Every so often someone inspires me in such a way that I designate them my Short Term Personal Savior. There are many ways one can receive this special designation. It could be through a lesson I have learned from them, a way that they are living life that is inspirational or that they are just plain badass.
Today’s Short Term Personal Savior is David Byrne. Here is why:
* He is one of the few true musical visionaries of the last few decades. Not simply through his work with Talking Heads but also his many solo projects and his collaborative work with Brian Eno. This guy’s work saves me musically on a weekly basis. His upcoming work with Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, promises to once again push boundaries and inspire others just as the influential My Life in The Bush of Ghosts did 30 years ago.
* One of the ways that his music saves me is not through his own works. His internet radio stream, Radio David Byrne, features a new theme monthly of hand selected tracks from his vast musical collection. Sub Saharan African Pop, Avant Jazz, Deep Track Rap, no theme is off limits. Each month I am enlightened by music and sounds I never would likely never be exposed to in my lifetime.
* He is also a pioneer in the the conceptual art world. Note his book of drawings of trees, Arboretum, to his recent interactive installation, Playing The Building, to designing new bike racks for the City of New York.
I really think David is a visionary and a badass. He is one of the few people who never ceases to fascinate me.