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(Credits: Far Out / A24)
The music industry can sometimes feel like a balancing act between the commercially viable and the truly creative. Some artists write for the masses, following tried and tested formulas for mainstream success, sometimes at the expense of their real artistic interests. Others prioritise experimentation and originality, forgoing charts and sales in favour of authenticity. But there are a few artists who have found that sweet spot between the commercial and the creative, including Talking Heads.
Talking Heads always prioritised artistry over marketability. They spawned out of Rhode Island in the 1970s with a zest for experimentation only art schools can produce. In 1977, they unveiled their debut album, 77, which marked their first entry into the budding new wave scene. David Byrne told tales of psycho killers and condos full of convenience while the Heads forged piercing basslines and tetchy twangs to surround them.
Their sound was unlike anything that had come before, fitting alongside the art rockers that already existed but not bending to their influences. It was completely their own. And yet, it was also commercially viable. It found moderate success at the time of release, and ‘Psycho Killer’ has since become one of the band’s signature tracks, dominating Halloween party playlists worldwide.
This juggling of the creative and the commercially-friendly would continue throughout the Heads’ existence as a band. As they continued to work with producer Brian Eno to pull new influences into their sound, experimenting with Dadaism on Fear of Music and pulling in polyrhythms for Remain in Light, they never once compromised on their artistic vision. Still, the admiration of audiences followed as they quickly became one of the most influential bands in the scene.
Byrne himself noticed this co-existence of the creative and the commercial in his own output, once commenting on the interplay between “fine art” and the more commercial word. “I’ve always felt that it’s possible to make things for the mass market, or that can be enjoyed by a vast number of people,” he declared, “that still can command the sort of respect and integrity that fine arts usually do.”
The Talking Heads frontman suggested that more commercial work can become on par with fine art if it’s treated with the same “reverence and respect” and also suggested that vice versa can be true, too. “If someone takes something from the fine arts and tries to hustle it in the marketplace,” he explained, “it can become degraded.”
With Talking Heads, Byrne certainly achieved the right balance of fine art and financial viability. The band’s commitment to experimenting with genre and pushing the boundaries of guitar music and performance won them respect from audiences and critics alike. They still command this respect decades after they released their last album, standing up as an eternal reference point for budding guitar bands.
Alongside their reputation as one of the most innovative bands in the post-punk and new-wave realm, they also found healthy commercial success. Speaking in Tongues charted at number 15, and even now they continue to attract mass markets. A24’s re-release of their concert film Stop Making Sense last year drew fans to the cinemas en masse, each desperate to see Byrne running around the stage of the Pantages Theatre.
The legacy of Talking Heads sits somewhere in between innovative artistry and mass market success, just as Byrne suggested was possible.
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