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How Music Works

David Byrne (Goodreads Author)

3.96 · Rating details · 17,470 ratings · 1,090 reviews

Best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the iconic band Talking Heads, David Byrne has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the insightful How Music Works, Byrne offers his unique perspective on music - including how music is shaped by time, how recording technologies transform the ...more

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Hardcover, 345 pages

Published September 12th 2012 by McSweeney's (first published 2012)

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May 26, 2015 Darwin8u rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015

“But at times words can be a dangerous addition to music — they can pin it down. Words imply that the music is about what the words say, literally, and nothing more...
― David Byrne, How Music Works

description

...If done poorly, they can destroy the pleasant ambiguity that constitutes much of the reason we love music. That ambiguity allows listeners to psychologically tailor a song to suit their needs, sensibilities, and situations, but words can limit that, too. There are plenty of beautiful tracks that I can’t listen to because they’ve been “ruined” by bad words — my own and others. In Beyonce's song "Irreplaceable," she rhymes "minute" with "minute," and I cringe every time I hear it (partly because by that point I'm singing along). On my own song "Astronaut," I wrap up with the line "feel like I'm an astronaut," which seems like the dumbest metaphor for alienation ever. Ugh.”
― David Byrne, How Music Works

Like several nonfiction books I've read lately, my big complaint is I wish he just gave us more, dug a bit deeper, and perhaps hired a better editor. I like that the book was infused with his own populist, funky, musical biases. It seemed casual. Like talking to a really open person who isn't trying to hide or pull the shades on his own past. He didn't shy away from his own mistakes and his own life. He used Talking Heads and his own albums as examples of the different ways music can be done and sold. His interests allow this book to move from punk to African music to soundtracks, etc.

One of my favorite themes of Byrne's reminded me of the last book I read (The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction). David Byrne seemed passionate about not just music alone, but music's place in our social networks. How music is both a communication with others and reflective of our community. In his more zen moments he even rambles on about the music of the Universe, etc. Byrne's biases were occasionally annoying. He did seem to carry a pretty large dark spot right on-top of classic music's basic repertoire. His politics, or musical reactions to politics, also seems a bit naïve. But all is forgiven, in the end. This is a guy who is not afraid to put himself WAY out there, describe the scene as he sees it, and figure out a way to make the people around him want to dance. And THAT I guess says a lot and hides a multitude of minor sins as we dance into the darkness. ...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, music

David Byrne is our great charlatan. He stands up there twitching and tweaking and exhorting, like an amateur weatherman who thinks too much about his hands. Like a caricature of an amateur weatherman. Like a snake oil salesman. He speaks in tongues. "You may tell yourself, 'This is not my beautiful wife,'" he suggests insidiously. "Take a look at these hands. I’m a tumbler." Behind him the Talking Heads hijack Afropop, hip hop, funk. They are extremely funky. Years before Graceland, the Heads we ...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Loring Wirbel rated it it was amazing

I approached Byrne's latest with a little trepidation, due to a less than stellar NY Times review, and due to the number of people in the music industry (notably his own former bandmates in Talking Heads) who feel somewhat mistreated by Byrne. I was ready to read something that might be a bit arrogant, but was pleasantly surprised to read a folksy, fun, and exuberantly-written series of essays about how the 21st-century music industry operates, how the disappearance of the physical artifact (CD I approached Byrne's latest with a little trepidation, due to a less than stellar NY Times review, and due to the number of people in the music industry (notably his own former bandmates in Talking Heads) who feel somewhat mistreated by Byrne. I was ready to read something that might be a bit arrogant, but was pleasantly surprised to read a folksy, fun, and exuberantly-written series of essays about how the 21st-century music industry operates, how the disappearance of the physical artifact (CD or LP) will affect that industry, and how the arguments over how live and recorded music should be presented, processed, and marketed have antecedents stretching back into the 19th century.

There are aspects of arrangement of the book's material, and how certain material is presented, that would be less than optimal from my own point of view, but Byrne scores enough grand-slam home runs to merit this book an easy five-star ranking. He approaches some topics with a detached and Zen air that will drive some passionate music lovers crazy, but that is sort of Byrne's point. And his conclusions are usually ones I agree with.

