All you needed was a couple of instruments and a few chords and you could be on an indie label.
Interpretation
Music can be created simply with minimal resources and skills.
David Byrne highlights the accessibility of creating music, suggesting that with just basic instruments and chords, anyone can produce art and potentially gain recognition in the music industry. This underscores the democratization of music, where talent and creativity can thrive regardless of formal training or resources.
In practice
This quote is perfect to inspire young musicians at a school talent show.
Forces that you might think are utterly unrelated to creativity can have a big impact. Technology, obviously, but environment, too. Even financial structures can affect the actual content of a song. The making of music is profoundly affected by the market.
When things get so absurd and so stupid and so ridiculous that you just can't bear it, you cannot help but turn everything into a joke.
I certainly agree that putting everything into little genres is counterproductive. You're not going to get too many surprises if you only focus on the stuff that fits inside the box that you know.
You create a community with music, not just at concerts but by talking about it with your friends.
Real sadness is such an all-encompassing intense thing that it takes you out of your humdrum existence. If you can still function, you want to show it while it's peaking. So when people tell you to cheer up, it's not always the best thing.
I find rebellion packaged by a major corporation a little hard to take seriously.
There was this moment when we made 'Superunknown': the Seattle music scene had suddenly ended up on an international stage with huge success.
Ultimately, to insist that rock criticism be political is first to insist that the humans who make and enjoy music are embroiled in politics whether they like it or not - and whether they know it or not.
Without the Fender bass, there'd be no rock n' roll or no Motown. The electric guitar had been waiting 'round since 1939 for a nice partner to come along. It became an electric rhythm section, and that changed everything.
I think I'm going to be making country records for as long as I can see into the future. It's much more down-home and real.
The easiest way to avoid wrong notes is to never open your mouth and sing. What a mistake that would be.
Master your instrument. Master the music. And then forget all that bullshit and just play.
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