Talking Heads Records, the Talking Heads

The Talking Heads would go in first, and then a few weeks later, another band would come through town. If the audience grew and the music created a buzz among the kids, the promoters would identify it as a hot market and start the next wave. Kurfrist helped them go to the next stage-identifying new acts to article, showing them how to find off campus venues, and teaching them how to promote the bands and concerts. The process stimulated the entire genre of new wave, punk music.

For no more than $4, college kids could hear a live rock concert of original music-it was a way to encourage trial of a new musical experience and get kids to buy Talking Heads records. Low ticket prices became a motto for the Talking Heads, who even after releasing hit records like “Burnin’ Down the House,” kept ticket prices low and venues small, opting to play several nights at Radio City Music Hall rather than one night at Madison Square Garden. “It’s all about commitment to the type of people that make up our fan base, keeping in closer contact with them, and staying true to what we’re all about, ” says Weymouth.

In typical Talking Heads style, they brought down the house when they played together for the first time in 17 years at the ceremony inducting them to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the year the Ramones were inducted as well. Though the Talking Heads disbanded in the late 1980s, you can still hear their music on radio stations today and buy Frantz and Weymouth’s music under the TomTom Club name. The Talking Heads not only participated in a movement, they helped diffuse it from opinion leaders to a wider audience. They also smoothed the way for the success of other intellectual but nerdy superstars such as Elvis Costello, a 2003 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (who even dresses like a nerd).