Byrne really is trying to write two books, interspersing dual narratives. He is writing about the history of live performance and the advent of music recording a century ago, and he also wants to provide a partial memoir of his own work with Talking Heads, and as a solo artist. For the latter task, he elected to break the story up into live-performance history, recording-studio history, and scene-making (CBGBs, primarily) history. This may be a little maddening for those who want to sort out a linear history of Talking Heads, but it allows his memoir material to dovetail with his analytical material more effectively. (It also makes it easier for him to avoid talking frankly about how his collaborations with others sometimes dissolved in anger and recrimination - I will give Byrne points for quoting Pitchfork that "Byrne will collaborate with a bag of Doritos," and for titling a subsection "Plays Well with Others" - but he doesn't speak frankly enough about why he sometimes flunked the plays-well-with-others report card).

When talking about the Edison/Victrola recorded device wars of the early 20th century, he shows that the dispute between CD and LP fans over which medium sounds "warmer" is nothing new at all, but decades old. In analyzing the sound qualities of the cathedral and the juke joint, he shows how decisions about the musical instruments to use, the timbre, volume, and pitch, had everything to do with the performance space. In so doing, Byrne utterly rejects the idea that there is a "high art" (symphony hall, opera theater) vs. "low art" (barn dance or Irish pub) distinction to be made - in fact, he rejects the concept that there is "evolution" in music at all (except for the addition of electronic representation), insisting instead that there is only an ebb and flow. The African drum circle is as advanced as Stockhausen, in Byrne's eyes.

This struggle for egalitarian ears and a sense that "it's all good" may outrage some musical purists. Byrne admits that lossy compression such as MP3 has made consumers "crappier listeners," but then goes on to say that the result certainly isn't as bad as the 1960s transitor-radio sound, and that many people may make emotional attachments to music they hear in MP3 format. Similarly, he says that the tendency to initially sample musical phrases and later sample entire musical instrument sound libraries, may lead to vast archives of electronic music made entirely from a laptop, with no "real" musical instrument present. This can outrage traditional musicians, he says, but also allows a flexibility in the portfolios of Girl Talk, DangerMau5, etc. (though it may make it harder for the latter breed of musician to perform in a "live" concert).

What Byrne most adamantly rejects is the notion that a musician or a recording is more "authentic" because it was a scratchy field recording of the Alan Lomax variety, a lo-fi recording of the Pavement/GbV variety, or a live recording of real instruments in an Irish pub. A new kind of authentic behavior is built from inauthenticity, Byrne says, so we should be careful about rejecting anything. (A folkie musician at a live show in my home town had to put up with a woman in the audience constantly putting down hip-hop, and he finally said, "Maybe you just need to grow a new pair of ears.")

Byrne provides technology chapters to explain how music itself, and the task of recording it, was digitized and formatted in a way that was bound to eliminate the archival devices, just as the online world is slowly making the printed book fade from memory. He makes few technical mistakes in describing this, and scores wonderful observations regarding how technology changes both the emotional response to music, and the sense of music's texture and layering. He also provides an extended chapter on the business of being a musician in an era where the record label is disappearing. In the process of discussing six contractual business models, he is remarkably frank about the costs he entailed in making some of his own recent recordings, and which business methods proved profitable. He holds up Aimee Mann as an example of someone willing to try unusual business models for marketing and distribution, though he warns that an extreme DIY (do-it-yourself) model can be very expensive for the emerging musician, particularly if the musician is a business neophyte.

The chapters following the hard-headed 21st-century business analysis were a bit of a letdown. I loved the intent of his chapter on amateur music-festival presentations and funding models for getting amateur music underwritten, but the examples he chose seemed scattershot. What made the 'Amateurs!' chapter such a pleasure to read, even if only a partial success as a guide, was its denunciation of the arts-council aristocracy that only wants to legitimize the "high art" of concert hall. (Byrne loves to point out that the original Italian and German opera audiences were comprised of a bunch of uncouth loudmouths, often less polite than the moshers in the worst punk clubs.)

