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A review by margaret45678
Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina by Chris Frantz
medium-paced
It's hard to really rate this book because obviously Chris Frantz is not a professional writer. It pretty much had the same weak points you'd get in any other musician's memoirs, but if you're interested in the subject matter it's worth putting up with it. I liked the detail but I can see how some people would find it boring, and to be fair it did seem like he glossed over some important-seeming things really quickly (like his substance abuse problem) while going into minute detail about minor things like meals and hotels. On the other hand, I feel like by this point you should expect a member of Talking Heads to defy expectations.
As other reviewers have said, I found his criticisms of David Byrne sort of petty after a certain point - the stuff about the songwriting credits and the breakup of the band are totally understandable, but I feel like Frantz should have let go of the more mundane stuff like not making eye contact and being socially awkward. It especially felt weird because Frantz was otherwise almost too positive throughout the book. Apparently every woman and girl (and a good portion of the men and boys) he's ever met in his life have been cute and/or sweet. He came across as a bit oblivious at times (gushing about going to a fancy all-boys boarding school where he learned to be a "southern gentleman" - uhh okay) but he didn't exactly shy away from the fact that he and the rest of the band had quite privileged upbringings and were really lucky in a lot of other ways.
I did think it was nice that he was super complimentary about people he knew who aren't celebrities (relatives, childhood/RISD friends, road crew, etc.) and he definitely seems to love his wife a whole lot.
I hope Tina Weymouth also ends up writing a memoir (Frantz mentions at one point that she's working on a book) because it would be interesting to hear her perspective as well. One thing I wanted from this book (and didn't get) was an explanation for why every Tom Tom Club is about her "boyfriend" even though she's been married the whole time.
As other reviewers have said, I found his criticisms of David Byrne sort of petty after a certain point - the stuff about the songwriting credits and the breakup of the band are totally understandable, but I feel like Frantz should have let go of the more mundane stuff like not making eye contact and being socially awkward. It especially felt weird because Frantz was otherwise almost too positive throughout the book. Apparently every woman and girl (and a good portion of the men and boys) he's ever met in his life have been cute and/or sweet. He came across as a bit oblivious at times (gushing about going to a fancy all-boys boarding school where he learned to be a "southern gentleman" - uhh okay) but he didn't exactly shy away from the fact that he and the rest of the band had quite privileged upbringings and were really lucky in a lot of other ways.
I did think it was nice that he was super complimentary about people he knew who aren't celebrities (relatives, childhood/RISD friends, road crew, etc.) and he definitely seems to love his wife a whole lot.
I hope Tina Weymouth also ends up writing a memoir (Frantz mentions at one point that she's working on a book) because it would be interesting to hear her perspective as well. One thing I wanted from this book (and didn't get) was an explanation for why every Tom Tom Club is about her "boyfriend" even though she's been married the whole time.