On a daily basis we are flushed by bad news about the world we live in. As a kind of remedy and possibly a kind of therapy, musician and artist David Byrne has been collecting good news from around the world that reminds him, "Hey, there's actually some positive stuff going on!" It’s inspired a new, cross-platform project he’s calling Reasons To Be Cheerful.
In his own words:
“I began to look for encouraging things that are happening anywhere, and if they have been tested, if they have been proven to work, if they can be transferred and adopted in other places, if they can scale up—then let’s hold them up for consideration, and let’s invite others to add to this project. There are actually a LOT of encouraging things going on around the world—they’ve given me hope, and I’d like to share them.”
More good news: as Byrne was compiling these examples, he was also making a new record—songs he suspects were informed by much of this material—American Utopia, out in March. The songs on this new album ask: “Can we start over? Is there another way? A different way?” Byrne says, “Just the act of asking is a big step.”
Byrne will present his Reasons To Be Cheerful on this Sunday. He will talk about the urgency and theme of his collective. He will also expand on sharing and distributing hope and optimism. The event is free and seating is limited. Learn more about the project in Byrne’s own words at: www.reasonstobecheerful.world About David Byrne:
In the seventies and eighties Byrne experienced great success with the legendary new wave-band Talking Heads. Ever since he flourished as a very successful solo-artist, score composer (The Last Emperor), writer (How Music Works) and keynote speaker. Klimaatverandering, oorlogen en maniakale presidenten: we worden op dagelijkse basis overspoeld met slecht nieuws over de wereld waarin we leven. Talking Heads-frontman en schrijver David Byrne vindt dat dit anders moet. Hij ziet met goed vertrouwen de toekomst tegemoet. In zijn eigen woorden: “I began to look for encouraging things that are happening anywhere, and if they have been tested, if they have been proven to work, if they can be transferred and adopted in other places, if they can scale up—then let’s hold them up for consideration, and let’s invite others to add to this project. There are actually a LOT of encouraging things going on around the world—they’ve given me hope, and I’d like to share them.” Meer goed nieuws: tegelijkertijd heeft Byrne gewerkt aan een nieuw album, American Utopia, dat op 9 maart uitkomt, met songs waarin het optimisme en vertrouwen in de mensheid doorklinken. Byrne vraagt ons via de songs: “Can we start over? Is there another way? A different way?” en zegt hierover: “Slechts het stellen van de vragen is al een enorme stap vooruit.” Vanavond gaat muzikant en schrijver David Byrne in De Balie in op zijn Reasons to be Cheerful-project, een verzameling ideeën over optimisme. Hij zal vertellen over de urgentie en thematiek van deze verzameling, en zal zijn ideeën over het delen en verspreiden van hoop en optimisme uit de doeken doen. Lees hierover meer op: www.reasonstobecheerful.world Over David Byrne
Byrne maakte in de jaren ‘70 en ‘80 furore met de legendarische new wave-band Talking Heads. Sindsdien heeft hij zich niet alleen ontpopt als succesvol solo-artiest maar tevens als filmcomponist (The Last Emperor), schrijver (How Music Works) en keynote spreker.