The final chapter, 'Harmonia Mundi,' had a great intent in pulling together global music trends, but I think he could have opted for a more analytical study of cross-cultural resonances. The analysis of Kepler's "music of the spheres" seemed a bit dated and almost alchemical, if not hippie-dippie. But he included a section on mirror-neurons and the rise of the empathic consciousness, so the book does not conclude in a full fizzle.

The most satisfying aspect of the book was not merely that Byrne likes all kinds of music from all kinds of cultures. Many writers on music agree with that. Byrne goes a step farther by discussing all aspects of music presentation, music recording, and the false claims of authenticity raised by many curators. The penniless blues musician sought by Lomax in the Mississippi Delta, and the billion-selling dancey-pop artist relying on all-electronic music libraries, both display different forms of authenticity in Byrne's eyes (and ears). This will be the aspect of the book that drives music purists mad. Maybe they just need to grow a new pair of ears.

...more

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Jul 06, 2019 Jill rated it liked it · review of another edition

As this started out, my heart started rolling her eyes. "Great," she said, "another pretentious white guy talking out his ass about music." Some annoyances from the first couple chapters include a lot of multicultural chatter that basically amounts to "I have a black friend!" + sweeping generalizations about disciplines he hasn't bothered to research (particularly media and literature). Ugh. I don't even like Talking Heads. Somewhere in the second chapter about Byrne's personal musical journey, ...more

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Jun 06, 2017 Vicki rated it really liked it

There is a lot of information about musical roots and how musicians worked to perfect their sound according to what worked best with their style. I was fascinated by the facts about the designs of opera houses, concert halls and clubs.
There are some entertaining tidbits in this book which covers not only the history but the decisions on Byrne's bands, music, and even clothing choices. It was an enjoyable read and I was provided this paperback copy by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Jud Barry rated it liked it

Byrne gives us his take on music in a style that is very pleasant, straightforward, and conversational. He comes across as someone whose wide-ranging, collaborative experience and creative intelligence combine with an everyday kind of modesty in a way that allows you to imagine you could run into him in a club somewhere (he tries to take in at least one live performance a week) and have a good conversation, provided the music lets you (one of his criteria for a good music scene).

The title is a l Byrne gives us his take on music in a style that is very pleasant, straightforward, and conversational. He comes across as someone whose wide-ranging, collaborative experience and creative intelligence combine with an everyday kind of modesty in a way that allows you to imagine you could run into him in a club somewhere (he tries to take in at least one live performance a week) and have a good conversation, provided the music lets you (one of his criteria for a good music scene).

The title is a little bit of a misnomer--I wanted to see a parenthetical addendum, country-music-song-style, something along the lines of (And How It Doesn't) to indicate that some of the best parts of the book are those where Byrne looks askance at certain musical phenomena, e.g. the current state of elitist classical musical establishments (symphonies) or Muzak.

The book would be a great gift or recommendation for someone--especially a young person--who's passionate about listening to music but who hasn't really thought about it in any structured way, or alternatively for someone who has *only* had formal instruction.

I did have a few quibbles--"Technology Shapes Music" starts with sound recording, which is strange, considering that elsewhere in the book Byrne mentions the Neanderthal stone flute, surely a form of technology. It seems even stranger when, within the technology chapter, there's a section on "instrument technology and its influence on music" that starts with the theremin and implies that it's the first instrument to give Westerners "less culturally-specific options" allowing, for example, for non-Western bending of notes. This segues into a section on the electric guitar, which culminates in the story of its sound in the hands of Jimi Hendrix: "That unwritten law of staying true to the sound of a traditional instrument had been violently broken. ... As with Theremin and his instrument, the electric guitars were breaking free of history." There is a lot to argue with here, but I don't want to insult this excellent book by belaboring it; suffice it to say that whatever unwritten law there may have been in Western music, the first ones to break it were African-Americans "jazzing" the sound of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones.

