All This Pleasure With A Punch In A Stomach

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. And take a listen to this special All Ears Spotify playlist spanning David Byrne’s remarkable, varied career!