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American Utopia
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American Utopia
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MP3 Music, March 9, 2018
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Track Listings
1 | I Dance Like This |
2 | Gasoline and Dirty Sheets |
3 | Every Day Is a Miracle |
4 | Dog's Mind |
5 | This Is That |
6 | It's Not Dark Up Here |
7 | Bullet |
8 | Doing the Right Thing |
9 | Everybody's Coming to My House |
10 | Here |
Editorial Reviews
American Utopia fits hand-in-hand with Byrne's vision for his series "Reasons To Be Cheerful," named for the song by the late Ian Dury. Over the last year, Byrne has been collecting stories, news, ideas, and other items that all either embody or identify examples of things that inspire optimism, such as a tech breakthrough, a musical act, a new idea in urban planning or transportation-something seen, heard, or tasted. Just as the album questions the current state of society while offering solace through song, the content of the series recognizes the darkness and complexity of today while showcasing alternatives to the despair that threatens us.
While David Byrne has collaborated on joint releases with Eno, Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), and most recently St. Vincent over the past decade, American Utopia is Byrne's first solo album since, 2004's Grown Backwards, also on Nonesuch. American Utopia morphed during the writing and recording process, beginning with longtime collaborator Eno, and eventually growing to include collaboration with producer Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, King Krule, Sampha, Savages) alongside a diverse cast of creative contributors including Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never), Jam City, Thomas Bartlett (St. Vincent producer, aka Doveman), Jack Peñate, and others. The album was recorded in New York City at David's home studio, Reservoir Studios, Oscilloscope, XL Studios, and Crowdspacer Studio and in London at Livingston Studio 1.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 5.08 x 5 x 0.31 inches; 1.62 ounces
- Manufacturer : Nonesuch
- Original Release Date : 2018
- Date First Available : January 8, 2018
- Label : Nonesuch
- ASIN : B077ZCTT1R
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Customer Reviews:
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2018Utopias can help people determine just what kind of a world they really want. Distant ineffable abstractions that float on the boundary of fantasy and possibility, they provide a framework to analyze and judge a current reality. Some may waft into the realm of pure individualistic wish-fulfillment, such as the image of an eternal shopping center where the fashions remain perpetually current, no prices exist, no one has to work and everyone has time to look fantastic every second of the day. Others might shift into different aspirational territory, perhaps a world where everyone has the time and ambition to read deep intellectual treatises that turn people from mere materialistic hedonists into wonders of rational judgment so everything always makes sense and no one infers or extrapolates improperly. Utopias frequently possess more than a modicum of subjectivity, often severely limited by the historical imagination and biases of a particular era or social strata. Some even seem sinister. Despite such temporal, moral and epistemological limitations, they can also point forward and fuel the visionary thinking usually required to conceive of a "better world." Such thinking asks "why are things like this?" and "why can't things be like that?" These expose the taken for granted, the myopically programmed and instances where, perhaps exhausted or demoralized, one becomes resigned to the "I'm just gonna deal with it" syndrome. Did the martyred lawyer, aristocrat and politician Thomas More have such social and political therapy in mind way back in 1516? Maybe only for those who could read Latin? Fortasse?
Whether or not the beheaded Tudor-era author of "Utopia" foresaw such things, David Byrne has appropriated the concept, both musically and psychologically, for the current bewildered, polarized, suspicious and increasingly violent present world. The title of his latest album, "American Utopia," will of course mean different things to different people. Some Panglossians may exist who do indeed find the current state of the world as "the best it can possibly get." Fans of David Byrne will likely initially detect the odor of sarcasm, parody or irony, especially given the abundant presence of such literary devices within his past work. The album's liner notes, whether one receives them tangibly or digitally, emphatically deny this interpretation (we can thankfully take Byrne at his word in the "death of the death of the author" era; theory can sometimes stifle as it liberates). For those unsatisfied with these tumultuous times, Byrne's text instead looks upon the concept as an experiment in fostering hope by gazing directly at immediate realities, unearthing them and envisioning something different. He also derives inspiration from a now dated Utopian ideal of the 1960s, one claiming that "music can change the world," which now feels a little Quixotic, but perhaps we need Don Quixote more than ever? Questioning typically precedes change and this album encourages such questioning for those feeling a need for it. This activity might only result in a release of tension, a sort of emotional burp, or maybe it could actually open new potential worlds. Byrne doesn't pretend to offer any answers, but he proposes to use music as a means to evoke such sentiments. "American Utopia" delivers with some of Byrne's best music in years. The notion of a "comeback" now feels somewhat quaint, particularly since so few people ever go away anymore, but a previous critical age may have dubbed this fantastic album a "roaring comeback."
