He writes, 'It seems that creativity, whether birdsong, painting, or songwriting, is as adaptive as anything else. but what it is.'īyrne dismisses the notion that great art emerges from uncontrollable creative urges, and instead argues that artists, unconsciously and instinctively, make their work fit preexisting formats.

How it's performed, how it's sold and distributed, how it's recorded, who performs it, whom you hear it with, and, of course, finally, what it sounds like: these are the things that determine not only if a piece of music works. but in large part by what surrounds it, where you hear it and when you hear it. 'How music works, or doesn't work,' he writes, 'is determined not just by what it is in isolation. In the book's first several pages, Byrne makes such good sense. As such, the book is as much a series of essays as it is an autobiography, and it begins with the time-tested passion and clear-eyed focus you'd expect from someone who's devoted his entire life to making and exploring music. He quotes from Oliver Sacks's brilliant Musicophilia: 'For the vast majority of students, music can be every bit as important educationally as reading or writing.'Īt his best, Byrne writes in a smooth, easy, conversational tone, and supports his ideas with anecdotes from his own career. If not for the author's brief lapses into street talkhe uses the word shit just a bit too freely for the youngest readersone gets the impression that Byrne wouldn't mind having his book taught in elementary school. Measuring 7.1' by 1.6' by 9.1' and with an attractive paper-over-board cover, David Byrne's boldly titled new book resembles the textbooks often found in public-school classrooms.

How music works byrne