No Time for Dancing or Lovie Dovie

I have recently come back from a long stay in Mexico. It was a fantastic trip, filled with research, sun, swimming, eating and reading. One of many books, I read was David Byrne's Bicycle Dairies. Byrne, an avid bike rider writes in great detail about riding his bike in cities all over the world. While reading the book, Byrne sets the tone with his artistic, succinct and laid back manner. At times the book reads like a polemic on American foreign policy ( particularly the Bush Administration), Byrne also goes into a short political history of many of the countries to aid in setting the tone.

Overall, the main feature, for me.. of the book was Byrne's effortless manner of still being so cool without coming off as arrogant. He has not become jaded or complacent. His notes were taken over the span of many years and his perspective never changed. When the Talking Heads were first hitting the charts, one interviewer asked Byrne what he would like his music to do and Byrne said he wanted to make people dance and cry at the same time. Amazing. A truly evocative image.

I am now on a Talking Heads revival, although I have yet to dance and cry at the same time, I am really enjoying the brilliance of David Byrne.