Byrned

David Byrne's How Music Works is a bit of a mish mosh.  Unlike the autobiography the publisher no doubt would have preferred, it's about music itself, approaching the subject from ten different directions in ten chapters. A large portion of the book, however, deals with Byrne's own work--not enough for a full-blown bio, but at least enough for fans to get some insight into what he's done.

A central thesis of the book turns a conventional view of music on its head.  We're used to thinking of composers as being inspired, creating their work internally and then, with any luck, having it spread out to the rest of the world. But Byrne starts with the world and works his way in.  Composers react to their culture. Not just the style of music being written, but the venue where it'll be played.  If it's for a salon with a few people listening, the music can be subtle and intricate.  If it's for a communal dance, it'll be rhythmic.  If it's for a crowded bar, it'll be loud.

Then, a little over a century ago, music went from something live to something recorded (more often than not). That changed music quite a bit. For instance, 78s couldn't pack much more than three minutes per side, so that's how long the songs of the day were. There's also the idea that you can keep doing something until you get it right, and once you do, it stays right forever.

But it's not for his speculation on music that I checked out the book. That may have been why Byrne wrote it, but he's probably smart enough to know that's not why most are reading it. Byrne's main claim to fame is as the lead singer and songwriter of Talking Heads, and it's Heads fans who'll be buying the book. So he goes into fair detail about Talking Heads (as well as pre and post TH music), discussing how he developed his music, performed it, wrote it, recorded it, even got paid for it.

One might recognize Byrne's writing style from other ventures--an odd mix of naivete and sophistication. How Music Works is also fairly erudite, and sometimes reasonably witty.  He lets his politics peek through a few times (and they're as dreary as you'd expect), but he doesn't reveal too much about himself personally.  I've heard his former bandmates don't particularly like him, but you're not going to get his side of the argument here.

(Also, for a books that's designed within an inch of its life--from its soft hardcover to the different colors of each chapter title to the lettered illustrations--I was surprised to find a handful of typos.)

So the book is an oddity.  The stuff on music is sometimes fascinating, though if it weren't written by Byrne, I'm not sure how interested the general public would be.  But if you want to get info on Byrne's creative life, this must be the book.