By the end of 1982, the Talking Heads had achieved a good deal of success, but the idea of being recognized had not yet become routine for David Byrne. In this quick interview with Lisa Robinson he talks about this recognition, how the band found its sound and how he tries to tell stories through his lyrics. What is most striking, though, is his pensive, sincere, deer-in-the-headlights tone, which sounds very similar to the awkward jerkiness with which he danced.

00:00 – Are The Talking Heads a rock band? 00:29 – Definition of rock n’ roll 01:10 – Finding The Talking Head’s sound / a process of elimination 01:57 – Songs as sketches for a larger painting 02:30 – Alice Cooper’s influence on “Psycho Killer” 03:15 – Different ways of telling stories 04:02 – More confidence on stage / performing is like a scary dream 05:28 – “Take Me to the River” / Al Green’s mixture of sex and the sacred 06:18 – Getting recognized as a pick-me-up 06:51 – Response to people acting differently as a result of their success

David Byrne is nothing else if not eclectic. With a career spanning music, film, dance, photography, graphic art, and just about anything else you can think of, he seems to make a living by keeping everyone on their toes. And this seems to be exactly what happens to Lisa Robinson, who doesn’t always seem to know what to make of Byrne in this 1984 interview.

Recorded in support of the Stop Making Sense film and album, Byrne came prepared with a list of questions for Robinson to ask him. They spend a lot of time talking about the making of the movie, and since Byrne was in charge of, or at least involved in, almost every aspect of the film, this is a must-listen for Talking Heads fans. The two also spend a good deal of time covering Byrne’s upcoming movie, 1986’s True Stories, which was in its infancy when this conversation was recorded.

The line between performance art and reality may often be blurred when it comes to David Byrne, and this interview is drawn fuzzily indeed. However, with his lack of pretentiousness, it is an enjoyable listen either way you spin it.

00:00 – Giving questions instead of answers 01:04 – Problems on tour with lighting 02:23 – Not performing in the movie 02:43 – Trying to get the singers to be jerkier 03:34 – Different song orders on album and in the movie 04:05 – When music and videos don’t mix 06:03 – A list of the last few records he purchased 06:32 – Surviving the 1970’s New York punk scene 08:37 – Not having to deal with sudden success 09:40 – Not playing in Madison Square Garden 10:27 – Origin of the film title 11:04 – Creating a framework for spontaneity 12:04 – Not fitting on stage / fibbing promoters / temper tantrums 13:34 – The show evolving into a movie 14:27 – How the film was edited 15:04 – Designing the show / choosing outfits 16:13 – Maintaining control without being tyrannical 17:35 – The Big Suit 20:07 – Working in L.A. / directing 20:40 – What True Stories is about / making a movie 22:08 – Starring in a film vs. starring in music 23:28 – Putting the band’s career in perspective through a live album 24:12 – Cause of the original awkward stage demeanor / still feeling terrified 25:56 – Projecting more confidence 26:54 – Origin of the odd movements on stage 28:03 – The history of the Talking Heads 28:29 – Writing songs for the next album (soundtrack) / different genres 29:59 – Writing songs from different points of view 32:16 – Expectations for Stop Making Sense 32:58 – Difference between the two Talking Heads live albums 33:31 – Working again with the just the four band members 33:53 – What’s coming up next 35:16 – The possibility of never performing live again 37:20 – The Talking Heads being a big band / being assimilated into culture 38:30 – Adjusting with growth 39:32 – Being nervous about not wanting to settle down 40:35 – The source of craziness / not actually nuts

Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson met in 1966 before either of them had achieved great success, the former as Mott the Hoople’s lead singer and the latter as David Bowie’s guitarist. They hooked up again in Mott when Ronson helped Bowie produce All The Young Dudes, and then one more time when Ronson was the group’s guitarist. They left the band together in late 1974 and continued to collaborate on Hunter’s solo albums and tours until Ronson’s untimely death in 1993.

This interview with Scott Muni was recorded to promote YUI Orta, the first record to be fully credited to both Hunter and Ronson. The album was intended as a comeback for both gentlemen and, possibly as a result, the focus of this conversation is their current tour and collaborative process, with little mention of their storied pasts.

00:00 – New album title 00:34 – Current tour 01:22 – European leg of the tour 02:06 – Intro to “Women’s Intuition” 03:07 – Ian and Mick’s collaborative songwriting process / intro to “Tell It Like It Is” 04:32 – Relationship between performers and fans 05:00 – Mott the Hoople: a thing of the past 05:36 – Collaborating outside of the duo / other outside projects 07:05 – Newer artists playing Hunter/Ronson and other cover songs 09:07 – Working with David Bowie 09:40 – Current tour dates (again) 10:20 – Staying in contact when they’re not working together 11:08 – Staying busy 11:55 – Unsure plans for the near future / staying with the album for a while 12:35 – Potential for working at Joe Elliott’s (of Def Leppard) studio 13:18 – Happy to be on the road 13:40 – Thank you’s / outro

Without necessarily being a household name, Dave Mason has had an extremely impressive rock n’ roll career. After co-founding Traffic, Mason went on to play with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Fleetwood Mac. The interview presented here, with Mason on the phone from Chicago with Scott Muni, is broken down into two parts. The first contains recollections from the best of these times, including recording “All Along the Watchtower” with Jimi and writing “Feelin’ Alright.” The outtakes from the interview deal mostly with his present day activities, which entailed recording an album that was never released. But even when the content isn’t too remarkable, the camaraderie between Dave and Scott makes listening enjoyable.

00:12 – New album being recorded 00:31 – Being on the road vs. making albums 01:00 – Past collaborations 01:35 – Intro to “Feelin’ Alright” 02:21 – The early days of Traffic 03:50 – Working with Jimi on Electric Ladyland 04:48 – Deciding to cover “All Along the Watchtower” 05:27 – Working with Delaney & Bonnie 06:13 – Intro to “Only You Know and I Know”

Outtakes 06:41 – Who Dave is recording with 07:28 – How Dave got his start as a musician 08:19 – Similarities between Scott and Dave (birthday, model airplanes) 09:19 – New happenings: resurrecting a record career / new production company 11:36 – Carrying on the tradition 12:40 – Working and not working / trying to keep the music fun 14:02 – Remembering Welcome to the Canteen