by Backsliding on December 4th, 2012, 12:20 pm
I'm in the middle of reading How Music Works and thoroughly enjoying it - I really like DB's authorial voice, whether on his blog or this book; the NY Times review was wide of the mark in that it seems the reviewer was expecting some juicy tell-all about his time with Talking Heads, which goes to show he/she has no idea; Byrne would never take part in something so grubby (the reviewer seems dismayed that DB uses a euphemism for 'sex & drugs', and plainly wants to hear more about the rest of the band and the CBGB's days - which would admittedly be pretty cool, but Byrne just ain't about the whole nostalgia thing).
The book only gets autobiographical when exploring Byrne's personal relationship with music, music technology and the music biz in relation to the many-varied topics at hand, and he generally takes a far broader overview of the evolution of music than his own experiences encompass.
I honestly think it's one of the most notable things his produced and I haven't even finished the book, it really stamps him as an intellectual giant in the field of music, and his ability to thread a line through the tangled web of musical developments makes for a surprisingly breezy read.
So as with a lot of things it all comes down to expectations; I've recently been doing a bit of work with a friend who owns a studio, I am pretty much a novice, but a lot of what DB explores in the book has really resonated with me having been exposed to some of that world of sonic possibilities.
The stuff he writes about the research department of the Bell telephone company is something that I find really fascinating for instance, but I could see how others might be baffled or bored.
It's the kind of book you can pick up from time to time and re-read any chapter in the book, because it is chock-full of information and ideas.