Talking Heads Announce Collaborative Book 'New Feeling'
All four Talking Heads members announced a collaborative coffee-table book called 'Talking Heads: New Feeling.' Abrams Books will publish it on May 18, the 50th anniversary of the band's debut album. The book will include handwritten lyrics, early album sketches, and private photos from the group's archive.
The four members of Talking Heads—Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, and Chris Frantz—announced the Abrams Books title in an Instagram video for the publisher. The release is scheduled for May 18, matching the 50th anniversary of the group’s first album, Talking Heads: 77.
Weymouth described the project as an unusual joint effort to assemble and select material for a large illustrated book. Harrison said it includes lyrics in the members’ handwriting, early record-art concepts, and personal photographs, with several items held in the band’s archive for over 40 years. Frantz said it traces three art students who met at Rhode Island School of Design and reached C.B.G.B. in New York’s 1970s punk and new-wave milieu.
The book could extend Talking Heads’ reach beyond music listeners to art and design readers, while giving longtime fans a reason to revisit the band’s catalog. Publishers may see renewed interest in musician-led archival volumes, and collectors could be drawn to the visual material. Its impact is likely cultural rather than broad social change, centered on fandom, nostalgia, and the publishing market.