Hardcover, 345 pages
English language
Published Nov. 9, 2012 by McSweeneys.
The Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame inductee and co-founder of Talking Heads presents a celebration of music that offers insight into the roles of time, place and recording technology, discussing how evolutionary patterns of adaptations and responses to cultural and physical contexts have influenced music expression throughout history and culminated in the 20th century's transformative practices. This work is an account of a life in music and an explanation of how and why music works from one of the world's most accomplished performers. With his albums for Talking Heads, his work with Brian Eno or his solo output, the author has been consistently at the forefront of musical and artistic innovation. In this book he explores why the past matters and what the future might bring. From personal accounts of devising and performing his most famous work, to an exploration of the possibilities of new technologies, he discovers that artistic creation …
The Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame inductee and co-founder of Talking Heads presents a celebration of music that offers insight into the roles of time, place and recording technology, discussing how evolutionary patterns of adaptations and responses to cultural and physical contexts have influenced music expression throughout history and culminated in the 20th century's transformative practices. This work is an account of a life in music and an explanation of how and why music works from one of the world's most accomplished performers. With his albums for Talking Heads, his work with Brian Eno or his solo output, the author has been consistently at the forefront of musical and artistic innovation. In this book he explores why the past matters and what the future might bring. From personal accounts of devising and performing his most famous work, to an exploration of the possibilities of new technologies, he discovers that artistic creation is less about an internal creative spark than we thought and more about external factors such as history, architecture and technology. "The universe of music follows broad and basic evolutionary patterns, as does birdsong, to take one example. It seems the will only triumphs if the context is amenable, just as in Darwinian adaptation. What we hear is determined by what we want to hear, by what can be heard, and by the circumstances that allow it to come into being."
Byrne's How Music Works is an expansive, thorough, and entertaining examination of the subject. His 'music nerd' credentials are secure.
Byrne's How Music Works is an expansive, thorough, and entertaining examination of the subject. His 'music nerd' credentials are secure.
I enjoyed the discussion of Byrne's different experiences with music making in the various projects he has been involved in. Making music lyrics-first, melody-first, from samples, and from self-made samples. The first-hand CBGB history was interesting also. Byrne's thoughts on natural music, pop, and other musical fads and concepts were interesting, but somewhat verbose.
The book dragged on occasionally, but this was probably due to the fact that I listened to it straight through as an audiobook. It may have been more enjoyable if I had thumbed through chapters.
I enjoyed the discussion of Byrne's different experiences with music making in the various projects he has been involved in. Making music lyrics-first, melody-first, from samples, and from self-made samples. The first-hand CBGB history was interesting also. Byrne's thoughts on natural music, pop, and other musical fads and concepts were interesting, but somewhat verbose.
The book dragged on occasionally, but this was probably due to the fact that I listened to it straight through as an audiobook. It may have been more enjoyable if I had thumbed through chapters.
This is a broad book: Byrne analyzes the various aspects that go into the creation, capture, performance, distribution, and consumption of music. Read it for the discussions about how context shapes creativity (which provides another twist on the "don't follow your passion" argument) and, if you're a Byrne and Talking Heads fan, the behind-the-scenes looks at the processes and influences behind Byrne's songwriting and performances. Maybe skip the bits about the economics of the music industry, which, while they're informative and necessary for completeness, feel like they've been done to death in the last few years.
This is a broad book: Byrne analyzes the various aspects that go into the creation, capture, performance, distribution, and consumption of music. Read it for the discussions about how context shapes creativity (which provides another twist on the "don't follow your passion" argument) and, if you're a Byrne and Talking Heads fan, the behind-the-scenes looks at the processes and influences behind Byrne's songwriting and performances. Maybe skip the bits about the economics of the music industry, which, while they're informative and necessary for completeness, feel like they've been done to death in the last few years.
