But the Talking Heads went on what turned out to be permanent hiatus in 1988. (Courtesy Jody Rogac)īyrne, of course, came to fame fronting the new wave group Talking Heads - inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 - creating a sharp, sometimes surreal, art-funk-world music sound. So, it’s kind of survival.” David Byrne during the 'American Utopia' tour. “I feel more now that this is the only way I can stay sane,” he says, “the only way I can stop from being cynical, angry and depressed. A constructive way to respond to what’s going on in the world, rather than just yelling and screaming.” It’s meant to be visceral living proof that alternatives are possible. This world he’s creating, Byrne says, was forged “out of desperation, in a way, but in a good way. Twelve musicians - all barefoot and sporting bespoke gray suits, many carrying percussive instruments - march about the stage untethered. 'A friend of mine from London saw the show somewhere and his comment was, ‘This title’s not ironic it refers to what we’re seeing on stage,’ ” Byrne says, which is mostly, though not entirely, celebratory. His current show, a theatrical expansion of the 'American Utopia' music tour he did last year (itself keyed to the album of the same name), is coming to the Colonial starting Sept. 'It’s obviously a contrast, but that’s intentional,' he says, sitting in a downstairs lounge at Emerson's Colonial Theatre in Boston last week. (Paul Robicheau for WBUR)ĭavid Byrne doesn’t think today’s America is anywhere near utopia.īut his musical production called 'American Utopia,' isn't ironic.

American utopia soundtrack