Remain in Love: Talking Heads * Tom Tom Club * Tina by Chris Frantz

Chris Frantz is the drummer and co-founding member of Talking Heads; one of my favorite bands of all-time. He's also the husband of my favorite member of the band, Tina Weymouth. From reading this book, I also have learned that he's either an amazing storyteller or someone who incredibly happened to have amazing timing being involved in the formation of so many important bands and creation of pieces of music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s.

Frantz gives a nearly day by day account of how he met and wooed Tina during the early days of Talking Heads. Every stop on the band's inaugural tour of Europe opening for the Ramones is covered in depth. Chris's Kentucky wedding to Tina practically covers the entire guest list. And the married couple's origination of the Caribbean/pop/dancehall project, Tom Tom Club, due more to financial necessity than the ultimate achievement of a lifelong dream, goes through more twists and turns than a week's of soap opera. But when it comes to the demise of the band, Chris Frantz barely spends more than a dozen pages on the topic.

In 1984, while performing in New Zealand, frontman David Byrne stormed off stage and had to be prompted back to finish off the set by Frantz. That event which basically signalled the end of Talking Heads in concert as well as the beginning of the end of the band, isn't even mentioned in this book. One might argue that Byrne is the villain of the book. But I feel that despite as contrarian David Byrne was, not to mention devious and backstabbing he allegedly was, Frantz does a heck of a job giving the self-diagnosed autistic musician a heaping benefit of the doubt. 

One reason the end of the band isn't covered as in-depth as their origins is because how Frantz tries so very hard to focus on the happy times. The name of the book is 'Remain in Love'. However, it could also have something to do with the author's raging cocaine habit that developed right along with the end of Talking Heads. Maybe it's that period of time is too hard for Chris Frantz to document. Maybe his binges were so destructive, Chris just doesn't have very much memory of those times. 

I've gained an enormous amount of respect for Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth thanks to this book; though my level was already high before. I've also grown to appreciate the forgotten Head, Jerry Harrison, a lot more. I'm also listening to more Tom Tom Club than just 'Genius of Love'. An account of the career of the Ramones is definitely on my to-read list thanks to this biography. Though I doubt it's anywhere as rosy a read as this book was. But above all, I want to read David Byrne's side of the story. I think he deserves that chance before I finalize my opinion of him.

Oh... And before I forget! David, Chris, Jerry and Tina: can we please get 1 final tour before I die, please!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Stop Making Sense

David Byrne has taken the stage. Then Tina Weymouth (my favorite) and then her husband Chris Frantz arrive. Finally, it's the one everybody forgets about, utility man Jerry Harrison. The Talking Heads are back live. At least in film. 

I love the Talking Heads. Their first album was in 1977. Being born in 1977, I am obsessed with any and everything that happened during my birth year. The band hasn't gotten back together to perform since 1991 when they officially disbanded. There's the one-off of when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which I don't count as I'd never be able to have gotten tickets for that. At least once a month, I get onto social media requesting the band reform for a concert tour, just so I can see them in person before I die or any of them do. Whichever comes first. This 40th anniversary re-release might be the closest I ever get to seeing them perform live.

Stop Making Sense was released in 1984. Filmed by Jonatham Demme, several years away from making his Best Picture Oscar winning Silence of the Lambs, the movie has been considered the 'greatest concert film of all-time.' The film was a combination of sets over 4 nights in December of 1983. I had seen bits and pieces of it whenever it would appear on HBO or whatever premium movie channel was on at my grandparents. But never in its entirety. 

I had read a couple of months ago that Stop Making Sense was going to be shown in a limited market run. As much as I wanted to see it, I thought that the odds of getting to see it were very slim. I had sorta put the movie out of my mind until I saw a trailer for it a couple of weeks ago. Enthralled by the cinematography as well as the music, I started checking local theaters to see if any in my area were going to be showing it. I got lucky with the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill, NC; a cute little independent cinema that seems to worship film history. 

Stop Making Sense is only 90 minutes long. But it feels longer. There are a total of 16 songs and yet with very little to no pause between any of them, it's a rapid fire of Talking Heads early standards, David Bryne solos and a Tom Tom Club classic. My wife commented that it's no wonder David Bryne was so thin considering the workout he puts in through quick costume changes, gyrations and the running of laps!

I found myself having a new-found respect for Jerry Harrison. As I mentioned earlier, he's often the forgotten fourth member of the band. Yet, he does everything from lead guitar to synthesizers and keyboards. Plus, along with Chris Frantz, he always looks like he's having a ton of fun. Speaking of Frantz, he looks like a typical 1980s dad. Wearing a polo shirt and khakis while playing the drums, he could have been my dad goofing around with a garage band instead of a rock star.. For a drummer with such an explosive sound, Frantz' kit is really stripped down. And then there's Tina Weymouth. 

Most everyone says that David Byrne is their favorite Talking Head. I say that if you are a really Heads fan, Tina Weymouth is your favorite member. What she does with 4 bass strings is unlike any artist of the last 50 years. Tina's bass-lines are what give each song their energy. I just wish Psycho Killer, which opens the film, was done like the original recording and not acoustic. With only Byrne, a standard non-electric guitar and a hidden drum machine, that magic beat of a stalking murdering maniac is missing. It's just not something that I could dance to with my goat. 

Stop Making Sense was also released in IMAX. The closest IMAX from my home town is like an hour or more away. I didn't feel like I was missing anything by going to a smaller screen as I don't need to know how many nose hairs David Byrne has. However, I've heard that  Rhino Records is re-issuing the film's soundtrack. Now that is something I will need to find!

And yes, I do dance to Psycho Killer with my adopted goat. Doesn't everyone?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.