The Talking Heads
Historical Context
The Talking Heads formed in 1975 when artist David Byrne grouped up with Christ Franz and his girlfriend Tina Weymouth. The trio met at the Rhode Island School of Design and immediately realized they had common musical connections in an emerging technical sound amidst the era of disco and hard rock. The band rounded off in 1978 when Harvard grad Jerry Harrison and Elliot Murphy joined. The Talking Heads hit the road with the Ramones before recording their first album where they became popular in the punk scene. Their first album included the hit "Psycho Killer" and the Talking Heads became a household name.
The advent of MTV brough the band to tremendous popularity with their cutting edge videos that engaged the audiences with a collage of technical scenes combined with mind-stimulating music.
https://youtu.be/5IsSpAOD6K8
https://youtu.be/PBIlxmug8PU
https://youtu.be/_3eC35LoF4U
https://youtu.be/616-QGQyx-I
The Legacy of the Talking Heads
David Byrne is still active in music today, producing sounds from his studio. The music of the Talking Heads is highly influential in music circles and Arcade Fire's Will Butler states that the album "Stop Making Sense" is one of the best albums of all time. Even Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails cites the influence of the albums "Remain in Light" and "Speaking in Tongues" as a top influence for "Hesitation Marks."