This week on All Ears Abby invites us all to take a break from ongoing election shenanigans and enjoy a lively interview with musician David Byrne, whose eccentric musical stylings as the former Talking Heads frontman catapulted him into a multi-faceted career as an artist across many modes of expression. He’s written books, designed art installations, created journalism projects, and last year adapted his acclaimed concert tour, American Utopia, for Broadway. He and Abby look back at his remarkable journey and talk about some of the ways art pushed him to grow as a person, giving him perspective on some of his youthful, broad critiques of middle class American values. These insights led him to some revelations about his earlier work that manifest with a kind of joyful, percussive melancholy in American Utopia. Spike Lee filmed the show right before COVID hit in March, preserving a mood that seems like a perfect fit for these times. Lee’s filmed adaption of American Utopia is currently screening on HBO Max.

Bonus All Ears David Byrne Playlist! David Byrne Hits and Hidden Gems (Spotify)
David Byrne's American Utopia (2020): Official Trailer (HBO)

EPISODE LINKS
American Utopia Returns to Broadway September 17, 2021 (Tickets)
Hell You Talmbout (Janelle Monae)
Ursonate (Kurt Schwitters, 1932)
David Byrne on ‘True Stories,’ His Tabloid-Inspired Vision of Eighties America (Rolling Stone)
Reasons to Be Cheerful
We Are Not Divided
David Byrne

David Byrne on Twitter: @DBtodomundo