Talking Heads Reunite for ‘New Feeling’ Retrospective Book to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

Talking Heads are officially getting the band back together—not for a traditional reunion tour, but for a landmark commemorative book that captures the artistic evolution and historical impact of one of the most influential groups in alternative rock history. David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison, and Chris Frantz have officially announced Talking Heads: New Feeling, an expansive visual and literary retrospective set to arrive on May 18. The publication date holds special significance, as it marks the exact 50th anniversary of the group’s foundational debut album, Talking Heads: 77, which helped redefine the landscape of American post-punk and new wave music in the late 1970s.

Published by Abrams Books, the upcoming volume offers an unprecedented deep dive into the band’s storied archives, presenting a comprehensive look at their creative process from their early days in New York City’s burgeoning downtown art-rock scene through their global success. For the members themselves, compiling the project meant revisiting decades of physical and mental milestones that had long remained locked away from the public eye.

"For this book, we pulled out handwritten lyrics, original album sketches, and private photos, some of which haven’t left our archive in over 40 years," Jerry Harrison told Abrams Books in an interview discussing the project.

Beyond the rare archival materials supplied by the band, New Feeling distinguishes itself by curating original essays from all four core members of Talking Heads. These firsthand reflections are complemented by contributions from a diverse roster of notable admirers, artists, and cultural figures, including Lorde, Debbie Harry, Karl Ove Knausgaard, and Jeff Bridges, among others. The inclusion of these varied perspectives highlights the band’s enduring and far-reaching influence across multiple generations of musicians, writers, and actors.

The new book also gathers a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes photography chronicling the production and legacy of the iconic 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense. Directed by Jonathan Demme, the film is widely regarded as one of the greatest concert movies ever made. Its stature was reaffirmed when it returned to theaters for a limited theatrical engagement in 2023, accompanied by a pristine 4K remaster that introduced the groundbreaking performance to a new generation of filmgoers and music fans alike.

The process of reuniting to promote the Stop Making Sense re-release marked a major turning point for the members of Talking Heads. Prior to the campaign surrounding the film’s remaster, the famously fractious band had not made a public appearance together in decades, leading many fans to abandon hope of seeing them unite for any shared endeavor. However, revisiting the cinematic masterpiece rekindled deep personal bonds among the bandmates. In an interview ahead of that re-release, Harrison told Pitchfork’s Andy Cush that seeing the film again "revives the joy we had together," adding that the experience was "certainly tugging on the heartstrings of how much I loved everybody."

The announcement of Talking Heads: New Feeling is part of a monumental stretch for enthusiasts of the band, arriving amid a flurry of archival activity that has energized the group’s dedicated fanbase. Just recently, on October 1, the group detailed comprehensive plans to share a freshly remastered, super-deluxe edition of their critically acclaimed third studio album, Fear of Music.

That landmark LP, scheduled for release on November 13 via Rhino, significantly expands the original track list by incorporating a rich array of alternate versions, rare studio outtakes, and previously unreleased full concert recordings capturing the band’s electrifying live energy during that specific era. The arrival of the Fear of Music super-deluxe edition is slated to coincide with the launch of a dedicated SiriusXM station, which will broadcast continuous programming celebrating the enduring catalog and cultural impact of Talking Heads.