is a quick easy dance party everyone from zoomers to boomers will get down to.
The few years I sang in a cover band, Life During Wartime was the song that consistently got people up to dance.
A24 is the best production company in Hollywood right now. Period. Hands Down.
The concert film pioneered the use of 24-track digital recording
[…]
label Rhino is reissuing the soundtrack for digital and vinyl releaselol
This was my first show at Red Rocks. There was a full moon rising over Denver, and I was on acid. Very good times.
While the versions of Life During Wartime and Take Me to the River from this film may be the best versions, the ultimate performance of Once in a Lifetime is of course this one.
Some of Animal’s most restrained drumming. He never gets the credit he deserves.
Forget the 4k remaster. I’ll pay $100 for a vinyl that eliminates all of Chris Frant’s vocals during Genius Of Love.
Yeah, I don’t know what this author is going on about, saying the live version is better than the studio one. SHUT UP CHRIS.
‘The ladies can do it to y’all!’ ‘JAMES BROOOOOOOWN [x10]’ Ugh
Will this get Scott and Scott to do one more episode of U Talking Talking Heads to my Talking Head?*I enjoyed the podcast a lot, but came away from it not really liking Talking Heads, which I don’t think was their intention…
Always remember that this is the baby boy who pinched a loaf on a hotel room bed because he didn’t like the way an interview was going.