Stop Making Sense
Encyclopedia
Stop Making Sense is a concert movie featuring Talking Heads
live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme
, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater
in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for being the first made entirely using digital audio techniques. The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The title comes from the lyrics of the song "Girlfriend is Better
": "As we get older and stop making sense...". The film has been hailed by Leonard Maltin
as "one of the greatest rock movies ever made."
's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(the movie trailer also makes references to Dr. Strangelove). Title designer Pablo Ferro
was responsible for both title sequences.
Lead singer David Byrne
walks on to a bare stage (seen from the feet only initially) with a portable cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar. He introduces "Psycho Killer
" by saying he wants to play a cassette tape, ostensibly from the boom box. In reality, the tick-tock drum machine
was a Roland TR-808
played from the mixing board. During the song, the drum machine "fires" machine gun riffs that causes Byrne to stagger "like Jean Paul Belmondo in the final minutes of' Breathless,' a hero succumbing, surprised, to violence that he'd thought he was prepared for."
With each successive song, Byrne is cumulatively joined onstage by each core member of the band: first by Tina Weymouth
for "Heaven
" (with Lynn Mabry
, originally of The Brides of Funkenstein
and Parliament-Funkadelic
, providing harmony vocals from backstage), second by Chris Frantz
for "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel", and third by Jerry Harrison
for "Found a Job". Performance equipment is gradually wheeled out and wired up to the bare stage between and throughout the performances, as Talking Heads continue to be augmented by several additional musicians, most of whom had extensive experience in funk
: back-up singers Mabry and Edna Holt, keyboardist Bernie Worrell
(formerly of Parliament-Funkadelic
), percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist
Alex Weir
(of The Brothers Johnson). The first song to feature the entire lineup is "Burning Down the House
", although the original 1985 RCA/Columbia Home Video release (which featured three additional songs in two performances edited into the film) has the entire band (minus Worrell) performing "Cities" before this song. Byrne also leaves the stage at one point, to allow the Weymouth–Frantz-led side-band the Tom Tom Club
to perform their song "Genius of Love
" (The 1999 re-release of the film featured alternate 'rap' lines by Chris Frantz to remove the cocaine reference, "snow white", featured in the original release).
The movie is also notable for Byrne's "big suit", an absurdly oversized business suit he dons late in the concert for the song "Girlfriend is Better" (whose lyrics give the movie its title). The suit was partly inspired by Noh
theatre styles, and became an icon not only of the film – as it appears on the DVD cover, for instance – but of Byrne himself. Pauline Kael
stated in her review: "When he comes on wearing a boxlike 'big suit' — his body lost inside this form that sticks out around him like the costumes in Noh plays, or like Beuys' large suit of felt that hangs of a wall — it's a perfect psychological fit."
This concert film is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre. Leonard Maltin
rated the film four stars out of four, describing it as "brilliantly conceived, shot, edited and performed" and "one of the greatest rock movies ever made." Roger Ebert
gave the film a three-and-a-half star rating, writing that "the impression throughout Stop Making Sense is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high...It's a live show with elements of Metropolis...But the film's peak moments come through Byrne's simple physical presence. He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music...He serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become." Danny Peary
described Stop Making Sense as "Riveting...What takes place on stage will make even the most skeptical into Talking Heads converts...[The] performances are invariably exciting, Byrne's lyrics are intriguing. Byrne, his head moving rhythmically as if he had just had shock treatments, is spellbinding - what a talent!...Byrne is known for his belief that music should be performed in an interesting, visual manner, and this should make him proud."
in Los Angeles
. Demme has stated that one night of shooting was dedicated almost entirely to wide shots from a distance, to minimize the intrusion of cameras on stage. Demme had considered additional shooting on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theater, but the band declined to do this, as they thought the lack of audience response would have hindered the energy of their performance.
This shooting practice has led to a number of interesting continuity errors, including Tina Weymouth's bass changing from a blue five-string to a brown Hofner
between shots, and a beach ball thrown toward stage that is never seen landing in the following shot. Others include minor instances of mismatched image and audio (notably, on "Found A Job," a cymbal is heard even though Chris Frantz is not seen hitting one; a few bars later, he hits a cymbal, but no cymbal is heard).
concert movies:
, Chris Frantz
, Jerry Harrison
, Tina Weymouth
, except as noted:
With bonus songs after the film, available only on DVD:
Not all songs from the show were featured in the film. For example, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
on August 3, 1983 and at Berkeley
on September 2, 1983, Talking Heads performed the following songs:
Set 1
Set 2
As "Life During Wartime" led to an intermission in the live shows, Byrne overdubbed the line "Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?" in the film's post-production, while he can be heard announcing the band taking a short break on the soundtrack album and hidden under the dubbed line in the original film and video release.
