--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time Talking Heads were starting…" description: "\"By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to throw out everything and start from scratch onstage; strip it down to as close to zero as yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg" --- # By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to… ![“By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to throw out everything and start from scratch onstage; strip it down to as close to zero as you can get and then you can make it yours.” quote by David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg) > “By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to throw out everything and start from scratch onstage; strip it down to as close to zero as you can get and then you can make it yours.” [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He wanted to strip performance to its basics, discarding excess to create an authentic, personal stage presence **In simple terms:** Start from zero to make it truly yours Key Takeaway Embrace minimalism for authentic expression Themes creativity authenticity minimalism Mood reflective determined Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - stage design - band rehearsals - solo acts - creative workshops Key Concepts performance art self‑creation musical identity Questions to Reflect On - How much can you strip before losing impact? - What core elements must remain? A Different Perspective Too much reduction can lose audience engagement ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Twitter is my bar. I sit at the counter and listen to the conversations, starting others, feeling the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/twitter-is-my-bar-i-sit-at-the-counter-and-listen-to-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [As always, the blessed relief of starting, a feeling that was like falling into a hole filled with bright light. As always, the glum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-always-the-blessed-relief-of-starting-a-feeling-that-was-like/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/and-you-may-find-yourself-in-another-part-of-the-world-and-you-may/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/this-ain-t-no-party-this-ain-t-no-disco-this-ain-t-no-fooling-around/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Occasionally, I hanker for the time when I sold more records, but I don't sit and drool about it. When I do look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/occasionally-i-hanker-for-the-time-when-i-sold-more-records-but-i-don/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“Patience is a virtue but I don't have the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/patience-is-a-virtue-but-i-don-t-have-the-time/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I was a Talking Heads fan from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-demme/i-was-a-talking-heads-fan-from-the-very-beginning/) [Jonathan Demme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-demme/) > [I like ones that pertain to the music they make. Talking Heads does that somehow. More often than not band names are just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-like-ones-that-pertain-to-the-music-they-make-talking-heads-does/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [In early 1983, Gary Goetzman and I went to see my favorite band, the Talking Heads, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-demme/in-early-1983-gary-goetzman-and-i-went-to-see-my-favorite-band-the/) [Jonathan Demme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-demme/) > [I think in daily newspapers, the way comic strips are treated, it's as if newspaper publishers are going out of their way to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-think-in-daily-newspapers-the-way-comic-strips-are-treated-it-s-as/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [One of the challenges was to make a cinematic movie about literally talking heads and to try to make it feel like something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/one-of-the-challenges-was-to-make-a-cinematic-movie-about-literally/) [Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/) > [I mean, the trouble with some of the kind of relationship movies I've done, is there's only so many ways you can shoot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kasdan/i-mean-the-trouble-with-some-of-the-kind-of-relationship-movies-i-ve/) [Lawrence Kasdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kasdan/) > [When I was little, people like Talking Heads were on the radio. There was something geeky yet groundbreaking about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/when-i-was-little-people-like-talking-heads-were-on-the-radio-there/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I own a copy of the original 'Talking Heads' by Alan Bennett, which I purchased many years ago shortly after they were first broadcast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lancashire/i-own-a-copy-of-the-original-talking-heads-by-alan-bennett-which-i/) [Sarah Lancashire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lancashire/) > [There are lots of guns and action in my drawings, and part of that is just to make them more interesting. Because you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/there-are-lots-of-guns-and-action-in-my-drawings-and-part-of-that-is/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) ## More by David Byrne > [The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood - rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky - they all turn out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/the-voting-booth-joint-is-a-great-leveler-the-whole-neighborhood-rich/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Human beings have the incredible capacity for denial. I think they do. And although it's really hard to believe, I have my doubts. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/human-beings-have-the-incredible-capacity-for-denial-i-think-they-do/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I remember talking with Arcade Fire after their first record, when they were getting all kinds of offers from major labels, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-remember-talking-with-arcade-fire-after-their-first-record-when/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I ride my bike almost every day here in New York. It's getting safer to do so, but I do have to be fairly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-ride-my-bike-almost-every-day-here-in-new-york-it-s-getting-safer/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I've been asking myself: 'Why put together these things - CDs, albums?' 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Why? Am I not an attraction?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-wave-to-the-double-decker-buses-from-my-bike-but-the-passengers/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Technology has altered the way music sounds, how it’s composed and how we experience it. It has also flooded the world with music. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/technology-has-altered-the-way-music-sounds-how-it-s-composed-and-how/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [A lot of that worked itself out in the recording.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/a-lot-of-that-worked-itself-out-in-the-recording/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I came to New York to be a fine artist - that was my ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-came-to-new-york-to-be-a-fine-artist-that-was-my-ambition/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Sometimes the European and North American public like some things to be exotic and kept at arm's length. 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Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [We never realize the importance of any our action until we be the hunt of same situation in reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fadi/we-never-realize-the-importance-of-any-our-action-until-we-be-the/) [Fadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fadi/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If someone really loves you, no matter how many other people they meet, their feelings for you wouldn't change. A real lover cant be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-really-loves-you-no-matter-how-many-other-people-they-meet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Good girls don't hurt other people's feelings. Good girls are not overly aggressive, competitive, or boastful. Good girls please others. But what good girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jane-gilman/good-girls-don-t-hurt-other-people-s-feelings-good-girls-are-not/) [Susan Jane Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jane-gilman/) > [You will never fully understand how much you mean to me, because there are no amount of words that can begin to describe my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-fully-understand-how-much-you-mean-to-me-because-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 21,172 Feelings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to throw out everything and start from scratch onstage; strip it down to as close to zero as you can get and then you can make it yours.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Byrne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting-my-feeling-was-to-throw-out/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feelings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting-my-feeling-was-to-throw-out/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/david-byrne-1206_feelings_by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting_896566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By the time Talking Heads were starting, my feeling was to throw out everything and start from scratch…” — David Byrne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Byrne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By the time Talking Heads were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting-my-feeling-was-to-throw-out/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/by-the-time-talking-heads-were-starting-my-feeling-was-to-throw-out/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```