David Byrne

Talking Heads' front-man David Byrne has always been a pioneer of all things cutting-edge. In 1984, he released The Knee Plays, a series of vignettes written in conjunction with spoken word performances from Robert Wilson's the CIVIL warS. Wilson's work was originally intended to be a day-long theatrical presentation, featuring Byrne's Knee Plays as a series of interludes between sets. Though Wilson's grand opera was never performed in its entirety, Byrne's segments occasionally appeared in public. In 1985, the music itself was released on vinyl as Music for The Knee Plays, but has only recently been reissued on CD.

Philip Glass-one of Byrne's co-conspirators-used the term "knee plays" to describe "short connecting pieces which appear throughout [the CIVIL warS] much as prelude, interludes and post-ludes." Written exclusively for brass band, the musical series carries a New Orleans funeral-dirge backdrop for Wilson's spoken word.

Tracks like "In the Future," prevail with contradictory couplets about a post-apocalyptic age: "In the future there will be a classless society/No one richer than anyone else/In the future everyone but the wealthy will be very happy." The pompous brass accompaniment, particularly the chugging tuba, provide an almost comical counterpoint to the bleak cultural predictions of Wilson's poetry.

"Tree (Today is a Very Important Occasion)" describes a woman preparing for a very important occasion by imagining a specific wardrobe. Byrne's listless half-monotone gives Wilson's words just the right amount of support to make the seemingly trivial lyrics powerful.

The avant-garde style of artists such as Wilson is best accompanied by equally eccentric artists. On The Knee Plays, David Byrne masterfully creates a palette from which Wilson's spoken word can paint a striking portrait-a piece of art, not music-that might take more effort in understanding, but is all the more worth it in the end.

-Stefanija Giric