{"id":169215,"date":"2020-11-06T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/?p=169215"},"modified":"2024-01-25T00:03:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:03:18","slug":"american-utopia-living-in-a-world-that-has-stopped-making-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvobsessive.com\/2020\/11\/06\/american-utopia-living-in-a-world-that-has-stopped-making-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"American Utopia: Living in a World That Has Stopped Making Sense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making sense of the world is one of the defining themes of David Byrne<\/a>\u2019s music. Lyrics explicitly talk about things making or not making sense appear in his Talking Heads songs \u201cMaking Flippy Floppy,\u201d \u201cGirlfriend is Better,\u201d and \u201cHere\u201d from the <\/span>American Utopia<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0studio album. Sometimes, as Byrne recounts during the show, he examines the idea of sense and meaning in different ways, like in the song \u201cI Zimbra,\u201d which intentionally uses nonsense lyrics. <\/span><\/p>\n

Byrne’s new concert film on HBO Max, directed by Spike Lee, documents his Broadway show also called <\/span>American Utopia<\/span><\/i>, is the latest attempt to try to make sense of some pretty big things: himself, America, and the human condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Byrne frames the show in his first monologue, which follows the opening song \u201cHere.\u201d While holding a plastic model of a brain, Byrne recounts that he had recently read that \u201cbaby\u2019s brains have hundreds of millions more neural connections than we do as adults and that as we grow up, we lose these connections […] What happens is we keep the connections that are useful to us, and yes, there is a process of pruning and elimination and we get rid of a lot of the others. Until the ones that are left define who we are as a person, who we are as people, they define how we perceive the world, and the world seems to make some sort of sense to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Despite the title, only half of the songs from the original studio album make it into the Broadway show [1], with the others coming from Byrne\u2019s Talking Heads and solo catalog. In general, the \u201chits\u201d\u2014”This Must Be the Place (Na\u00efve Melody),\u201d <\/span>“Slippery People,” “Once in a Lifetime,” “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On),” and “Burning Down the House”<\/span>\u2014are relatively straightforward performances. However, I can\u2019t help but think of the revolutionary implications of performing \u201cBurning Down the House\u201d in the context of a political concert. <\/span><\/p>\n

The lesser-known songs, including the ones from the <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>studio album, are generally more uniquely staged: \u201cI Dance Like This\u201d starts with the performers laying on the ground as if shot and ends with strobe lights, <\/span>“I Should Watch TV” (originally from <\/span>Love This Giant<\/span><\/i>) begins with a cathode tube television lighting effect and a includes a backdrop image of Colin Kaepernick, \u201cBlind\u201d is lit by harsh yellowish light, and \u201cBullet\u201d recalls the staging of <\/span>“This Must Be the Place (Na\u00efve Melody)\u201d in <\/span>Stop Making Sense <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>1984<\/span>, directed by Jonathan Demme) <\/span>by being lit by a single work light lamp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most powerful song in the show is undoubtedly “<\/span>Hell You Talmbout<\/span><\/a>\u201d which Byrne covers from Janelle Mon\u00e1e. The song is simple in structure: the musicians sing \u201chell you talmbout,\u201d and then say the names of victims of police violence, accompanied by chants of \u201csay his\/her\u201d name. Pictures of the victims accompany each name that is chanted, often held by their family members. I suspect that the images were one of Spike Lee\u2019s contributions, as it is similar to the end of <\/span>Malcolm X<\/span><\/i>, where school children stand up and declare \u201c<\/span>I am Malcolm X<\/span><\/a>\u201d into the camera.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photograph<\/p>\n

Whether it wants to or not, the film demands comparisons to Byrne\u2019s <\/span>other <\/span><\/i>concert film, the legendary <\/span>Stop Making Sense<\/span><\/i> that was produced while he was still with Talking Heads. It is widely considered to be <\/span>among the greatest concert films of all time<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Stop Making Sense <\/span><\/i>is electrifying and infectious, with Byrne at points sprinting around the stage. <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>emanates much different energy\u2014more confessional and stripped-down. The two shows are both joyful, but they are different kinds of joy: <\/span>Stop Making Sense <\/span><\/i>is an exuberant joy that comes with performing at a high level and enjoying what you do, while <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>is the joy of community and hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

