Stop Making Sense!

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• Music! Lots and lots of music.

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We have hit an interesting time in pop culture. The “Concert” film has made its way to center stage over the last few weeks.

We thought it would be a perfect time to discuss our favorite music films.

Not necessarily musicals, but movies where the center of the film is the music.

So let's get into Music Week!

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Written by Caleb Madden

The one thing I love more than movies is music. Music of all kinds. There is something deeply profound and moving about music. Through most of my life music has been the primary way I process events, emotions, and just about everything.

The other thing I love about music is seeing how different kinds of music influence other musicians. I love listening to my favorite musician’s favorite musician. So, when I heard we were doing concert films, I knew I had to do Stop Making Sense.

Psycho Killer

Stop Making Sense was recorded on the “Speaking in Tongues” tour by the Talking Heads. Trying to describe the Talking Heads is like trying to describe a Jackson Pollock painting. Impossible. The Talking Heads are the culmination of about 40 different genres of music into one. Strong strokes of rock, soul, funk, punk, pop, and even dashes of country. This amalgamation of style led them to be very avant-garde but also extremely influential. The Talking Heads influence can be felt in so many ways from Tyler Childers to Kendrick Lamar.

The real magic of the Talking Heads comes in the form of their front man David Byrne. Byrne is, in my speculation, one of, if not the best artists alive. Byrne oozes creativity. Not only is he a musician, he’s a filmmaker, physical artist, and just an overall wonderfully weird and eclectic person. Put all that energy with director Jonathan Demme and you get the greatest concert film of all time.

This Is Not My Beautiful Wife

At the start of Stop Making Sense, Byrne comes onto the stage and says to the Audience “Hi, I’ve got a tape I wanna play.” After that moment the show is all gas and no breaks with one of the best performances ever. The thing about Stop Making Sense is that you don’t have to be a big Talking Heads fan to enjoy this film. There is just an electricity that is captured in this movie that is indescribable. Every single person on stage is having the time of their life and you can tell. This energy makes for a movie that makes you want to get up and just absolutely cut a rug right there in the theater.

One Big Suit

At the end of the show Byrne emerges from backstage wearing a ridiculously large suit. There is no way to explain how hilarious this image is. David Byrne weighs all of 100 pounds and this suit is 3 times larger than he is. When you see it it’s hard not to burst out in laughter. Stop Making Sense is full of moments like this that either make you laugh, bring sheer awe, make you extremely confused, or, more likely, all three. This is why I think Stop Making Sense is so good. It disarms the viewer and allows you to experience music in its most raw form. It's as if the Talking Heads perform open heart surgery on your emotions. Every single time I watch this movie I am overwhelmed with a sense of complete and total joy. It’s magical.

Writers Note: A24 did a theatrical re-release of Stop Making Sense this year and if you can you should go watch it in theaters.

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