Talking Heads star David Byrne has opened up about the experience of seeing himself back in the iconic concert film. Stop making sense.
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The iconic band reunited for a Q&A session at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Comprised of Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz and guitarist Jerry Harrison, the band made their first public appearance together at the event in more than 20 years.
As announced in August, the long-awaited reunion was staged to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Talking Heads’ legendary concert film. Stop making sense (1984)
Now, in a new interview The New York Times, Byrne opened up about her appearance in the film, saying that seeing herself on screen and looking back now felt „removed” from the experience.
He explained: “It’s almost like I’m watching a character. I got a little carried away. I have elements of that person, but not all of them. It’s like, 'Oh, what do I have to do with what I’m watching?’
Asked if it was difficult to describe how he felt watching the film, Byrne replied: “Yes, it’s not just for me, it’s for all of us. A lot of people, scientists and philosophers, think about this more than I do: where is the difference between you and me? Here And Here And Here? Is there a continuous self?
„You can say that you’ve retained memories from different parts of your life, but memories are very malleable. We recall them every time. They’re not fixed. Every self you go through, you dig something up and match who you are at that moment.” It’s a difficult thing for us to intuitively accept the concept of „an illusion.”
He added that he didn’t feel any nostalgia at the time, reflecting on how he felt when he saw young and old fans responding so positively to the film’s recent re-release.
“I think some old Talking Heads fans went to watch Stop making sense – this new print – comes with a certain sense of nostalgia. They remember when they saw that tour or heard the band for the first time. So there it is, which is great, but what’s extraordinary is that now you have kids in their 20s and 30s and younger people who are going to see it and find their own meaning in it. It’s not like, 'Oh, this is Dad’s music.’
„Recently when I was doing press with the band, I think Jerry Harrison [Talking Heads guitarist] A lot of what we’ve done is very similar so it might be pointed out that it can be done to some extent. Lighting: Most of this you couldn’t have done in 1930. In the 80s there was nothing technological. It’s not rooted in a particular musical era.
Back in the summer, Harrison worked on the reissue Stop making sense Acted as somewhat of a „healing experience” for the talking heads.
Byrne recently admitted that he regrets the way the band broke up and that he was a „little tyrant” at the time. The singer expanded on the members’ current relationship, comparing their breakup to a „divorce.”
„We get along really well. It’s all very loving and whatever,” she said. „We are not all like the best of friends. But everyone is very happy to see this film coming out again.
„We’re all united in the fact that we really love what we do here, so it helps to talk and interact with each other.