Quotes by David Byrne

About David Byrne:

David Byrne is a Scottish-born American musician who was a founding member, principal songwriter, and lead singer and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads, active between 1975 and 1991.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I wouldn't be surprised if poetry - poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs - is how the world works. The world isn't logical; it's a song.

David Byrne

I pick up a copy of Newsweek on the plane and immediately notice how biased, slanted, and opinionated all the U.S. newsmagazine articles are. Not that the Euro and British press aren't biased as well--they certainly are--but living in the United Stat...

David Byrne

I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe--but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry--poetry in the broadest sense, ...

David Byrne

It's a bit like sympathetic magic in a way: the usual Western presumption that 'primitive' rituals mimic what they desire to achieve--that phallic objects might be believed to increase male potency and playacting rainfall might somehow bring it about...

David Byrne

Punk was defined by an attitude rather than a musical style.

David Byrne

It's a fundamental, social attitude that the 1% supports symphonies and operas and doesn't support Johnny learning to program hip-hop beats. When I put it like that, it sounds like, 'Well, yeah,' but you start to think, 'Why not, though?' What makes ...

David Byrne

With pop music, the format dictates the form to a big degree. Just think of the pop single. It has endured as a form even in the download age because bands conform to a strict format, and work, often very productively, within the parameters.

David Byrne

It seems almost backwards to me that my music seems the more emotional outlet, and the art stuff seems more about ideas.

David Byrne

But at times words can be a dangerous addition to music — they can pin it down. Words imply that the music is about what the words say, literally, and nothing more. If done poorly, they can destroy the pleasant ambiguity that constitutes much of th...

David Byrne

I like a good story and I also like staring at the sea-- do I have to choose between the two?

David Byrne

Music was an experience, intimately married to your life. You could pay to hear music, but after you did, it was over, gone - a memory.

David Byrne

My favorite time of day is to get up and eat leftovers from dinner, especially spicy food.

David Byrne

I've made money, and I've been ripped off. I've had creative freedom, and I've been pressured to make hits. I have dealt with diva behavior from crazy musicians, and I have seen genius records by wonderful artists get completely ignored. I love music...

David Byrne

Real beauty knocks you a little bit off kilter.

David Byrne

I like to combine the dramatic emotional warmth of strings with the grooves and body business of drums and bass.

David Byrne

I do seem to like to combine the dramatic emotional warmth of strings with the grooves and body business of drums and bass.

David Byrne

Artists are notoriously snooty and suspicious of anything coming from the business community.

David Byrne

Do creative, social, and civic attitudes change depending on where we live? Yes, I think so.

David Byrne

If anything, a lot of electronic music is music that no one listens to at home, hardly. It's really only to be heard when everyone's out enjoying it.

David Byrne

Yeah, anybody can go in with two turntables and a microphone or a home studio sampler and a little cassette deck or whatever and make records in their bedrooms.

David Byrne

Author Bio

  • NameDavid Byrne
  • DescriptionScottish alternative rock musician and promoter of world music
  • BornMay 14, 1952
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionFilm Producer; Composer; Actor; Singer; Screenwriter; Musician; Writer; Bicycle Racer
  • AwardsAcademy Award For Best Original Score; Webby Lifetime Achievement Award