But overall this is a fine and a fun book, and Byrne's perspective is admirably holistic: "I welcome the liberation of music from the prison of melody, rigid structure, and harmony. Why not? But I also listen to music that does adhere to those guidelines. Listening to the Music of the Spheres might be glorious, but I crave a concise song now and then, a narrative or a snapshot more than a whole universe."

...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Patrick rated it liked it

An uneven, often enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing read. My disappointment stems–as, I'm sure, will most readers' interest in the first place (mine included)–from my deep admiration and subsequent expectations of David Byrne. In the acknowledgments at the end of the book, Byrne writes that he didn't set out to write an aging rocker bio, nor a set of "think pieces," but a bit of both. The book is most interesting and successful in the biographical chapters: reading David Byrne's anecdotes a ...more

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Jan 31, 2014 Chris rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction

This book fails to live up to its title, and indeed to the name of its author, who's musical career might lead you to expect that he has some interesting insight into the question of how music works.

What you get instead is a cursory and unfocused ramble through recent history of music technology and theory, loosely tied together with some personal anecdotes and sophomoric pseudo-philosophy courtesy of Byrne himself.

There are some interesting tidbits along the way, particularly some of the histo ...more

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Jul 30, 2017 Tomas Ramanauskas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

David Byrne, a legend, becomes your professor for duration of this book and delivers a fascinating deep dive into the world of music, its hows and whys. He scatters autobiographical experiences amid broadly scoped lecture on the sounds, the formats, the shapes, the evolution, even the numbers behind the recordings. It is a multi-faceted account of near child like astonishment on how this bloody thing really works.

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Nov 14, 2012 Charles rated it it was amazing

I have been a Talking Heads listener for 30 years. For some reason that escapes me now I began to read How Music Works. To my delight I found it compelling.

While much of the text is almost a autobiographical narrative of the creating of Byrne's musical corpus, the role of that narrative is quite different than one might expect. I take the book to be a discussion, a philosophical discussion in the best sense, of the creative process. I am reminded of Wittgenstein's metaphor of coming to understan ...more

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Jun 02, 2016 Cheryl rated it really liked it

Fascinating. Even though I know nothing about music, not even to know the difference between a chord and a chorus, nor have I been able to either enjoy or appreciate Talking Heads or Byrne's other music, I thoroughly enjoyed most of this book. I do admit to feeling overwhelmed enough, or lost enough, to skim bits, but something on the next page would always draw me back in....

Most interesting stuff needs context and so is too long to share here, but I've got a few tidbits to offer:

"Some argue th ...more

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May 06, 2018 Alan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Toe-tappers, finger-snappers, whistlers and hummers

Recommended to Alan by: Denis, via Peter. And of course the man himself.

David Byrne's How Music Works was a perfect book for me to take traveling—dense with information, observations and concrete advice, all organized in manageable sections and copioiusly illustrated. Byrne delivers most handsomely on his title's promise: these essays are nothing less than the collected ruminations of a multi-talented musician on his long-practiced and still vibrant craft.

Byrne is also (and not coincidentally, I'm sure) a lifelong neophile, whose mind has remained supple over the pa ...more

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Jul 18, 2014 Ben Winch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: music

This is great. Good. Okay. All of the above. It’s unique (so far as I know): its closest relative is probably Miles Davis’s autobiography, or Byrne-friend Brian Eno’s Year With Swollen Appendices. It’s autobiographical, in a strictly professional/artistic sense – that is, concerned with music over personal experience – and I applaud that. Early on, when I was still in the “dipping-into” phase (something I do with all rock music books) I wondered, against my better judgement, if it was some kind ...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Neal rated it it was amazing

My review for Amazon's Best Books of the Month: It's no surprise that David Byrne knows his music. As the creative force behind Talking Heads and many solo and collaborative ventures, he's been writing, playing, and recording music for decades. What is surprising is how well his voice translates to the page. In this wide-ranging, occasionally autobiographical analysis of the evolution and inner workings of the music industry, Byrne explores his own deep curiosity about the "patterns in how music ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 Faanga rated it it was amazing

The book was totally amazing.

