Music DVD Poll Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

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Rate the DVD "Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense"

  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 - poor mix, visuals & presentation

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 - waste of plastic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    35
The Talking Heads were definitely a "whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" band. Just look at the solo output if you don't think so. Tom Tom Club was good, Casual Gods were okay, but everything else solo, especially any of Byrne's solo work, was just awful. As a group they were brilliant.
 
Oh, I donno...I don't want to start a fight here--de gustibus non est disputandum and all that--and I agree with your general premise. (That is, I too don't like anybody's side/solo projects nearly as well as I like anything by Talking Heads.) And granted, Byrne has released plenty of underwhelming stuff as well as some real dogs. But...Rei Momo? The Catherine Wheel? My Life In the Bush of Ghosts and/or Everything That Happens (with Brian Eno)? Love This Giant (with St. Vincent)? Here Lies Love (with Fatboy Slim)? "Toe Jam" (with BPA)? "Asa Branca" (with Forro In the Dark)? "Money" (with Chuck D, Seu Jorge, et al.)? I dig all of those--and I'd kill to hear any of them mixed for surround.

But to get back on-topic: I, too, upgraded to the European Blu-Ray released by Second Sight, and I'm not sorry. The sound is nominally DTS-HD MA, though it's still 48/24 (and still basically "enhanced stereo"). But I like the "studio" mix better than the "concert" mix, and to hear it in conjunction with the restored video is totally worth the price of admission.

The Talking Heads were definitely a "whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" band. Just look at the solo output if you don't think so. Tom Tom Club was good, Casual Gods were okay, but everything else solo, especially any of Byrne's solo work, was just awful. As a group they were brilliant.
 
but everything else solo, especially any of Byrne's solo work, was just awful. As a group they were brilliant.

I'd put Jerry Harrison's "Things Fall Apart" (from The Red and the Black) and all of Byrne's The Catherine Wheel right up there with anything the band did. The band even used to do a couple tracks from the latter.
 
Voted 9 on the BD 2015. Live concerts don't usually sound THAT surroundy. Enjoyed this as it brought back fond memories of seeing the film for the first time in an independent UK theater in the 80s. If it was out today for the first time, I may have given it an 8, but I suppose I'm jaded :eek:
 
I'd put Jerry Harrison's "Things Fall Apart" (from The Red and the Black) and all of Byrne's The Catherine Wheel right up there with anything the band did. The band even used to do a couple tracks from the latter.

I wasn't really including Catherine Wheel because it was a TH era work. I suppose I should have more accurately said that he hasn't done anything good post TH.
 
Can we all agree that Byrne and Rufus Wainwright singing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" is a crime against humanity? :smokin
 
Just to put to rest some confusion about the more recent blu ray version of this title...the packaging on the more recent addition might not look like it does in the photos on websites like amazon..it might look like the older version with the blue stripe across the front...that's not important...the way to identify the newer version is the back cover at the bottom...it should say SECOND SIGHT...that is the correct version...here is a closeup of the bottom of the back cover..that's why I purchased mine from amazon UK..it listed SECOND SIGHT as the studio...it looks like amazon reversed the pictures of the respective issues...the 2015 release looks like the one in the 2009 release....check the amazon uk listing...it has 2 items...if you click on the more expensive older release...it actually looks like the newer release cover..if you can't see the back cover or it doesn't list SECOND SIGHT as the studio...just check the release date...which should be 2015...the older one is either 2009 or 2010....here is the amazon UK listing


001.jpg

Here is what my 2015 release front cover looks like..

003.jpg

Here is the disc
004.jpg
 
I watched and enjoyed this when it was originally released, but wasn't able to buy it at the time. I always meant to get a version of it, but never actually did, not sure why not... Well, this Christmas I was lucky enough to be given the Blu-Ray as a gift from one of my children. What can I say? Everything about it is perfect. Considering its vintage the picture is great and the sound good enough, if not state-of-the-art. But this time it's the performance that is beyond belief. I have never seen any live music performance that comes close to this. The slow build-up of the band and the wonderful songs are as good as it gets for me. It makes we want to dance - and anyone who knows me, knows I don't dance! And then there's that suit :)

Obviously 10/10
 
Maybe I missed something, but I find the studio mix pretty similar to the feature mix, mostly echo on the rears. Am I missing anything?
 
Maybe I missed something, but I find the studio mix pretty similar to the feature mix, mostly echo on the rears. Am I missing anything?

No. Neither is very discrete. Both are very similar. The overall sound quality and the performance is what rules this release.
 
No. Neither is very discrete. Both are very similar. The overall sound quality and the performance is what rules this release.
Agree with that. But why doing two different mixes that are pretty the same? That puzzles me!
 
Agree with that. But why doing two different mixes that are pretty the same? That puzzles me!

I find the studio mix punchier and more "forward," somehow. I like it, even though the rears are mostly (exclusively?) ambience. The soundstage of the theatrical mix seems slightly muddier but more atmospheric, with rears providing crowd noise, as in a typical concert-surround recording.

Edit: Blogs are like chickens, really... opines: The main difference with the "studio" mix is that the vocals are more upfront and minor instrumentation such as percussion is clearer.
 
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bump for discs that have an over a year old last review but need immediate attention

Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons,
Packed up and ready to go
Heard of some grave sites, out by the highway,
A place where nobody knows
The sound of gunfire, off in the distance,
I'm getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto,
I've lived all over this town
This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
This ain't no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey,
I ain't got time for that now
Transmit the message, to the receiver,
Hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, a couple of visas,
You don't even know my real name
High on a hillside, the trucks are loading,
Everything's ready to roll
I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nighttime,
I might not ever get home
This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
This ain't no fooling around
This ain't no Mudd Club, or C. B. G. B.,
I ain't got time for that now
Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.?
You oughta know not to stand by the window
Somebody might see you up there
I got some groceries, some peanut butter,
To last a couple of days
But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no
Headphones, ain't got no records to play
Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time
Can't write a letter, can't send a postcard,
I can't write nothing at all
This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
This ain't no fooling around
I'd like to kiss you, I'd love you hold you
I ain't got no time for that now
Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock,
We blended with the crowd
We got computer, we're tapping phone lines,
I know that ain't allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives,
Or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle, so many times now,
I don't know what I look like!
You make me shiver, I feel so tender,
We make a pretty good team
Don't get exhausted, I'll do some driving,
You ought to get some sleep
Get you instructions, follow directions,
Then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day,
Whatever you think is best
Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks?
They won't help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace,
The burning keeps me alive
Try to stay healthy, physical fitness,
Don't want to catch no disease
Try to be careful, don't take no chances,
You better watch what you say
 
I have just thoroughly enjoyed watching the incredible, manic, brilliant, zany and entertaining David Byrne.
He was definitely at the height of his powers, fronting Talking Heads.
Although I liked Talking Heads, I never really got that much into them, until they attacked me from all sides, by surrounding me with their infectious rhythm and clever lyrics.
This is a show that needs to be watched more often. So much foot tapping and head nodding, driven by a very talented bands, lively playing.
This, to me, has the feel good factor, which keeps me coming back for more.
For pure entertainment, with a hint of surround, I'm giving it a generous 10.
 
I thought I had purchased the latest version of STOP MAKING SENSE some months back to replace the older PALM video BD~V but just came across this tidbit of info on blu ray.com. Apparently a newer version prepared by Cinedigm was released on February 25, 2020 with NO FURTHER DETAILS at this time:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Stop-Making-Sense-Blu-ray/264611/
 
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