In addition, "Pull Up the Roots" was performed at the University of Vermont on October 1, 1983.
Some performances in the film were shortened in the editing stage. The "Cities" out-take removes one complete verse and chorus.
. It won the National Society of Film Critics
Award for best documentary in 1984.
The movie version of "Once in a Lifetime
" was released as a single and also appeared on the opening credits to the 1986 movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills
. Also, in Europe
, "Slippery People" became a big single, appearing on a single-disc greatest hits album released in 1991. Occasionally, radio stations will play the film's version of "Life During Wartime".
When the film was first released on home video, the songs "I Zimbra", "Big Business", and "Cities" were restored to the performance, thus forming what was dubbed as the "special edition" of the film. In the 1999 re-release, these songs were not part of the programme. Subsequent video and DVD releases have placed these after the film in an unrestored full-frame version.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
's 1989 music video for the title song
from the motion picture UHF
features brief clips of Yankovic as David Byrne in his 'big suit'. He also mimicked footage from Talking Heads original video for "Once In A Lifetime". Yankovic also uses the suit in live shows, when performing "Dog Eat Dog
", a Talking Heads style-parody.
On Saturday Night Live
on November 3, 1984, Rich Hall appeared in an "SNL Fashion Report" wearing the big suit and parodying "Once In A Lifetime" and "Life During Wartime".
The 18th episode of the 14th season of The Simpsons
, "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
," starred Byrne as himself, and at one point in the episode, he dons the big suit once again, this time with Homer Simpson
in it with him.
The film is currently available on Blu-ray, widescreen
DVD, and VHS in both fullscreen
and widescreen
versions.
In Barry Levinson's film, An Everlasting Piece (2000), Colm and Bronagh go to see Stop Making Sense where local Protestants force them to stay and honor the playing of "God Save the Queen" after the credits.
In an episode of the children's TV show Doug
, Doug fantasizes about being in a rock band and wearing an over-size suit on stage, a reference to the big suit worn by Byrne.
The big suit is one of the 1980s formal costumes in the PC game The Movies
.
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater
Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)
The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine , Hollywood, California, USA. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages...
in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for being the first made entirely using digital audio techniques. The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The title comes from the lyrics of the song "Girlfriend is Better
Girlfriend Is Better
"Girlfriend Is Better" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues. The song's single version was a live version from the soundtrack of their concert film Stop Making Sense....
": "As we get older and stop making sense...". The film has been hailed by Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
as "one of the greatest rock movies ever made."
The movie
The movie begins with the opening credits, using a style similar to Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling...
(the movie trailer also makes references to Dr. Strangelove). Title designer Pablo Ferro
Pablo Ferro
Pablo Ferro is a graphic designer and film titles designer.Born in Antilla, Oriente Province, Cuba, he was raised on a remote farm until emigrating to New York with his family as a teen.- Education :...
was responsible for both title sequences.
Lead singer David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
walks on to a bare stage (seen from the feet only initially) with a portable cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar. He introduces "Psycho Killer
Psycho Killer
"Psycho Killer" is a song by American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Allmusic calls it a...
" by saying he wants to play a cassette tape, ostensibly from the boom box. In reality, the tick-tock drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
was a Roland TR-808
Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines . Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real...
played from the mixing board. During the song, the drum machine "fires" machine gun riffs that causes Byrne to stagger "like Jean Paul Belmondo in the final minutes of
With each successive song, Byrne is cumulatively joined onstage by each core member of the band: first by Tina Weymouth
Tina Weymouth
Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
for "Heaven
Heaven (Talking Heads song)
"Heaven" is a song by the American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1979 album Fear of Music.- Cover versions :*k.d. lang recorded her version of this song with The Siss Boom Bang for their 2011 album Sing It Loud...
" (with Lynn Mabry
Lynn Mabry
Lynn Mabry is an American vocalist. She got her start in Sly and the Family Stone, along with Dawn Silva. In 1977 she joined P-Funk . The following year Mabry and Silva became the original Brides Of Funkenstein, releasing their first album Funk Or Walk. Lynn became pregnant and left the band in 1979...
