Talking Heads (sort of) Reunite?!?

Not performing together. Yet. But having nice civil conversations.


[www.latimes.com]

They stopped touring after ‘83, and I was just too young to have caught them earlier. Have regretted it ever since. But miracles can happen..?

Chris Frantz has been posting a lot of photos from this past week, and it's pretty amazing to see them together after all the acrimony and all that's been published and said, particularly Frantz's memoir. You've got to hand it A24 for getting them together - they told them they'd go all in with restoring, distributing and promoting their film, but the band HAD to help (including doing everything they can to promote it). At the start, it was easy to think they were doing this through gritted teeth, with more than a few making the initial observation that Jerry was strategically placed between Byrne and Frantz & Weymouth, but from everything that's been posted (photos, videos), it's clear they've been spending a lot of time together and becoming more relaxed and having a good time. (Even Frantz or Weymouth were shown next to Byrne at more than one meeting.) The one bittersweet element of this whole thing is that they've clearly aged (no surprise) and I can't see them getting together for a world tour. Weymouth bore the brunt of a harrowing car accident last year and it wouldn't surprise me if physically she'd prefer to take it easy. But still, very happy to see the four of them together like this.

Yeah, it would be a bit much to ask for a world tour. But a few shows or a residency at one or two cities might be do-able.

Looking at the body language in those recent photos, Weymouth seemed very uncomfortable at first to be standing near Byrne. They seem to have loosened up a bit since then. I hope that the re-release of STOP MAKING SENSE might lead the band to try and work these things out - many bands who've talked shit about each other have eventually reunited - but the level of anger and bitterness in Chris Frantz's memoir is so high that I can't picture it.