Skip to main content

How Music Works by David Byrne


Front Cover



Music makes people dance and this is one reason why I have always loved listening and playing music from a young child until now.  Yet, there is many truths and ideas about how music happens both in history and in record making that I don't understand.  David Byrne, in his new book, How Music Works, takes us on a journey inside both the background of music from long ago to present but also gives us the lowdown on how the music industry works, both behind the scenes and in promotion and advertising.  Collaborating with the Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and others, David has experienced the highs and lows of music in all its forms, from jazz to rock, soul to publishing.

One of the most astonishing features early on in the book was Byrne's understanding of symphonic and classical music went from an all-inclusive event with much response from the audience to a more peaceful and immobile activity from the audience.  He writes,"With classical music, not only did the venues change, but the behavior of the audience did, too.  Around 1900, according to music critic Alex Ross, classical audiences were no longer allowed to shout, eat, and chat, during a performance.  One was expected to sit immobile and listen with rapt attention." (12).  The early times of raucous affairs of shouting and verbally responding back to way the music made one feel were gone, and now symphonies were affairs for the well-dressed and quiet ticket holders.

David recounts his time with the Talking Heads as providing but some amusement and some weirdness.  He writes, "After auditioning at CBGB one afternoon for Hilly Krystal, the club's owner and a few others, Talking Heads got offered a slot opening up for the Ramones.  As twitchy and Aspergery a stage presence as I was in those days, I had a sense...that I could hold an audience's attention." (43).  Learning to play different textures in their music, the band continued touring in Europe with a kind of art band, half funky groove band.  The clothing attire was a mismatch and at time downright odd, but it seemed to work for The Talking Heads.

I really enjoyed this book, part history of music, part autobiographical in all its various parts.
Thanks to Blogging for Books for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to