, originally of The Brides of Funkenstein
The Brides of Funkenstein
The Brides of Funkenstein was a funk musical group originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.-History:Previously background singers for Sly Stone, Mabry and Silva joined the P-Funk collective in the mid-1970s. George Clinton named the group...
and Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
, providing harmony vocals from backstage), second by Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
for "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel", and third by Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
for "Found a Job". Performance equipment is gradually wheeled out and wired up to the bare stage between and throughout the performances, as Talking Heads continue to be augmented by several additional musicians, most of whom had extensive experience in funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
: back-up singers Mabry and Edna Holt, keyboardist Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
(formerly of Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
), percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Alex Weir
Alex Weir
Alex Weir is an American guitarist, who has worked with both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club on their albums, and in concert. He appears in the critically praised 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense. Prior to this he worked with The Brothers Johnson, with whom he is a cousin...
(of The Brothers Johnson). The first song to feature the entire lineup is "Burning Down the House
Burning Down the House
"Burning Down the House" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues.-Background:...
", although the original 1985 RCA/Columbia Home Video release (which featured three additional songs in two performances edited into the film) has the entire band (minus Worrell) performing "Cities" before this song. Byrne also leaves the stage at one point, to allow the Weymouth–Frantz-led side-band the Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
to perform their song "Genius of Love
Genius of Love
"Genius of Love" is a 1981 song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album.-Song:"Genius of Love" was Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records's UK, at which point...
" (The 1999 re-release of the film featured alternate 'rap' lines by Chris Frantz to remove the cocaine reference, "snow white", featured in the original release).
The movie is also notable for Byrne's "big suit", an absurdly oversized business suit he dons late in the concert for the song "Girlfriend is Better" (whose lyrics give the movie its title). The suit was partly inspired by Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
theatre styles, and became an icon not only of the film – as it appears on the DVD cover, for instance – but of Byrne himself. Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
stated in her review: "When he comes on wearing a boxlike 'big suit' — his body lost inside this form that sticks out around him like the costumes in Noh plays, or like Beuys' large suit of felt that hangs of a wall — it's a perfect psychological fit."
This concert film is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre. Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
rated the film four stars out of four, describing it as "brilliantly conceived, shot, edited and performed" and "one of the greatest rock movies ever made." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film a three-and-a-half star rating, writing that "the impression throughout Stop Making Sense is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high...It's a live show with elements of Metropolis...But the film's peak moments come through Byrne's simple physical presence. He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music...He serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become." Danny Peary
Danny Peary
Danny Peary is an American film critic and sports writer. He has written many books on cinema and sports-related topics.-Biography:...
described Stop Making Sense as "Riveting...What takes place on stage will make even the most skeptical into Talking Heads converts...[The] performances are invariably exciting, Byrne's lyrics are intriguing. Byrne, his head moving rhythmically as if he had just had shock treatments, is spellbinding - what a talent!...Byrne is known for his belief that music should be performed in an interesting, visual manner, and this should make him proud."
Shooting
Shooting of Stop Making Sense spanned three live shows at the Pantages TheaterPantages Theatre (Hollywood)
The Pantages Theatre, formerly known as RKO Pantages Theatre, is located at Hollywood and Vine , Hollywood, California, USA. Designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, it was the last theater built by the vaudeville impresario Alexander Pantages...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Demme has stated that one night of shooting was dedicated almost entirely to wide shots from a distance, to minimize the intrusion of cameras on stage. Demme had considered additional shooting on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theater, but the band declined to do this, as they thought the lack of audience response would have hindered the energy of their performance.
This shooting practice has led to a number of interesting continuity errors, including Tina Weymouth's bass changing from a blue five-string to a brown Hofner
Höfner
Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments....
between shots, and a beach ball thrown toward stage that is never seen landing in the following shot. Others include minor instances of mismatched image and audio (notably, on "Found A Job," a cymbal is heard even though Chris Frantz is not seen hitting one; a few bars later, he hits a cymbal, but no cymbal is heard).
Innovations
The movie is notably different from many other rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
concert movies:
- It contains very few audience shots (and applause sounds are much less audible than usual) until the very end, during the performance of "Crosseyed and Painless." According to David ByrneDavid Byrne (musician)David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
's comments on the DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary, this is intended to enable the viewer to form their own opinion about the performance, which he hoped would be confirmed by the end sequence. The only other time the audience appears on film is during wide shots and whenever the camera is at the back of the stage. - Byrne wanted no colored lights to illuminate the performers. This led to some unusual lighting methods being used for each song.
