Remain in Love

Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina

By: Chris Frantz

Narrated by: Chris Frantz

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Two iconic bands. An unforgettable life.

This program is read by Chris Frantz.

One of the most dynamic groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Talking Heads, founded by drummer Chris Frantz, his girlfriend, Tina Weymouth, and lead singer David Byrne, burst onto the music scene, playing at CBGB, touring Europe with the Ramones, and creating hits like "Psycho Killer" and "Burning Down the House" that captured the post-baby boom generation’s intense, affectless style.

In Remain in Love, Frantz writes about the beginnings of Talking Heads - their days as art students in Providence, moving to the sparse Chrystie Street loft Frantz, Weymouth, and Byrne shared where the music that defined an era was written. With immersive vivid detail, Frantz describes life on tour, down to the meals eaten and the clothes worn - and reveals the mechanics of a long and complicated working relationship with a mercurial frontman.

At the heart of Remain in Love is Frantz’s love for Weymouth: their once-in-a-lifetime connection as lovers, musicians, and bandmates and how their creativity surged with the creation of their own band Tom Tom Club, bringing a fresh Afro-Caribbean beat to hits like "Genius of Love".

Studded with memorable places and names from the era - Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, Stephen Sprouse, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, and Debbie Harry among them - Remain in Love is a frank and open memoir of an emblematic life in music and in love.

Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year - 2020

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Chris Frantz (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Enjoyable, if sometimes perfunctory

Chris Frantz gives a detailed overview of 40+ years in music from what he refers to as "the best seat in the house." Always thoughtful and articulate, this is a different kind of rock memoir. Just as Talking Heads stood out from the punk and new wave pack in the 70s and 80s, Frantz's dry delivery and intellectual approach are a departure from most musician autobiographies. While he lacks the raucous storytelling or literary prose found elsewhere, the way he sees the world is unique and compelling. For example, his ability to recall, explain, and contextualize architectural design helps situate his travels in a way I've never come across in a rock memoir. The book clearly reflects the way Frantz has defined himself professionally, straddling pop and avant-garde sensibilities. In many ways it's a protracted love letter to Tina Weymouth, with Frantz's deep love and admiration for his wife coming across beautifully.

There are two main drawbacks to the book. First, his quasi-academic way of telling stories can become tedious. Context is great, but often he defaults to listing people and providing brief biographical sketches rather than crafting a narrative. For most of his friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, the book only skims the surface. Second, and this is a big one, Remain in Love is largely dedicated to settling scores with David Byrne. Clearly, Byrne was a difficult person to work with and his lack of respect for his bandmates is deeply troubling. He was selfish, uncaring, and manipulative in the extreme, diminishing the contributions of Frantz, Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison. The wounds are still fresh for Frantz, making him unable to reflect on the past and appreciate Byrne's gifts along with his foibles. Memoirs reflect the author's perspective, so it's hard to fault Frantz for expressing his thoughts honestly. At the same time, it's unfortunate that he's not in a place where he can acknowledge Byrne's creative genius. This book makes Byrne come across as a self-aggrandizing hack.

wow

Talking Heads and The Clash are my two favorite bands of all time. I was able to relive many fond memories of growing up with the TH being 15 years old when their first record was released. Great job Chris! Thanks for everything!! <3 <3<3

So good!

For any Talking Heads fan or any fan of punk/new wave/ post punk, this is an amazing book. Talking Heads is the totally unique band with whom I rain in love. This book simply enriched that connection.

The Opposite of Selfishness

I am from the generation of albums, turntables and one record at a time. I always listened with the album cover in my lap, reading, rereading and studying the pictures dreamily. I did not see any sign of what unfolded in Remain in Love. It is such a sad surprise in part and a heartwarming story of true love and artistic generosity. I just love this couple and how they seem to have never lost sight of how blessed they are. I am not religious but there was some magic at work that brought these two together. This is a very good place to escape from our current concerns.
I listen to lots of books so my ear is tuned to professional readers. It took a bit to get used to Chris’s reading but I grew to really enjoy his kind of dorky (sorry)and earnest voice.

In Love ?

I thought I was going to read about a great rock and roll love story but I’m halfway thru and he ALWAYS has to mention the appearance of every woman he encounters . He seems lecherous .

A great story that deserves better production

I’m a big fan of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club and was looking forward to reliving some great moments and learning more about the bands. As a memoir, Remain In Love is interesting and well done. I found that Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth are as inspiring for their personal character as for their music. While the book is quite forthcoming about David Byrne, the treatment is astonishingly kind as well. The book is richly peppered with the names and stories of the people Chris and Tina have met along the way., which should be fascinating to fans. That said, The production of the audio book is disappointing. Chris is not an actor. The reading was oftentimes wooden. I also expected to hear at least the occasional few bars of music throughout to set the tone and add context to the story. But it’s the story that redeems this book. Pick it up!

Fantastic

Extremely engaging and informative. Well written and well narrated. Nice mix of personal, and professional details. Lots of great stories from an incredible era of music. Bravo!

A Great Rock Memoir for Talking Heads Fans

I was a huge TH fan in the 80s. They were true originals. Way ahead of their time and were both funky and cerebral. It was very interesting to hear the inside story as told by one of its members. They were there at the beginning of punk and new wave in “the room where it happened”. The author met Lou Reed, Andy Warhol , Patty Smith and a lot of celebs at that time. I had always thought David Byrne was the moving force behind TH but now I see it was a true collective. Chris and Tina seemed like some of the few normal people among what was a crazy scene. Really well told bt Mr Frantz himself. A lot of insight as to how the music was made and songs written which I find missing from a lot of rock bios.

This Makes Sense!

Being a Talking Heads fan, I found this very informative. We only hear the music and snippets of their story. Cris goes very deep into the early days, their artistic methods and what it took to become so popular.

I had read about David's autism recently. That might explain how Chris describes David's quirky social skills, and odd behavior so I would tend to forgive him on those points. Without David's mannerisms and freaky skills, the band would certainly not be who they became.

it took all four for sure. Great listen if you were or are a Heads or Tom Tom fan!

A must for any Talking Heads fan

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. I’ve been a fan as long as I can remember and this is the next best thing to actually getting to sit down and chat with Chris.