The album opens with searingly inviting wide-open gates as "I Dance Like This" slowly introduces a world of fervent pleasure-seeking mixed with thick denial. Each chorus explodes almost shockingly in an eruption of pounding bass electronica. "I dance like this" becomes "we dance like this" as the individual evolves into a collective and conformist mass. This musical atom blast disrupts a peaceful verse, lolling along on gentle piano. Images of a "credit card mommy" and "an invisible dad" who "can't think of tomorrow" clash with the idea that people act this way because it feels good. What? Does it? Do we even think about it? "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets" evokes images of migrants lost in dangerous and deadly places, confused and hopeless. The line, underscored by an addictively catchy melody, "she says that freedom costs too much" pretty much says it all. "Every Day Is a Miracle" sounds genuinely hopeful and glorious as it delves into the fascinating minds of chickens. It seems to contrast animal ideals with human ideals while drenched in anthropomorphism: "Cockroach might eat Mona Lisa," "the pope don't mean **** to a dog." Genetic engineering and software development emerge towards the song's end, which arguably hints at an examination of scientific utopianism. The image of the mind as "a soft boiled potato" definitely sticks. "Dog's Mind" once again looks at conformity and escapism: "We are dogs in our own paradise, in a theme park of our own." The melody peaks and troughs as majestically as a poignant hymn. "This Is That," possibly one of the album's best songs, exudes a moody atmosphere of cash cards and emotional dependency. Its gorgeous closing refrain reads like passages from Wittgenstein, though perhaps with a more acquiescing and resigned tinge: "This is when, This is now, This is that, This is how, This is what, This is then, This is where."
"There's nothing funny about making money" opens "It's Not Dark Up Here" and it feels like another portrait of a denier or someone with a limited, potentially dogmatic, perspective "there's only one way to read a book," but reflection appears again: "must a question have an answer, can't there be another way?" This song uses a juxtaposition of various points of view, possibly one of a scientific skeptic, to make its point and raise further questions. "Bullet" may provide the album's melancholy peak. It simply describes a bullet penetrating a person's skin and unpacks the moment and humanity of the penetrated. "The bullet went into him, it went its merry way." The piece of metal destroys skin, stomach, heart, head, erases thoughts and abolishes a person and a corresponding world. "I'm Always Doing The Right Thing" feels pretty obsessive compulsive in its quest for an ineffable, and ultimately unachievable and indefinable, perfection. Again, denial: "The world won't end it will just change its name." "Everybody's Coming to My House" arguably describes a serial killer collecting bodies which will "never go back home" and who will "never be alone." Human nature knows few bounds. Maybe a sequel to "Psycho Killer?" Chunky rhythm guitar helps drive this song along inexorably. "Here," the final song, presents a descriptive observation on the present moment and again raises many questions, including some with a neuroscientific bend: "here the sound is organized into things that make some sense." Life may end up as an interpretation of our neuronal structures, formed for us to exist and survive rather than to completely comprehend or control. The most perfect line imaginable ends the album: "Is it the truth or merely description?"
This album may represent a Utopia for some: great music, thoughtful lyrics artistically packaged with a challenging theme. References to newspapers and CDs feel a little dated in 2018, but those few anachronisms don't detract from the album's overwhelming musical and thematic power. "American Utopia" succeeds in being both musically entertaining and intellectually stimulating, similar to the vast majority of Byrne's work. It raises questions. It doesn't accept platitudes or excuses. It doesn't claim a utopia, but it does provide a foundation for imagining something beyond, or "better than," the current state. Those who still dwell in or yearn for the fading era of the album will find comfort in the fact that even the current post-album age can produce an album as wonderful as "American Utopia." Listen and imagine a better world.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018The innovative senior rock musician, musicologist author, and Brazilian forró popularizer David Byrne presents his latest opus, and it is intriguing and thoughtful. While under 40 minutes, the limited duration is fully packed with some fine socially critical writing and clever arrangements. If there is commonality to the series of tracks, it is that, echoing John Milton, we create our own heaven or hell, that our mind creates or shapes what we regard as the world. The hodge-podge spiritual/religious tune Every Day Is A Miracle, for instance, covers lots of bases but fundamentally honors the existence of every mind-created 'thing,' a Zen point of view. Dog's Mind starts out with politics but shifts to psycho-philosophy. A song about a lethal bullet is certainly peculiar and original (perhaps going along with the Beatles' Happiness Is A Warm Gun). Doing The Right Thing recalls the Spike Lee film, where no one did the right thing, and Byrne's law-abiding, conforming protagonist here has doubts and confusion on what is "right." The final track, Here, opens atmospherically and mysteriously and approaches the concept of "here' from the perspectives of geometry, neuroscience and experience, philosophy and worldview. Byrne is among the intellectuals of rock who is not reluctant to shake the tree and make us stop to reflect while immersed in melody and rhythm.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2018This is a great David Byrne album.