- Byrne wanted as few distractions as possible onstage. Water bottles were not allowed, and most props were painted with a black matte to avoid reflecting light. An example of this are the Shure SM58 microphones used by Byrne and the other vocalists; the normally silver ball grilles have been replaced with matte black ones. Similarly, the labelling on the Prophet 5 and EmulatorE-mu EmulatorThe Emulator is the name given to a series of disk-based digital sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size,...
synthesizers were removed or obscured. - Unlike many concert films and videos which use "MTV-style" quick-cut editing techniques, much of Stop Making Sense uses lengthy camera shots to allow the viewer to examine the performances and onstage interaction. There are no close-ups of musicians performing guitar solos, rather full-figure or upper-body shots. The performance of "Once In A Lifetime" memorably consists of a single chiaroscuroChiaroscuroChiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
shot of Byrne performing his famous moves for the song for just over 75% of the duration. - During many songs, especially early on, no attempt is made to hide or de-emphasize stage crew manipulating set pieces, bringing them on or off and setting them up, and at the end of the film Byrne invites the stage crew out to thank them to audience applause.
Set list
All songs in the set list as it follows are written by David ByrneDavid Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
, Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz
Chris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
, Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
, Tina Weymouth
Tina Weymouth
Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
, except as noted:
- "Psycho KillerPsycho Killer"Psycho Killer" is a song by American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Allmusic calls it a...
" (Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth) - "HeavenHeaven (Talking Heads song)"Heaven" is a song by the American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1979 album Fear of Music.- Cover versions :*k.d. lang recorded her version of this song with The Siss Boom Bang for their 2011 album Sing It Loud...
" (Byrne, Harrison) - "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" (Byrne)
- "Found a Job" (Byrne)
- "Slippery People"
- "Burning Down the HouseBurning Down the House"Burning Down the House" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues.-Background:...
" - "Life During WartimeLife During Wartime (song)"Life During Wartime" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their 1979 album Fear of Music in 1979. It peaked at #80 on the US Billboard Pop Singles Chart....
" - "Making Flippy Floppy"
- "Swamp"
- "What a Day That Was" (Byrne)
- "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"This Must Be the Place " is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their fifth album Speaking in Tongues...
" - "Once in a LifetimeOnce in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Remain in Light. The song was written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth, and produced by Eno...
" (Byrne, Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) - "Genius of LoveGenius of Love"Genius of Love" is a 1981 song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album.-Song:"Genius of Love" was Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records's UK, at which point...
" (as Tom Tom ClubTom Tom ClubTom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
) (Weymouth, Frantz, Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
, Steven StanleySteven StanleySteven J. C. Stanley , is a Jamaican audio engineer, record producer and keyboardist who has worked in the reggae, dub and rock music genres since 1975, most notably with Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and Black Uhuru....
) - "Girlfriend is Better"
- "Take Me to the RiverTake Me to the River"Take Me to the River" is a 1974 song written by singer Al Green and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges. Hit versions were recorded by both Syl Johnson and Talking Heads...
" (Al GreenAl GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges) - "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth)
With bonus songs after the film, available only on DVD:
- "Big Business" (Byrne, John Chernoff)/"I ZimbraI Zimbra"I Zimbra" is a song by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their 1979 album Fear of Music.The song's lyrics are an adaptation of Dadaist Hugo Ball's poem "Gadji beri bimba."-Lyrics:The lyrics contain these lines:...
" (Byrne, Eno, Hugo BallHugo BallHugo Ball was a German author, poet and one of the leading Dada artists.Hugo Ball was born in Pirmasens, Germany and was raised in a middle-class Catholic family. He studied sociology and philosophy at the universities of Munich and Heidelberg...
) - "Cities" (Byrne)
Not all songs from the show were featured in the film. For example, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...
on August 3, 1983 and at Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
on September 2, 1983, Talking Heads performed the following songs:
Set 1
- "Psycho Killer"
- "Heaven"
- "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel"
- "Love → Building on Fire" (Love Goes to Building on Fire)
- "The Book I Read"
- "Slippery People"
- "Cities"
- "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)"
- "Burning Down the House"
- "Life During Wartime"
Set 2
- "Making Flippy Floppy"
- "Swamp"
- "What a Day That Was"
- "This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody)"
- "Once in a Lifetime"
- "Big Business / I Zimbra"
- "Houses in Motion"
- "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to TownUh-Oh, Love Comes to Town"Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" is the name of a song released by Talking Heads, from their 1977 debut album Talking Heads: 77. With a funky bassline and the use of steel drums, this song has more of a pop groove to it and noticeably differs from the rest of the songs on the album...
