Ratings6
Average rating3
Chris Frantz met David Byrne at the Rhode Island School of Art & Design in the early 1970s. Together - and soon with Frantz's future wife, Tina Weymouth - they formed Talking Heads and took up residence in the grimy environs of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where their neighbours were Patti Smith, William Burroughs and a host of proto-punk artists who now have legendary status. Building an early audience and reputation with many performances at CBGB alongside the Ramones, Television and Blondie, Talking Heads found themselves feted by Warhol and Lou Reed, and signed to Sire Records. A band whose sensibility was both a part of, and apart from, punk, their early albums quickly became classics; until the Brian Eno produced masterpiece Remain in Light, saw them explode. Soon, however, relations within the band started to become strained as David Byrne started to take control of a band that had always operated democratically. Chris and Tina started recording as Tom Tom Club in the early '80s; in the process creating a hybrid of funk, disco, pop, electro and world music that would have a huge impact on the club scene around the world. Warm and candid, funny and heartfelt, Remain in Light charts the rise and fall of a band who combined the sensibility of artists with extraordinary songwriting vision. It is another classic New York memoir in the mould of Patti Smith's Just Kids and a book which shares secrets and stories Talking Heads fans have been curious about for decades.
Reviews with the most likes.
An interesting look into a band that I'm not terribly familiar with but which held my attention nonetheless. Some of the anecdotes were only a few lines and the timeline bounced around a lot, but overall I enjoyed the style of storytelling and the ever present love for Tina in Chris's writing was lovely.