Review: New biography goes deep into rise and fall of rock band Talking Heads
Gould, the author of well-received books on Otis Redding and the Beatles, chronicles in meticulous detail the rise and fall of the band that got its start in New York City's underground punk scene and ended up touring the world with a repertoire shaped by blues, funk and jazz.
He begins 'Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' with a vivid description of the drizzly June night in 1975 when the original trio — singer/songwriter David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz — made its debut at the seedy club CBGB in downtown Manhattan, opening for the Ramones before a handful of patrons. With their 'unremarkable haircuts' and 'nondescript casual clothes,' they offered a sharp contrast to the 'baroque turn' that rock fashion had taken in the 1970s, Gould observes.
'The qualities that characterized this neophyte group in their first public performance centered on the awkward, disquieting intensity of their singer-guitarist, David Byrne, their sketchy, skeletal arrangements, and the quirky intelligence of their songs,' Gould writes. 'Tall and thin, with a long neck and an anxious, wide-eyed stare, Byrne stood stiffly at the microphone, his upper body jerking and jiggling like a shadow puppet as he scratched out chords on his guitar. ... Instead of doing his best to command the stage and the room, Byrne looked trapped by his surroundings, as if he were prepared, at any moment, to make a break for the door.'
Within a couple years of their zeitgeist-changing performances, they enlisted keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison, adding a much-needed dose of professionalism to the band.
Gould, a former professional musician, writes exceedingly well about music but suffers from a kind of completism, cramming in an almost mind-numbing level of detail including the name of the elementary school in Pittsburgh where a young Frantz first took up drums to every military posting of Weymouth's naval aviator father.
Though much of the material is fascinating, including his observations about how Byrne's then-undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome may have influenced his music and relationships with the other band members, it is likely to be a bit too much for all but the most diehard fans.
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Business Upturn
21 hours ago
- Business Upturn
How Rhonda Byrne turned belief into a billion-dollar business model in the United States
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Based on New Thought philosophies and the age-old concept of manifestation, Byrne's brand of positivity offered something uniquely American: a promise that personal desire, if focused correctly, could translate into financial success, romantic relationships, or even health. The book's appeal was amplified by the Oprah effect—Byrne was featured twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show , instantly turning The Secret into a household name. But this was not merely a stroke of luck. Byrne's team had a meticulously prepared U.S. strategy: targeted marketing, viral DVD sales, and syndication-ready messaging that aligned perfectly with American consumer psychology, particularly in the post-9/11 era of anxiety and economic uncertainty. From self-publishing to global licensing: The monetisation of belief Initially self-published in DVD format in Australia, The Secret took a calculated leap into the U.S. through Byrne's independent media company, Prime Time Productions. This allowed full control over production and distribution—critical for maximising early profits and leveraging licensing rights. Once the product gained traction, Byrne negotiated with Simon & Schuster for U.S. book distribution, securing lucrative royalty terms while retaining key international rights. The licensing deals exploded from there: translated editions, branded journals, calendars, mobile apps, audio books, and classroom curricula. Byrne tapped into a global appetite, but it was U.S. licensing revenue—aided by Barnes & Noble deals and mass retail presence at Target, Walmart, and Amazon—that constituted the lion's share of initial earnings. She transformed a philosophical idea into an intellectual property portfolio. How The Secret was marketed as an American lifestyle product Rather than promoting The Secret as an esoteric text, Byrne positioned it as a lifestyle framework—accessible, digestible, and highly brandable. In the U.S., this meant aligning the brand with wellness, personal finance, self-empowerment, and productivity. Promotional materials often mirrored the aesthetics of life coaching and motivational content, appealing to the same demographic that consumed Tony Robbins seminars or Suze Orman books. The visual branding—sleek maroon tones, parchment-style fonts, and antique script—gave the illusion of ancient wisdom while being entirely repackaged for a modern American market. Byrne's U.S. strategy drew heavily on emotional branding, tapping into personal agency and aspirational living, two core pillars of American consumer culture. The spiritual economy and targeted wellness branding in the U.S. In America, the spirituality industry is less about doctrine and more about utility. Byrne's brilliance lay in her ability to reframe Law of Attraction as a toolset, not a belief system. This resonated especially with Millennials and Gen Xers looking for secular spirituality. Her products were marketed not through churches or religious circuits, but through wellness expos, YouTube testimonials, and self-help influencer networks. Additionally, the U.S. version of The Secret movement attracted an audience of women between the ages of 25 and 50—predominantly middle-class, self-motivated, and interested in holistic health, business success, and personal transformation. Byrne effectively monetised U.S. wellness branding trends decades ahead of today's meditation app and coaching subscription booms. The business backbone of the Rhonda Byrne empire Beyond the initial success of The Secret , Byrne expanded her brand into a multi-product business ecosystem. While many associate her only with books and DVDs, the full business structure involves real estate holdings, streaming services, limited-edition releases, and private publishing contracts—all orchestrated under her corporate entities registered across the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Two