There are only so many ways an artist can write a song. But David Byrne is the kind of artist to really challenge our typical songwriting conventions. For instance, the Talking Heads legend has just written a song about Elon Musk for Alex Gibney’s upcoming documentary about the world’s first trillionaire. But it doesn’t just stop there. Instead of just writing about him, he used Musk’s own words to make his point.
In an interview with Variety, Byrne talked about an upcoming song titled “Let Me Sell You a Dream”. Co-written with the film’s composer Daniel Pemberton, they formed the song through a vast collection of Elon Musk’s public statements. Ultimately, David Byrne figured he couldn’t make a better point about the Tesla CEO than the man himself. The song essentially wrote itself in his eyes.
“A thrill to collaborate with Pemberton and get invited to do this as a fan of Gibney’s films,” he told the publication. “I asked for good quotes from the Martian, and found more of them online. I’m sure he loves dropping these wild statements, and those became the lyrics. All his own words. No editorializing. Straight from the man’s mouth to mine.”
David Byrne Writes His Next Potential Oscar Winner About Elon Musk
“Let Me Sell You a Dream” would mark a huge potential opportunity in the future. The record could be nominated for Best Original Song at the 2027 Oscars. It would be the first time he’s been in the Oscar race since he won Best Original Score for “The Last Emperor” in 1988 alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su.
As for the film’s director, Alex Gibney couldn’t be more thrilled. Already a huge fan of David Byrne and Talking Heads, he recalled seeing the filming of their classic concert film Stop Making Sense back in 1984. Consequently, he figured if anybody could make a song for the documentary, it would be Byrne.
“I am a huge fan of his. My wife and I were at the Pantages for the filming of Stop Making Sense, so I sensed that he would find a musical way into what the film is trying to say. And he did,” Gibney teased of the David Byrne record. “‘Let Me Sell You a Dream’ is kick-a**. And, in writing the lyrics, David dug deep into the sayings of Musk himself to get to ‘extremely hard core,’ foot-tapping sardonic poetry.”
Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images
The post New Wave Icon Writes Song About Elon Musk Exclusively With Musk’s Own Quotes for Upcoming Documentary: ‘From the Man’s Mouth to Mine’ appeared first on VICE.