American Utopia<\/span><\/i> also has a different shot vocabulary than <\/span>Stop Making Sense.<\/span><\/i> The introduction of god\u2019s eye overhead shots, shots of the audience through the band, and\u2014while I don\u2019t have a full accounting of selection\u2014it seems to depend more on wide angles than closeups. Paradoxically, the shot vocabularies of the respective films contrast with each concerts treatment of space. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where <\/span>Stop Making Sense <\/span><\/i>featured a sprawling setup across the entirety of a large open stage, <\/span>American Utopia<\/span><\/i>\u2019s design is sparse. Musicians maneuvere within a much smaller frame in \u201ccurtains\u201d formed by dangling chains while carrying their instruments. <\/span>American Utopia<\/span><\/i>\u2019s treatment of space contributes to the more intimate nature of the show, while its shot selection highlights and elevates the other performers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The audience plays a much different role in <\/span>American Utopia<\/span><\/i> than in <\/span>Stop Making Sense<\/span><\/i>. The audience is peripheral in <\/span>Stop Making Sense<\/span><\/i>\u2014there are few shots of them and they are only rarely addressed. While the audience helps to provide atmosphere and stimulate the musicians, I don\u2019t think it would have been a fundamentally different film if the band had performed in front of an empty theater: the focus is on the musicians. On the other hand, <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>is virtually unimaginable without an audience\u2014Byrne addresses them between most of the songs, there are frequent shots of them from the stage, and the show ends with Byrne and the band marching through them. Byrne even admits to intentionally deemphasizing the production elements to put more emphasis on the performers and welcome the audience into the production, saying:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I started to think about the show, I realized that, well, what we humans like looking at the most is, yeah, other humans […] So I thought about the show and wondered, \u2018what if we could eliminate everything from the stage except the stuff we care about the most? What would be left?\u2019 Well, it would be us, us and you, and that\u2019s what the show is.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The involvement of the audience reflects the broader aims of the films: where <\/span>Stop Making Sense<\/span><\/i> is a film about the Talking Heads, <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>is about everyone. To paraphrase \u201cRoad to Nowhere,\u201d which closes the show, Byrne is asking the audience—both in the theater and watching at home—to come along and help him sing the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

I felt a true catharsis watching and listening to the final song of the show, \u201cRoad to Nowhere.\u201d Byrne <\/span>said of the song<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>“I wanted to write a song that presented a resigned, even joyful look at doom.\u201d This quote reminded me of a similar sentiment from the band Green Day, who said that of <\/span>their recent album<\/span><\/a> \u201cthe best stuff takes your hand and helps you dance through the apocalypse.\u201d<\/span> The juxtaposition of light and dark, joy and doom, dancing and apocalypse, is most evident in the songs from the <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>studio album. <\/span><\/p>\n

The seemingly cheerful \u201cEvery Day is a Miracle\u201d features the lyrics \u201cEvery day is an unpaid bill\/You’ve got to sing for your supper.\u201d It describes how little the universe cares about the accomplishments and activities of humanity; \u201cCockroach might eat Mona Lisa\/The Pope don’t mean shit to a dog\/And elephants don’t read newspapers). In \u201cI Dance Like This,\u201d Byrne contrasts the peaceful verse with science fiction and dystopian lyrics, “In another dimension\/Like the clothes that you wear\/A mighty mighty battle\/Sproutin’ illegal hair\/A fitness consultant\/In the negative zone\/Wandering the city\/Looking for a home” and an aggressive chorus. <\/span><\/p>\n

Byrne addresses the opportunities these incongruous songs present for radically different interpretations without changing the songs by recounting a performance he saw of \u201cEverybody\u2019s Coming To My House\u201d by a high school choir. Byrne\u2019s version is about losing your sense of control and familiarity in a place that you used to feel comfortable, “Everybody’s coming to my house\/I’m never gonna be alone\/and they’re never gonna go back home”, as you would if you had an uninvited guest that you couldn\u2019t get to go away. It’s something that many people felt after the 2016 election, myself included. However, Byrne recounts that the high school choir\u2019s version \u201cseems to be about welcome, inviting people over, inclusion.\u201d Where the singer in Byrne\u2019s performance longs to reclaim control, the high school choir uses the song to celebrate the joy of being with other people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing this essay before the election, but it won\u2019t be published until after voting has stopped\u2014whether that means we\u2019ll know the outcome or not by that time is another story. Like many people, 2020 has felt like an apocalyptic year to me, compounded by growing anxiety as the election approaches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I wonder if <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>will affect me differently in a post-Trump world, whether that world is months away or years. Many of the issues that Byrne examines\u2014gun violence, police brutality, poverty, and immigration, to name a few\u2014will be with us for a long time, but the way things are now, any chances for even marginal improvement feel like they\u2019re a lifetime away. Hearing Byrne and the show\u2019s cast sing about humanity in an inhumane time is cathartic and inspiring. I hope that <\/span>American Utopia <\/span><\/i>continues to fill me with the same feelings of hope, unity, determination, and curiosity as it does now, no matter the outcome of the election.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1] Amusingly considering the Spike Lee connection, \u201cDoing the Right Thing\u201d is one of the omitted songs. Also missing, \u201cMaking Flippy Floppy\u201d from the Talking Heads album <\/span>Speaking in Tongues<\/span><\/i>, featuring the timely but maybe on-the-nose lyrics \u201cOur president\u2019s crazy\/Did you hear what he said?\u201d<\/span> \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making sense of the world is one of the defining themes of David Byrne\u2019s music. Lyrics explicitly talk about things making or not making sense appear in his Talking Heads songs \u201cMaking Flippy Floppy,\u201d \u201cGirlfriend is Better,\u201d and \u201cHere\u201d from the American Utopia\u00a0studio album. Sometimes, as Byrne recounts during the show, he examines the idea […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":318,"featured_media":169242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6158],"tags":[8626],"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Utopia: Living in a World That Has Stopped Making Sense | Page 5 of 9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Byrne's new concert film American Utopia on HBO Max, directed by Spike Lee, documents his Broadway show and making sense of the USA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tvobsessive.com\/2020\/11\/06\/american-utopia-living-in-a-world-that-has-stopped-making-sense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"American 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