His humor, intelligence, and musical talent are all on display. Most welcome, there is a spark of joy and hope in the music that has been missing from the world lately. I've listened to it three times in the first 24 hours after downloading. Recommended.
Here are a couple of lines from the song Every Day is a Miracle, my favorite song on the album:
"The mind is a soft boiled potato, a jewel in a chocolate shell. I staple my love to your heart dear, with memories and beautiful smells.”
- Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2018I find this to be an awesome record! Yes, the lyrics are the way-out-there kind we're accustomed to getting from David Byrne and they're summarized quite well in some of the other reviews. I find the music to be adventurous, but not so esoteric that it can't be appreciated by the average Talking Heads fan. Remember, that group took lots of chances, and so has David in his solo career. This album rewards repeated listens and I'm finding something new in it every time - always the mark of a really good piece of work. In the current musical landscape this is quite a welcome release. Go for it!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018Everything about this album is fabulous. "Everybody's Coming To My House" has a great beat and - in typical David Byrne fashion - is filled with humour. "Here" and "This is That" are also strange explorations into time and space and politics - indications that Byrne is still capable of pushing the boundaries of what's possible both musically and epistemologically. This album is 37 minutes of GENUINE bliss from the 65 year-old former Talking Heads lead singer. While the album certainly addresses a politically polarized world - it is nonetheless a welcome addition indeed in this time of near-universal dystopian hopelessness amid Trumpian dishonesty and shamefulness.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2018Haven't had a chance to listen to American Utopia a whole lot yet. Bought the CD, then went and saw him perform live later the same day. What I have heard so far reminded me of a return to Talking Heads type material, a big plus! Live, his show was quite the spectacle, should not be missed!
Top reviews from other countries
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Miguel VellReviewed in Brazil on February 5, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars David Byrne se renova cantando a América de Trump
É um trabalho pra ficar na História. Primeiramente porque traz um Byrne renovado e afiado em bons discursos que disparam contra a a América de Trump. Um trabalho feito ao sabor do momento, por isso mesmo, se não é perfeito, ou pareça excessivo muitas vezes, mas é a certeza de um bom retrato dos EUA destes últimos anos.
- maryohReviewed in Canada on February 7, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Album!
I love this David Byrne solo album! It helps that I went to see his American Uptopia concert on Broadway! I'd highly recommend this album!
- javierdominguezReviewed in Spain on August 9, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantástic album!
David Byrne in the mood!
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stfcgReviewed in France on April 17, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Mister Rythme
Bravo mister Byrne. Le roi de la rythmique c est vous. Depuis les talking heads votre cheval de bataille c'est le rythme. Dans cet album tout est rythme. Tout est calibré, tout est parfait.
Bien au delà des productions musicales actuelles
- Lars, SwedenReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars One of Byrnes best solo albums
This is not the kind of world music, latin stuff or kind of movie music and so on Byrne done a lot of since go solo ..its more a bit Talking Heads/Brian Eno in a kind of special way, as it should be when he go solo and I like it! Good twisted lyrics... specially is first track "I dance like this" thats to me is a very cynical punch about modern life society but there is a couple more punches.. and also more happy ones.. I think this album be a bit underrated and to me its one of the better ones Byrne ever have done as solo artist so if you liked "Little Creatures" but to be a bit more twisted, neurotic with some more Brian Eno influence instead of the other former Talking Head members was at "Little Creatures this one is definitely for you! Im fine with this album. David Byrne intellectual and easy at same time is not a bad thing at all and music itself include both rhythmic and calm tracks/songs. I find out this was a very good purchase but each at their own as "I dance like this" at least when it comes to music ..