David Byrne on Changing to Survive

“Paradise is death because in paradise nothing changes. Or at least in many conceptions of paradise perfection is absolute, unchanging, static. That’s putting it in dramatic terms, but my perception is that organisms need resistance, difficulty, and challenge to be strong and to be what they have evolved to be. Someone wrote that, without wind, trees get all droopy and can’t stand up straight. They need to be blown about, to sway, to strengthen their tissues and, well, become a tree. Likewise, we strive for social stasis and perfection, but we find that then life becomes enervated, the energy runs out like a tap turned on full. You have to change to stay where you are. No rest for the weary.” 

From an interview with David Byrne conducted by Olivia Judson for The Believer 

#davidbyrne #talkingheads #music #musician #rock #rockandroll #pop #art #artist #paradise #drama #dramatic #interview #portrait #photooftheday #instagood #story #stories #thestorybar