David Byrne has offered a characteristically insightful take on the Donald Trump presidency and the state of America.
The Talking Heads icon recently sat down with The Independent to discuss his forthcoming Spike Lee-directed concert film, American Utopia.
During the interview, Byrne was asked if he ever anticipated America plummeting to the lows that it has over the Trump presidency. “To be honest, no,” Byrne mused .
“We’ve all had our dystopian fantasies of what could go wrong, and there’s plenty of books and TV shows that represent that. But then to see this happen… Trump was not a surprise. He is what he is.”
Byrne went on to express that although the initial Trump presidency was not shocking, he was perplexed by the ongoing support for him following his bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“What is surprising is how many people still support him [even after the election],” says Byrne. “When you see the coronavirus exploding across the United States, and how many dead there are, and how many people just don’t care about that or think it’s a conspiracy, you just go, ‘Wow, the country I’m living in isn’t the country I thought it was.’”
On December 14th, David Byrne will unveil the filmed adaption of American Utopia. The album that was transformed into a live spectacle and later a Broadway production.
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When asked how the collaboration between him and acclaimed director Spike Lee came into fruition, Byrne admitted that they had previously crossed paths. “I guess that’s the advantage of being a well-known person,” Byrne shared. “I had his phone number so I could just text him.”
Those who were privileged enough to witness American Utopia in all its live glory — and even those that have obsessively watched and rewatched Talking Head’s concert film Stop Making Sense will know what earthly delights to anticipate.
“There’s a lot going on visually,” Byrne explains. “Other than a few little interventions, he didn’t really change the show at all.”
Check out the trailer for American Utopia by David Byrne below:
