Talking Heads: New Feeling

The first authorized book by all four members of the band Talking Heads is an upbeat, offbeat, over-the-top celebration of the beloved band, published fifty years after the release of their first album, Talking Heads ’77

In a dynamic interplay of images and text, Talking Heads: New Feeling captures the rare blend of qualities that characterized the band: an edgy intelligence, a joyous sense of play, and a restless desire to keep things moving. The book traces a loose chronology of Talking Heads, from their early formation at the Rhode Island School of Design, to their arrival as clean-cut newcomers generating propulsive grooves in the gritty downtown music scene at New York’s CBGB, through studio album releases, breakout hits like “Burning Down the House,” international live tours, and ultimately to Jonathan Demme’s dazzling 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, which saw a rapturous revival in movie theaters in 2023.

Included in the book are:

• Original essays by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth
• Hand-written lyrics for Psycho Killer, Life During Wartime, and other songs
• Annotated concert playlists
• Album-cover sketches
• Film and video storyboards, including behind-the-scenes material from True Stories and Stop Making Sense
• Essays by contemporary musicians and writers, including Jeff Bridges, Dave Eggers, Debbie Harry, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Lorde, Questlove, and James Wolcott.
• Personal, performance, and studio photographs from throughout their years of recording

This visually arresting book by and about Talking Heads features an inventive graphic design by Eric Skillman, with hundreds of images throughout. It will inspire anyone drawn to the band’s innovative and irresistible music, groundbreaking design sensibility, and unique place in popular culture.