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Mar 15, 2020 Howard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, audiobooks

4 Stars for How Music Works (audiobook) by David Byrne read by Walter Dixon. This is a really informative book. If you’re just interested in music or planning on starting a band this is great book for you. Particularly if you’re a fan of the band Talking Heads. David Byrne explains everything from why songs are three minutes long to how a 360 music contract works and everything in between.

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Mar 15, 2017 Erik rated it liked it

Three stars because i liked it. Its more of a 3.5 , but rounding down because too many issues.

This book is a classic case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Part autobiography, part pop-sci book on music, part New Yorker-style expose on the nature of the arts. You get bits of all of it, but you cant help feeling that you are missing out on a lot. Maybe thats the point - a jumping off point? Except you don't really know what you are missing.

For a book that is about "how music wor Three stars because i liked it. Its more of a 3.5 , but rounding down because too many issues.

This book is a classic case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. Part autobiography, part pop-sci book on music, part New Yorker-style expose on the nature of the arts. You get bits of all of it, but you cant help feeling that you are missing out on a lot. Maybe thats the point - a jumping off point? Except you don't really know what you are missing.

For a book that is about "how music works" , he focuses less on the method and more on the impacts of music. I was hoping for much more detail about teh origin and history of different parts of music - beats, vocals, grooves, melodies, chords - from an international perspective. You get a little bit of that, but its just a taste. That can be frustrating. Perhaps if this book was named "David Byrne's book about of a bunch of musically related stuff" i would be complaining less.

I dont feel this book is edited well at all. The beginning is part of the music history/theory background, then it jumps into a big Talking heads section, dives into complexity of music contracts, moves on to all David byrne side project references, and then settles on jamming in every pseduo-political stance and a whole bunch of music theory. It all feels very disjointed. The last bits of the book thematically belong with the first bits. if you wanted to mix it up, has to be evenly dispersed throughout. unfortunately thats not the case here. Im sure the editors did there best - probably not enough raw material for as wide of a scope envisioned.

As a big Talking Heads fan, i enjoyed getting to know David through the conversational tone presented as well as the myriad anecdotes. He contradicts Jonathem Lethem multiple times in discussing Fear of Music - i enjoyed that. As a New Yorker, i enjoyed the local references and vivid depictions of bygone crime-ridden manahttan.

I would have enjoyed a full on autobiography probably a lot more than this book though.

I liked it - 3 stars. Will look for in-depth books on musical construction elsewhere. ...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Christopher rated it it was amazing

As much as I am a fan of Talking Heads and David Byrne, when he wrote a book about bicycling a couple of years ago, I picked it up but I didn't get very far. Not a big fan of bicycles. But I am a big fan of music. So when David Byrne writes a book explaining music, I AM THERE.

This should be required reading for anyone who has even a sliver of desire for making music for a living. You don't need to be a fan of Byrne's music to appreciate the fruits of his experience, talent and insight. This is a ...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Jay Gabler rated it it was ok

Clearly Byrne wanted to write a musical manifesto rather than a reminisce, but the most compelling parts of this book are the sections where he talks about his own musical history. When this is effectively integrated with his broader project—for example, when he opens up about the finances behind two of his albums to illustrate the madness of record-industry accounting—How Music Works is a great read. For long sections, however, this book consists of popularized musical science and history, whic ...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Spencer Rich rated it it was ok

When he talks about things that he actually knows about, it's fantastic. This includes the autobiographical information about working with Eno and the Talking Heads. The rest of it is filled with half-truths and blanket generalizations. Or poorly formed opinions. I was hoping that this would get me back into listening and making music. Unfortunately, it's done the opposite. The fact that it's published by McSweeney's is not terribly surprising. It could've been edited by Eggers, himself.

