Talking Heads Set May 18 Book Release with Archive Material

By Elena Vasquez

Talking Heads: New Feeling arrives on May 18, marking the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Talking Heads: 77. David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison and Chris Frantz announced the new book together.

The release date links the publication to five decades since the debut. In the announcement, the band said the book gathers handwritten lyrics, original album sketches and private photographs from its archive. Some of those photographs have not left the archive for more than 40 years, Harrison said.

What will New Feeling contain?

The announced contents fall into three groups:

• Handwritten lyrics.
• Original album sketches.
• Private photographs, including images held in the archive for over 40 years.

The announcement says Byrne, Weymouth, Harrison and Frantz each contribute an original essay. Additional contributors include Lorde, Debbie Harry, Karl Ove Knausgaard and Jeff Bridges, along with others named by the band.

The volume combines archival writing and images with essays from four members and contributions from four named writers, giving the May 18 release a broad range of voices and source materials.

“For this book, we pulled out handwritten lyrics, original album sketches, and private photos, some of which haven’t left our archive in over 40 years,” Harrison told publisher Abrams Books in an interview.

For readers, May 18 will place some previously private materials alongside member essays and contributions from additional writers.

How does Stop Making Sense connect to the book?

The announcement says Stop Making Sense provides behind-the-scenes photographs for New Feeling. The band identifies the concert film as a 1984 production and notes its limited theatrical engagement in 2023.

Harrison told Pitchfork’s Andy Cush that seeing the film again “revives the joy we had together,” adding: “It’s certainly tugging on the heartstrings of how much I loved everybody.”

His remarks came ahead of the film’s remaster promotion. Before that campaign, Talking Heads had not made an appearance together in decades, according to the announcement.

By including photographs from the film, the book extends the documented history of a shared 1984 performance into print after the film’s 2023 theatrical return. For readers, the film section connects 1984 behind-the-scenes images, the 2023 cinema engagement and Harrison’s reflections on the band.

What arrives for listeners on November 13?

On October 1, Talking Heads detailed plans for a freshly remastered, super-deluxe edition of their third album. Titled Fear of Music, That LP, the edition comes November 13 on Rhino.

The band’s expanded track list includes:

• A number of alternate versions.
• Studio outtakes.
• Previously unreleased full recordings of two concerts from the era.

The band said the November 13 release will coincide with the launch of a new SiriusXM station dedicated to Talking Heads. Both events share one launch date. The reissue will arrive with a dedicated band channel scheduled to begin alongside it.

Unlike the book’s private photographs and handwritten lyrics, the reissue concentrates on sound through alternate versions, studio outtakes and two complete concert recordings from the original era.

For listeners, November 13 combines two previously unreleased full concert recordings with alternate versions, studio outtakes and a dedicated SiriusXM station.

The announced calendar gives fans two concrete dates: May 18 for New Feeling and its 50th-anniversary publication, and November 13 for the expanded Fear of Music edition and a band-focused station. In the months ahead, the two projects will place long-held visual and written material, alternate recordings and two full concerts before audiences.