The maddening (and highly controversial) video of David Byrne interviewing himself
The eccentric style of David Byrne is what helped propel both him and Talking Heads from new wave outsiders to global influences. It is that same offbeat manner that fans continue to adore. Nowhere is it better captured than in the clip below, where Byrne interviews himself, subtly skewering the dullness of mainstream music media in the process (eek!).
The clip comes from the hugely influential concert film Stop Making Sense and sees Byrne take on seven different characters, each scrambling to interview him and land their much-needed soundbites. In just a few short minutes, Byrne manages to engage every muso and fan while also rendering most of their intrigue irreverent at best, and entirely null at worst.
While there is most definitely a very large tongue pressed extremely heavily into his equally large cheek, it must be said that looking back, there is a cringe-inducing moment. Byrne adopts several characters in the film as well as himself. He jumps from a conservative white woman to a pretend hipster journo.
Then he does something that, in 2025, feels massively out of touch: he dresses as an African American to continue the interview. It’s fair to say there’s no racial statement being made – he’s simply adopting another character – but viewed through a modern lens, the moment is undeniably jarring. Since then, Byrne has addressed the clip and apologised. “Recently a journalist pointed out something I did in a promo video skit in 1984 for the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense,” he tweeted. “In the piece I appear as a number of different characters interviewing myself, and some of the characters portrayed are people of color.”
“To watch myself in the various characters, including Black – and brownface, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgment that showed a lack of real understanding,” he added. “It’s like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else – you’re not, or were not, the person you thought you were.”
Byrne’s artistic intent may have come from a place of satire, but intent doesn’t erase impact, and in this case, it left a mark that rightly drew criticism.
In the clip, Byrne uses the characters to pose questions he’s likely been asked countless times before. From “How did you ever think of that big suit?” to “Why did you call the movie Stop Making Sense?”, he answers each one in a robotic, overly professional tone. In doing so, he not only covers everything you might want to know about both Byrne and the film, but also makes a sharp point about the monotony of interviews.
In many ways, the clip offers a perfect tableau of the type of artist Byrne was in the heyday of the Talking Heads. Engaging, artistic, daring and always committed to his task. Of course, in many other ways, it offers a somewhat depressing reflection of a troubling time better left in the past.
What’s perhaps most telling is how Byrne takes the piss without ever fully sneering. There’s affection in the absurdity, as if he knows that the system’s daft but still kind of loves it anyway. Watching him interview himself is like watching a man try to dismantle his own myth in real time – only to realise the myth’s probably more fun. It’s awkward, it’s clever, it’s controversial – and it’s a reminder that even the most revered icons are capable of getting it badly wrong.
