Stop Making Sense: Same Greatness It Ever Was

Forty years ago, the band Talking Heads stood out as critical darlings who had also managed commercial success. Emerging from the NYC punk scene’s epicenter at CBGB’s and capturing a wide audience on early MTV, the band was emblematic of New Wave while existing at the intersection of other genres such as funk, punk, world music, and art rock . At the height of their popularity, as they toured on the 1983 album Speaking in Tongues, director Jonathan Demme filmed the band across four nights that December at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre. What he captured is widely considered one of the greatest concert films ever made, Stop Making Sense. Here’s why.

1. The Set Literally Builds

“Psycho Killer” (Uploaded to YouTube by Ato Lange)

For a live show, the set list is everything, but the actual physical set carries a lot of weight. The band pulled a brilliant trick in the film by actually building the physical set as the songs play in a particular order. The show starts just with lead singer David Byrne, playing guitar while accompanied by a tape player (really an unseen drum machine) and performing “Psycho Killer.” Over the next three songs, each additional member of the band joins the stage one by one (bassist Tina Weymouth, her husband and drummer Chris Frantz, and keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison). After the fourth song, a complete stage is built to also accommodate an expanded roster of backing musicians that includes guitarist Alex Weir, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, and back-up singers Ednah Holt and Lynn Mabry. This deliberately paced, clever introduction ramps up the anticipation of seeing the full band unveiled.

2. Light It Up

“Burning Down the House” (Uploaded to YouTube by A24)

At that point, it’s a stroke of genius for the band to dive into what was arguably their most popular song at the time, “Burning Down the House.” The combined forces rock out with abandon, and it pushes to audience reaction to another level. What makes it great is that everyone seems to be having the best time (to be fair, Chris Frantz pretty much smiles the entire show); when you take in the entire group, you can see Scales pulling faces in the camera, Weir energetically engaging with Byrne, Harrison having a ball with Holt and Mabry, and Weymouth pounding the keys while throwing a smile at her husband. Every concert set should have multiple peaks, and this is certainly one of those. It’s also notable as a number where Jerry Harrison is up front on guitar as opposed to in the back on keys.

3. There’s a War Goin’ On

“Life During Wartime” (Uploaded to YouTube by Kylar Stern)

Another inarguable pinnacle in the set is the performance of “Life During Wartime.” In recent years, this has become a staple segment for YouTube reactors to, well, react to, with people falling in love with the combustible energy on display. Aside from being one of the band’s best, and best-known, songs, it’s marked by the somewhat crazy sight of Holt, Mabry, Byrne, Weymouth, and Weir playing the song while running in place. That’s particularly difficult for Weymouth and Weir to do while continuing to play their guitars. Then the second chorus hits, and Byrne becomes something of a human stretchy toy with his choreography, acting like a rock and roll Mister Fantastic as he undulates through shapes that a human with bones shouldn’t be able to make. The song is capped off by Byrne running laps around the entire stage as the rest of the band brings it in for a landing. There are no lasers, pyro, special effects, shifting props, or screens, and yet it’s one of the most mesmerizing live performances on film.

4. Once in a Lifetime

“Once in a Lifetime” (Uploaded to YouTube by Ronald Rock)

Recreating the video for “Once in a Lifetime,” with its TV static and animated squiggly lines, would be impossible in a live setting. Instead, Byrne opts for donning the glasses he wears in the video and reinterprets his performance for the stage as the lights are frequently dimmed and then split with jagged strobes and flashes. It’s another arresting performance, putting all that suburban dissonance and paranoia in sharp relief. In a world full of concert movies, the way that the song is shot still doesn’t look quite like anything else.

5. A Genius Move and a Big Suit

“Genius of Love” (Uploaded to YouTube by DukeColo)

In 1981, Tina and Chris had a major hit, “Genius of Love,” with their side-project, Tom Tom Club. The song was a tribute to a host of Black funk, R&B, and reggae musicians and has been sampled countless times (most notably by Mariah Carey on “Fantasy” and Latto on “Big Energy”).  As Byrne needed time to change into his infamous Big Suit for the next number, the band decided to “become” Tom Tom Club while Byrne is off-stage. Frantz announces that Tom Tom Club is taking over, and Tina assumes her lead vocalist role for the tune. When they finish, Byrne comes out in the Big Suit for “Girlfriend Is Better,” the tune that contains the lyrics from which the film draws its name, “stop making sense.”

What a Day That Was

The overall and most important effect of Stop Making Sense is that it really represents the perfect encapsulation of a band at the height of their powers. The set and the set list are precisely constructed, the movement is well-considered, and the abandonment of any of the typical rock star stage dressing puts the focus squarely on performance. It’s an authentic document of how much talent and intelligence went into the music that they made.

In 1991, the band disbanded when Byrne left, embarking on a successful and varied solo career. Harrison, Weymouth, and Frantz continued for a few years as Shrunken Heads, then just The Heads. All three have been successful producers, and Tom Tom Club would continue. When the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, they reunited on stage for the only time, playing “Life During Wartime,” “Psycho Killer,” and “Burning Down the House.” Last year, the four did the festival and press circuit for the A24 theatrical re-release of Stop Making Sense ahead of the anniversary. Word got around in January of this year that the band declined an offer of $80 million to tour (including a Coachella performance). However, the cerebral band did stage a reunion of another type on October 15 of this year, dropping by Jeopardy via pre-recorded segments to introduce the answers in a Talking Heads category. Knowing that no new Talking Heads projects are on the horizon only reinforces the importance of Stop Making Sense as the only way to experience this deeply influential band at their peak.

Liner Notes

The original theatrical release comprises 16 songs. On the home video release, three additional songs (“Cities,” “Big Business,” “I Zimbra”) were included in sequence. In later releases, those three songs were removed from the main film again but could be seen in an unrestored version that was available as an extra track. The complete 19 song set list in original order is presented below.

1. Psycho Killer
2. Heaven
3. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
4. Found a Job
5. Slippery People
6. Cities
7. Burning Down the House
8. Life During Wartime
9. Making Flippy Floppy
10. Swamp
11. What a Day That Was
12. This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)
13. Once in a Lifetime
14. Big Business
15. I Zimbra
16. Genius of Love
17. Girlfriend Is Better
18. Take Me to the River
19. Crosseyed and Painless