Saturday, November 22, 2008
Cities
It always seems strange to me when people talk of how poetry has (supposedly) alienated vast numbers of people and that poets really ought to create work that is more 'accessible'. Did the Talking Heads worry about accessibility? They still sound very strange to me - brilliantly strange - even 28 years later - and look at the applause they get from that big crowd!
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Great band. Byrne has a new album out with Brian Eno, it's not bad either
Always liked that band. It's clear from all their performances that they really want to communicate with their audiences. Similarly, if a poet wants to communicate a vision, however singular that vision might be, it comes across. And of course the converse is true too. Accessibility isn't the issue - it's intention.
I remember being introduced to them in the early 80s alongside The Cure. I loved their music... fave song: Burning Down the House
They were SO GOOD! I saw them three times in all, I think, and they were brilliant every time, some of the best concerts I have ever seen (as I mentioned in my review of the Leonard Cohen concert in Zurich on Nov. 1).
Did you ever get to see them, Rob?
By the way, when they first started out, they made a point of NOT MOVING AT ALL while they played (well, not moving anything but their hands and mouths, that is). They JUST STOOD THERE.
Then, when they went on tour with the stuff from "Fear of Music," including "Cities," they began to dance like crazy while they played. Asked why, David Byrne said that it had become impossible not to dance to the music they were playing! :-)
Andrew, I never got to see them, but I wish I had done. Their best songs don't sound dated even now, nearly thirty years later.
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