![]() ![]() The introduction of Endgame for example exemplifies this staccato of movement to an almost ironically comic effect. They are not given that same absurdist carelessness of expression but instead find the madness and obsessive compulsive ticks in a world which may not exist anymore or may not even abide by the moralities its characters still harbour. In Stop Making Sense, naturalism seems to blend with surrealism as we see depictions of Byrne dancing with a tall lamp during “This Must Be The Place”, Incorporating a cross between sign language, epilepsy and tribal ritual hand gestures in “Once In a Lifetime” and “Life During Wartime” and falling from his wounds as the victim of “Psycho Killer”.īeckett’s characters on the other hand portray a more rigid and metered performance. ![]() The theatricality of his motions harper back to Beckett’s own use of characters as marionettes playing out in his naturalistic vision. His music encapsulates a spirit in which Byrne himself becomes a play thing to the music and rhythms he hears. because music and performing does not make sense.” going on to state that, “… music is very physical and often the body understands it before the head.” (Byrne 1984) In this way, Byrne’s music becomes persona through his medium. Byrne asserts this point when asked about the title, stating, “It’s good advice. The title itself is a statement as to why bother trying to find logic, it doesn’t mean anything. Trying to rationalise Byrne’s movements throughout Stop Making Sense misses the absurdist and also highly spiritual intent of why he acts the way he does. Where Byrne follows his own rhythm, we see a separation between performer and performance. The importance of movement and performance through both Byrne and Beckett cannot be underestimated. A class troupe of Beckett’s drama and raison d’etre. But the comparison to Becket, for me, is Byrne himself and his seemingly intentional decision to never leave the stage. There are props (most notably a lamp and a pair of reading glasses) and even subtle costume and hair style changes from Byrne. I am to understand that the intent of Beckett’s work is to evoke, subvert and question the mimetic medium of the stage which is why I wonder if perhaps Stop Making Sense is, in it own way, trying to do something similar through a rock concert. Much like a theatre play, Stop Making Sense relies heavily upon stage lighting, blocking, exaggerated performance and movements as well as a narrative sequence of unfolding shifts and changes in the band’s dynamic. ![]() Beckett’s play Tales of Lust and Betrayal which features actual Talking Heads! I wondered if anybody had ever written anything on the stage direction heavy and seemingly nonsensical plays of Beckett such as Waiting for Godot and Endgame and the theatrically sublime performance art piece that is Stop Making Sense. The Jonathan Demme directed Talking Heads Concert film Stop Making Sense. Byrne performing “Psycho Killer” before stumbling around the stage like a victim of the Killer in the song.ĭuring my studies of Samuel Beckett and The Theatre of the Absurd this year, I couldn’t help but make comparisons to a concert film I saw over the summer and which really ingrained itself into my brain. ![]()
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