[Timewaster] Not for their music but who has better moves in an oversized suit? David Byrne Michael Stipe Also count this thread as one of those "How old are you by naming a concert you saw?" social medial answers.
Never cared for REM or Michael Stipe growing up and that still holds true.....David Byrne I've always loved his music....
I'm a huge fan of the first 6 REM albums. Some of my favorite work from any artists. That said I love some Talking Heads. Slight edge to REM for me but only because I really got into Talking Heads later and I lived and loved those early REM albums as they came out as they were a soundtrack to my High School years.
David freaking Byrne I’m good with early REM kind of but Talking Heads we’re just unique for me. I’ve injected so many bands/genres into my sons and they pretty much get it. My 9 year old son loves the Heads and hates Stipe
I like both but I also think both are pretty pretentious. I mean the Talking Heads are singing songs about going to Rhode Island School of Design.
Crazy I've always heard the opposite. Stipe is nice but shy and Byrne was just a jerk. Both are great front men but both are also propped up by the musicians around them. While I absolutely LOVE early REM, I'd have to give the nod musically to the Talking Heads and Byrnes ability to collaborate with other musicians. If I were to have a beer with one of them..I'd choose Stipe every time though..because he seems so much nicer than Byrne. Byrne's the guy that didn't even tell his bandmates that the band had broken up - they learned they had broken up by reading an interview in a magazine. both have put out some amazing music though
I am the same I liked both but I think I like MORE REM songs than Talking Heads Stipe seems like a bit high strung and I would be far more concerned at offending him than I would with Byrne That of course does not let Byrne off the hook either They both seem like they could just explode at any moment (thought to be honest I have no proof or stories about either doing such a thing) Rocket River
REM put on one hell of a live show, as did Byrne, never got to see the actual Heads. I cannot recommend American Utopia strongly enough.
this is my thoughts exactly. i was a little later to REM though - document came out when i was in 7th grade. that and especially green is when i got into them. they actually lost me with automatic for the people, but i love the stuff before that and still listen to those albums. lifes rich pageant is my favorite REM album and also one of my all-time favorites. ill take that over talking heads best any day. both singers are all-time greats so its not taking anything away from byrne to say this, but if im judging on what i think are the three most important criteria of a great frontman than stipe wins. voice - stipe has a better singing voice IMO. theyre both really distinctive voices and if he was against someone who was more "traditional" than i might favor byrne, but stipe was just as original as byrne with his delivery and vocal style. lyrics - they're both great lyricists, but i have to give the edge to stipe again. stage presence - this is the closest of the 3, but id have to give it to stype again. more of a dynamic stage performer, especially later in the bands career. bryne was interesting too, but in a less traditional rockstar way. more of the performance art side of it. he did some interesting choreographed dance moves. i never saw talking heads, but i did see REM a few times and stype definitely worked it.
heard a description that every talking heads song sounded like a one-hit wonder. really seemed kind of true. the 6 or 7 hit songs i could think of and really like are just so unique sounding.
Fun fact - Ot the Stop Making Sense, the keyboard player for Talking Heads is Bernie Worrell, founding member of Parliment Funkadellic. He was a seriously talented dude. Also, when I was 10-12 and saw this on MTV I didn't realize that this was a side group for Tina Weymouth. I guess I didn't listen to the lyrics, which are kind of dark for a 10 year old. I know the thread was about the front men, but I don't know that you can't talk about them independent from the musicians behind them.
Now that I think about it: REM vs U2 would be a more appropriate poll You can't really compare the Talking Heads to anybody.
I LOVE REM. Truly a great band. But Christ….Radiohead took their name from a Talking Heads song. The comparison really isn’t fair. It’s like comparing Led Zeppelin to the Foo Fighters. Comparing a great band from one era to rock gods from another.