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Jan 10, 2020 Steve rated it really liked it

An odd book, but I really liked it. Partly about his own life as a musician, partly about the music business, partly about what music actually is, partly about how music fits in with human psychology and culture. Maybe there are some other parts too... I love Byrne’s conversational writing style. He doesn’t sound at all like a professional book-writer, more like a wonderfully intelligent and knowledgeable yet humble and self-deprecating friend sitting in your living room and just speaking to you ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 Marvin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: music

I expected ex-Talking Heads front man and eclectic solo artist David Byrne would have some interesting things to say about music. But I was impressed by the scope and range of How Music Works. Byrne covers nearly every aspect of creating and enjoying music from the first steps of composing and to the nuances of performance to producing and promoting. Plus he puts it in sync with the world we live in never forgetting that music is a vital and ever-changing aspect of existence.

Byrne approaches mu I expected ex-Talking Heads front man and eclectic solo artist David Byrne would have some interesting things to say about music. But I was impressed by the scope and range of How Music Works. Byrne covers nearly every aspect of creating and enjoying music from the first steps of composing and to the nuances of performance to producing and promoting. Plus he puts it in sync with the world we live in never forgetting that music is a vital and ever-changing aspect of existence.

Byrne approaches music in what I call an ethno-centric view. Perhaps "Techno-centric" may be a better term considering how much he focuses on the modern recording aspects. Byrns uses the term "creation in reverse." He does not see music as arising from just the emotional interior of the creator's mind but through an interactive process that is affected by our surroundings; social, cultural, politically, technological, and physical. He discusses how certain types of music responds to certain surroundings. When you think of it, it makes sense. It is hard to think of punk rock rising from the symphony hall and much easier to see it coming out of dark crowded clubs such as New York's CBGB. His style of writing is fairly meandering but he structures those meanderings in chapters like Technology Shapes Music", "In the Recording Studio", "How to Make a Scene" (about performing live), and even "Business and Finances". By the end of the book you not only have a good sense what goes into that MP3 you just downloaded but how that music has changed from the day of live performance only before music could be recorded.

While not an autobiography, Byrne relies strongly on his own experiences, giving the reader an intimate look at his own creative process both in and out of the studio. He uses his own story to illustrate his various ideas of creation in reverse. One of the things I found revealing is his description on how the various forms of recording affects the way we perceive music. The limits of the sound and durations of the first Edison discs gave the early 20th century listeners a different experience than the LPs, cassettes and CDs we are used to, not to mention the revolution of digital files. Byrne's assertions about our expectations of recorded music vs. live music was quite insightful. We tend to think of the recording of a song as the "real" version in that we expect the artist to recreate it in his live performances. Yet the recorded version is a frozen moment of time aided by the technical constraint of the recording studio, whether analog or digital The artist's live performance may be different but just as authentic relying on all the cultural and aural surroundings of the moment.

Byrnes' impressive book is notable for the way it causes the reader to reassess modern music. He asks us to take in more than just sounds and pay attention to the way we receive the music in its social and natural settings. There's a lot to take in here yet the author manages to keep it exciting and relevant. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares about music. ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Darjeeling rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I felt like I learned a lot about music by reading this. I knew almost nothing when I started reading, and it's nice to read a book where you feel like you have learned something from every page. It's remarkably comprehensive too, with chapters on the theory, practice, history, creation, and business of music. It's all here, and presented in a way that even a music noob like me can understand and process. There are so many thought provoking nuggets in this book, I almost feel like I want to quot ...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Jane rated it it was amazing

I LOVED this. Devoured it. Byrne is incisive and articulate and offers new way of seeing (and hearing) music. I do a good deal of business writing and no longer often find myself on fire to get something written down, but from the start of this book I was itching to tie Byrne's ideas on music as "content" to my own work. As so many of my Goodreads connections are in L&D I especially recommend it to them, as I'm sure the parallels will be inescapable to them as well. Music lovers, too, should enj ...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Elaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, read-2013

This really was a joy to read. Touching on all aspects (and genres) of music, from how technology shapes our perceptions of what music should be, to what to expect from a recording contract, this book really does cover it all.

David Byrne (frontman from Talking Heads), is engaging, funny, insightful, immensely knowledgeable and more importantly, enthusiastic about a subject he has dedicated his life too.

