Merry Christmas ♡ Let me start by saying that what you wrote in the form is super interesting! You know a lot of stuff already, but still I hope this DB gift inspires your research.
Funnily, I think that David himself also found community by creating his own music and performing - he really grew socially, and also found like-minded people by singing his lyrics.
[David doing an AMA on Reddit]
Anyway… your DB gift will explore 'community' connected to David Byrne in the broadest sense. What follows is mainly me associating things I know about DB, with the idea of 'community'. So I hope you don’t mind that it isn’t always specifically about finding community through music.
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// POLITICS
David is known for being involved in politics. People often form communities with others who share their political views, and that sense of community can be important when you want your voice to be heard.
David at the No Kings march in Philadelphia, 18 Oct. 2025:
[From his online journal, January 2017:]
I went to the Women’s March in Washington on Saturday. It was glorious, I’m still high from the experience. Two thoughts:
1. The question is sometimes raised, “what good do demonstrations do?” Especially one’s like this, that cover a whole range of issues; i.e. broad target and focus. I’d respond based on Saturday (and past experiences) that these kinds of demonstrations are sometimes not as much about one specific issue but about solidarity and affirmation. They allow participants to actually see one another–very different than online–and to confirm common hopes and concerns: we are here, there are a LOT of us, we are not going away. We vote!
(I fully expect that resistance around specific issues will follow, and will be re-watching "Eyes on The Prize" for tactical lessons!)
2. There was a LOT of humor in this march. I don’t know if this was because there was less testosterone, but it’s a super effective tactic. Comedians and comics can say things that break the ice and are acceptable where blunt angry statements hit walls. There were so many hilarious signs- a huge part of the experience was laughter and smiles. A resistance with laughs is irresistible.
Here are some of the best signs I saw: [click here to see his photos]
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This does connect with music again, during this Women's March, Janelle Monae did 'Hell You Talm Bout'. David often played this song at the end of American Utopia shows. Amazing song, that has everything to do with community.
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"I felt that the trajectory of our show implies more social and political engagement from me — and possibly from the audience, but certainly from me and the band. In the times that we live in now, I felt we were kind of obliged to be more engaged in that way. Three years ago, in 2015, I heard the song she did — and she [also] did it at the Women's March in Washington. I just thought, "This is one of the most moving political songs that I'd ever heard." I was surprised that it didn't catch fire and you didn't hear it everywhere. So when it came [to it], I thought,"How are we going to end this show? It seems to be going in this direction." I got in touch with her to say, "I'd like to do your song. Does it seem weird for a slightly older white man to be doing this song?" And she said "No, no, no. This is great." She said something like, "This song should belong to everyone. Everyone should be able to do this song."
Tell me what you see from your perspective on stage when you sing it. What's happening in the audience?
One of the beautiful things about the song is it's not accusatory. There's an implication that there is a lack of social justice, but it's not accusing the audience, it's not pointing a finger at any specific person or group. It's saying that something's not right and giving tribute, remembrance, to these lives that are gone.
At that point, we've had the high points of the show where the audience is dancing and they're having a great time. Then we keep the groove going, but it gets quite serious. It ends the show on the vibe of, "This is where we are at in 2018."
That's a fascinating arc. I think about the way you open the show, you're examining a human brain alone on stage with the song "Here," and pointing out all these regions in the brain and taking us into this world where people can forget everything that's going on outside and be part of this amazing spectacle. To bring it back out at the end ... people in the audience can't help but say the names along with you, and the act of doing that is remarkable.
When you say the names, you can picture these people, the people who were killed. Sometimes it's really hard to sing.
In the ’80s, David Byrne collected newspaper clippings about funny or unusual people. He used these stories to form the characters in his movie True Stories. In the film, he acts as the narrator who goes around Virgil, Texas, meeting all the quirky people and kind of becoming part of the town’s community. Some people thought he was mocking Texans, but for him, these people were just unique. Not stupid at all!
I think you have read How Music Works already, but I think it's interesting how David places the evolution of music into the context of architecture, and architecture is inseparably connected to community. A church where people sing together, a concert venue where people come together to see their favorite band, indigenous groups making music together outdoors (technically not architecture, but you see what I mean :))… you name it. So that's why I'll also drop this TED Talk here:
And the last thing I'd like to add is this video of the American Utopia performance of Road To Nowhere. It's just a performance and song that makes me really feel connected to the people around me. The way the whole band marches through the audience gives me such a strong sense of community.
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