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Monday, August 12, 2013

Family Movie Night: Stop Making Sense

Title: Stop Making Sense
Director: Jonathan Demme
Original Release: 1984
Choice: My Wife's
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Image via Wikipedia

When our daughter first became aware of specific bands, the first she could identify readily was The Beatles, known for a long time as simply "Daddy's Favorite Band."  It wasn't much of a shock.  The Beatles are a pretty easy sell.  The second band she was drawn to, though, was more of a surprise: The Talking Heads.   I never would have thought of them as a kid-friendly band but she loves them.  My Wife has a theory: David Byrne (lead singer) dances kind of like a seven-year-old.  Our Girl was about that age at the time.



As such, the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense was an excellent choice for Family Movie Night.  I had never seen it before and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The Talking Heads were a fun, high energy band and I'm sure they were great to see live.  The film is considered by many critics to be the finest rock concert movie ever made - not much in the way of gimmickry, just a solid presentation.  There are lots of wide shots of the band and individual performers, including Byrne, are generally framed in full-body or waist-up allowing the quirky charm to shine through.

Once the movie was over, I asked Our Girl what she thought.  "I loved it," she said. "Too bad we have to wait another year to watch it again!"  (FMN rule: once a year limit for each film)
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19 comments:

  1. Andrew LeonAugust 12, 2013 at 12:42 AM

    Hmm... I've never heard of that, but, then, I was never a huge fan, either.

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 12, 2013 at 8:10 AM

      I was never such a big fan back in the day myself. I appreciate them a lot more now.

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  2. SultanAugust 12, 2013 at 10:19 AM

    I saw the talking heads in Providence, R.I. 30 years ago. They were quite good.

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 12, 2013 at 10:36 AM

      See, now I wish I had. I wasn't much of a concert-goer when I was 11 but they definitely put on a good show. There are bands who know how to play but aren't so good at maintaining the energy of a performance. TH clearly understood the showmanship aspect of their job - without much in the way of pyrotechnics, either.

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    2. SultanAugust 12, 2013 at 11:09 PM

      I knew Tina Weymouth vaguely a million years ago through a girl I was dating st RISD. She was actually pretty nice.

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    3. The Armchair SquidAugust 12, 2013 at 11:23 PM

      That's a great brush with fame. I once dated a girl who later became a Bloomberg reporter. I never actually saw her on TV myself - not one to cruise the finance channels. That's the best such brush I've got, though, apart from seeing random celebrities on the street.

      I must confess my own ignorance. I did not realize, before the movie, that Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club were connected. '80s trivia fail!

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    4. SultanAugust 13, 2013 at 1:30 AM

      It's funny how connected people are. The world is a lot smaller than it used to be.

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    5. The Armchair SquidAugust 13, 2013 at 7:55 AM

      Yes. Small world stories tend to be good ones, too. I find them humbling. It's good to be reminded that there's no us and them. It's all us.

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  3. SuzeAugust 12, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    :) Your girl's comment lamenting having to wait a year is awesome. You've made this sound interesting with your own review.

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 12, 2013 at 1:04 PM

      Once again, I think this is a movie your family might enjoy as well.

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    2. SuzeAugust 12, 2013 at 11:18 PM

      Thanks for that. Will keep it in mind. Though we've already decided that as soon as we set up camp in our new digs, we're gonna watch a few TOS Star Trek episodes--strictly for comfort. :)

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    3. The Armchair SquidAugust 12, 2013 at 11:24 PM

      Excellent. Annual squid molting happens soon. I think you'll be pleased with what I have planned for the coming year.

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    4. SuzeAugust 13, 2013 at 8:00 AM

      Looking forward to it.

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  4. angryparsnipAugust 13, 2013 at 11:26 PM

    Love your family movie night and the completely different movies you watch.
    I also love your daughters sorrow over the One Year Rule !
    You make this all so interesting.
    On a side note...
    Dinner tonight was at Takamaysu and I ordered my favorite squid salad and thought maybe I shouldn't order this.... but I did anyways and it was fabulous !

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 14, 2013 at 8:59 AM

      Oh dear, I hope you weren't thinking of skipping the squid on my account! I love the stuff. I prefer calamari to raw, though. Squid's great in Thai food, too.

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  5. angryparsnipAugust 14, 2013 at 10:41 AM

    hahahahahaha.... I thought of you for a second and then said cheers !
    The squid is shaved super thin, marinated with micro tiny red peppers and served over sweeten quick pickled cucumbers.
    So perfect !
    Not many people like or know how to serve parsnips. They are a wonderful, and two years ago I posted a parsnip muffin recipe !

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 14, 2013 at 10:53 AM

      The salad sounds great. My wife likes parsnips. She usually roasts them.

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  6. SultanAugust 15, 2013 at 9:56 AM

    Oh I came across this: http://boingboing.net/2013/05/28/alternate-recording-of-talking.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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    1. The Armchair SquidAugust 15, 2013 at 10:09 AM

      Oh, that is awesome! Who knew what the song really needed was a cello part? Shades of "Eleanor Rigby."

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