The one thing that stopped this book rating higher for me is that it sometimes reads slightly ...more

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May 18, 2016 Gehan rated it did not like it

Only worth the read if you care about the boring details of the music industry. Its mostly a rambling stream of thought. Dont recommend it.

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May 05, 2020 Jolene rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, book-club, published-2012-2015, biography-memoir, audiobook, 2020

Honestly, it just feels like this didn't age especially well, even though it's only been eight years. It's not David Byrne's fault, obviously, but to a 2020 reader, it feels wrong to talk about the evolution of music without talking about, like, soundcloud rap and Billie Eilish. He does discuss the history of recording devices and the fate of the record studio, so I guess we can all just infer.

Something I Liked: Byrne sees music and lyrics as generators of emotions, not as expressions of it. The Honestly, it just feels like this didn't age especially well, even though it's only been eight years. It's not David Byrne's fault, obviously, but to a 2020 reader, it feels wrong to talk about the evolution of music without talking about, like, soundcloud rap and Billie Eilish. He does discuss the history of recording devices and the fate of the record studio, so I guess we can all just infer.

Something I Liked: Byrne sees music and lyrics as generators of emotions, not as expressions of it. The meaning of a song doesn't originate with the songwriter or composer but in the listener. Since I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about books, this way of thinking about art resonates with me. Similarly, the context really matters: how you're making the music and with whom and for whom and what tools you use to make it and what tools the listener will use to listen to it--this all impacts what you create. I guess that's probably obvious, but it seems kind of easy to view a recording (or any piece of art) as sacred and exactly what it was always, like, meant to be, rather than a product of somewhat arbitrary circumstances.

Something I Rolled My Eyes At: Bryne has a long TED Talk-style section that imagines a world in which all the youths put down their guns and drugs and pick up guitars. His points is a good one: Fund the arts! Especially in schools! But the idea that music, alone, can fix the world kind of sidesteps the point that it's government policies and equitable allocation of resources that can actually change people's lives. Also, the very last line about how Byrne enjoys a good story AND listening to the waves and WHY CAN'T HE HAVE BOTH is like, calm down, David, no one's saying you can't. It just feels like he's really stretching to say something profound about the cyclical nature of music and time and humanity, and it just rings false.

In sum, this kind of felt like a really, really long episode of Song Exploder about a song (or in this case, a lot of albums) I'm not that interested in. But I guess it's probably relevant to note that I don't really care about Talking Heads (or 80's music in general--with the exception of Bruce Springsteen--I'm not a monster), so I guess I'm (literally) just not the intended audience. ...more

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Oct 29, 2017 Josh rated it really liked it

Shelves: music, nonfiction

This was good! David Byrne takes a comprehensive, largely pragmatic survey of all aspects of music. He spends a lot of time refuting musical/artistic myths. For example, he definitely doesn't think music is made by inspired geniuses. It comes from hard work and practice. And more boringly, is usually steered by format--of venue, medium, larger cultural contexts, record company obligations--as much as creative whim. He also talks about the recording process, how technology has changed it, and wha ...more

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Feb 04, 2019 jordan rated it liked it

Overlooking the occasional grammatical or spelling error (aHEM, editing is always a good idea, y’know...) and the seemingly random, long-winded tangents that strained my patience, this did really open my eyes to different aspects of music, and change the way I look at (or rather, listen to) music.

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Jul 19, 2020 Orsi Pusok rated it it was amazing

A great book for any music lover curious to have a look behind the scenes of how music is made - literally.
My favorite parts were the thoughts around music monetization, society's view on what constitutes as quality music and the author's walk down memory lane linked with a brief history of music.

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About David Byrne

David Byrne

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A cofounder of the musical group Talking Heads, David Byrne has also released several solo albums in addition to collaborating with such noted artists as Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Brian Eno. His art includes photography and installation works and has been published in five books. He lives in New York and he recently added some new bike racks of his own design around town, thanks to the Depar ...more

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“I like a good story and I also like staring at the sea-- do I have to choose between the two?” — 79 likes

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