Stop Making Sense (1984 Documentary)

The fifth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1984 features our pick for the year’s most notable documentary, Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Directed by Jonathan Demme, Stop Making Sense captured Talking Heads performances over four nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater and is often considered the greatest concert movie ever made.

The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/stop-making-sense-1984), Pauline Kael in The New Yorker, and Paul Attanasio in The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/11/02/the-sense-of-psycho-rock/2b154dde-cd3e-4f2d-acc0-bf348f0e6df6/).

Our special guest in this episode is Eric Gladstone, former music journalist and author of the forthcoming book Anything But Nirvana: The Other Alt Rock Legends of the 90s.

Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1984 installment featuring Josh’s personal pick, Thom Eberhardt’s Night of the Comet.