" - "Genius of Love" (as Tom Tom ClubTom Tom ClubTom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
) - "Girlfriend Is Better"
- "Take Me to the River"
- "Crosseyed and Painless"
As "Life During Wartime" led to an intermission in the live shows, Byrne overdubbed the line "Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?" in the film's post-production, while he can be heard announcing the band taking a short break on the soundtrack album and hidden under the dubbed line in the original film and video release.
In addition, "Pull Up the Roots" was performed at the University of Vermont on October 1, 1983.
Some performances in the film were shortened in the editing stage. The "Cities" out-take removes one complete verse and chorus.
Reviews and cultural influence
Stop Making Sense was very well-received by critics, maintaining a 97% "fresh" score at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. It won the National Society of Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
Award for best documentary in 1984.
The movie version of "Once in a Lifetime
Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)
"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Remain in Light. The song was written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth, and produced by Eno...
" was released as a single and also appeared on the opening credits to the 1986 movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Down and Out in Beverly Hills is a 1986 American comedy film based on the French play Boudu sauvé des eaux, which had previously been adapted on film in 1932 by Jean Renoir. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was directed by Paul Mazursky, and starred Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss...
. Also, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, "Slippery People" became a big single, appearing on a single-disc greatest hits album released in 1991. Occasionally, radio stations will play the film's version of "Life During Wartime".
When the film was first released on home video, the songs "I Zimbra", "Big Business", and "Cities" were restored to the performance, thus forming what was dubbed as the "special edition" of the film. In the 1999 re-release, these songs were not part of the programme. Subsequent video and DVD releases have placed these after the film in an unrestored full-frame version.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's 1989 music video for the title song
UHF (song)
"UHF" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic in the key of E major and based on several different riffs. It is the theme song from the film UHF. It is a style parody of themes that are played to advertise television stations...
from the motion picture UHF
UHF (film)
UHF is a 1989 American comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Bowe, Fran Drescher, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary, Emo Philips and Trinidad Silva, in whose memory the film is dedicated.The title refers to Ultra High Frequency...
features brief clips of Yankovic as David Byrne in his 'big suit'. He also mimicked footage from Talking Heads original video for "Once In A Lifetime". Yankovic also uses the suit in live shows, when performing "Dog Eat Dog
Polka Party!
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1986. The album is the third of Yankovic's to be produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer...
", a Talking Heads style-parody.
On Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
on November 3, 1984, Rich Hall appeared in an "SNL Fashion Report" wearing the big suit and parodying "Once In A Lifetime" and "Life During Wartime".
The 18th episode of the 14th season of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
Dude, Where's My Ranch?
"Dude, Where's My Ranch?" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on April 27, 2003. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and was the first episode directed by Chris Clements.-Plot:...
," starred Byrne as himself, and at one point in the episode, he dons the big suit once again, this time with Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
in it with him.
The film is currently available on Blu-ray, widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
DVD, and VHS in both fullscreen
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
and widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
versions.
In Barry Levinson's film, An Everlasting Piece (2000), Colm and Bronagh go to see Stop Making Sense where local Protestants force them to stay and honor the playing of "God Save the Queen" after the credits.
In an episode of the children's TV show Doug
Doug
Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and co-produced by his studio, Jumbo Pictures . Doug centers on the surreal and imaginative exploits of its title character, Douglas "Doug" Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending middle school. The series lampoons...
, Doug fantasizes about being in a rock band and wearing an over-size suit on stage, a reference to the big suit worn by Byrne.
The big suit is one of the 1980s formal costumes in the PC game The Movies
The Movies
The Movies is a business simulation game created by Lionhead Studios for Microsoft Windows and subsequently ported to Mac OS X by Feral Interactive. It was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, and November 11, 2005 in Europe after reaching gold status on October 8, 2005...
.
External links
- Stop Making Sense at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Stop Making Sense at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Stop Making Sense Hi-def Blu-ray Disc review at HD Report
- LA Weekly interview with Jonathan Demme on the making of Stop Making Sense