Review: Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina

Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina by Chris Frantz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back when I was in high school, I had musical tastes that ran counter to my traditional rural Midwestern classmates. While most were headbangers, or the milder version of arena rockers, or into post-outlaw country, I tended to the occasionally cerebral, often fun songs by artists outside of the mainstream as it existed where I was. Which means I enjoyed new wave, art rock, and the like, much of it British. Out of that conglomeration of sounds came “Psycho Killer”. I was a fan of Talking Heads from the time I first heard them. Got the vinyl, saw a 1982 concert, got some of the post-band albums, and even (much more recently) read David Byrne’s books on music and bicycles. Now, with Chris Frantz’s new book, you get the story from Chris and, maybe, wife and bandmate Tina Weymouth. Chris tells a personal version of events, from his early years to the formation of the band. His early band years stories are quite interesting, mixing the rock and roll business stories of touring, writing, and partying with his own story of falling in love with Tina. It seems they have their rolls here – David Byrne as the self-centered occasionally crazy one, Chris as the drug-taking but earnest one, and Tina as the beauty/Mom/responsible one (she's the Winnie Cooper of New Wave). Frantz provides an extremely detailed retrospective of their lives, with quite funny stories about the first major tour with the Ramones. Some of the later stories showed some reflection, as he talks about the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and about sailing.

As I listened to this audiobook, I found myself wondering a few things. One, how did he keep track of all the venues and all the anecdotes he relates here. At times, he even mentions the food they ate, forty years ago. I didn’t catch an explanation. Also, what was Tina’s role in the writing of this book? Perhaps this was described in the paper book, but in the audiobook with no addenda or intro, she is the often mentioned party who happens to live with the author, and who would have made a great co-author. This makes me wonder if Tina has her own book in the pipeline. When it comes to Tina, this book is a tribute to her from Frantz. He has absolutely nothing bad or critical to say about her. Perhaps she was greatly involved in writing this book but didn’t want her name on it because of this. Nevertheless, this is refreshing as a celebrity describing the love of his life, and I am surprised to say that this is the part, or theme of the book I feel I will remember the best.

I also wonder why Frantz reads the unabridged audio of his book. His tempo is very slow and plodding. I don’t think I could have listened to the entire book at normal speed, but at double speed it moved at a good pace. Still, there are a lot of stories here. Fans will find a lot of interest. I found it enjoyable, but you're left with a kind of bad taste for David Byrne. So now, I deserve a little break with some Tom Tom Club. Play that bass, Tina.


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