decades later, the Rhonda Byrne business model has evolved into a long-term revenue machine powered by repackaged content, re-releases, and evergreen messaging that continues to sell to new audiences. Product diversification: Beyond books and documentaries Byrne didn't stop with The Secret . Follow-ups like The Power , The Magic , and Hero were timed strategically for holiday seasons in the U.S., often bundled with journals, vision boards, or guided affirmations. These books were not standalone projects; they functioned as modular expansions of the same core message, enabling customers to buy into a continuity marketing loop. By 2020, Netflix premiered The Secret: Dare to Dream , a feature-length film starring Katie Holmes. The movie wasn't just content—it was an elaborate content marketing tool reinforcing the brand's legitimacy for a younger, more digitally native U.S. audience. Every product served a dual purpose: revenue and lead generation for future sales. 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Her website, became the central node in an expanding web of content, courses, and streaming options tailored to a U.S. market increasingly hungry for 24/7 access to self-help. and monetising an online following Launched as a basic companion site in the 2000s, evolved into a subscription-based streaming platform offering exclusive content, including affirmations, masterclasses, guided visualisations, and member-only film access. Users could pay monthly or annually—introducing a recurring revenue model uncommon in spiritual publishing at the time. Beyond video content, the site hosts affiliate products, branded merchandise, and ticketed digital events, all monetised through e-commerce integrations and Stripe-based payment portals. The platform also leverages email funnels and behavioural tracking, retargeting U.S. users with product suggestions and exclusive offers. 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Many of today's digital wellness entrepreneurs credit The Secret as their inspiration and often structure their business models similarly: digital downloads, email courses, private Facebook communities, and branded merchandise. Her approach gave rise to a template for belief monetisation: package an ideology, attach it to a lifestyle, build community, and layer it with content upsells. This structure is now common among American wellness influencers and spiritual coaches. A unique business legacy: What Rhonda Byrne's model tells us about U.S. spirituality commerce Rhonda Byrne didn't just publish a book—she catalysed an entire economic movement rooted in individual agency, emotional branding, and spiritual consumerism. In the United States, where belief and capitalism often intersect, Byrne's business model offers a textbook case of how spiritual ideologies can be turned into commercial IP portfolios. Her influence on U.S. self-help media and Gen Z spiritual entrepreneurs From TikTok manifestation videos to Instagram pages filled with affirmation quotes, Byrne's legacy is imprinted across Gen Z spiritual commerce. Many younger entrepreneurs now build businesses by combining social media virality with spiritual frameworks—exactly what Byrne did before the era of influencers. Her success proved that there's a scalable audience in America for content that blends hope, empowerment, and consumerism—and that spiritual messaging can be both emotionally resonant and highly profitable. Precursor to influencer-driven wellness empires in America Byrne's empire predated the influencer economy, yet foreshadowed it. Like today's YouTubers or meditation app founders, she built a niche, created high-conversion content, and scaled vertically across platforms. From that perspective, Byrne can be seen as a proto-influencer—except her product wasn't herself, it was belief itself. Modern figures like Jay Shetty or Gabby Bernstein have replicated aspects of the Rhonda Byrne business model, monetising mindfulness, manifestation, or spiritual insight via digital memberships, workshops, and product sales. Why the Rhonda Byrne business model may become a Harvard case study Given its unique blend of ideology, IP management, media strategy, and emotional marketing, the Rhonda Byrne business model offers a rich case study for American business schools. It intersects key subjects: branding, publishing economics, cultural psychology, and platform monetisation. In many ways, it's a model of soft power capitalism, where personal transformation fuels commercial transactions. Conclusion: Rhonda Byrne and the monetisation of belief in America's digital spiritual economy Rhonda Byrne's billion-dollar success was never just about The Secret —it was about strategically packaging belief for a country where hope sells. Her brand preceded the modern wellness boom, prefigured the influencer monetisation playbook, and created a repeatable framework for how spiritual ideas can thrive in America's digital economy. Like Calm or Headspace, Byrne built a business not from tangible products, but from an emotional and cognitive experience. The difference? She did it before mobile apps or Instagram ever existed. As U.S. consumers continue to spend billions on spiritual self-help, Rhonda Byrne's model remains a blueprint for monetising metaphysics—one that continues to shape the future of belief-driven capitalism in America. This article is intended for informational and editorial purposes only. It does not constitute endorsement or promotion of any individual, company, or entity mentioned. Business Upturn makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
The Bright Side: Leopard seal love songs structured like nursery rhymes, study finds
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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Seals sing 'otherworldly' songs structured like nursery rhymes
When male leopard seals dive down into icy Antarctic waters, they sing songs structured like nursery rhymes in performances that can last up to 13 hours, scientists said Thursday. The Australian-led team of researchers compared the complexity of the songs composed by the big blubbery mammals to those of other animals -- as well as human musicians like the Beatles and Mozart. Lucinda Chambers, a bioacoustics PhD student at Australia's University of New South Wales, told AFP that people are often surprised when they hear the "otherworldly" hoots and trills sung by leopard seals. "It kind of sounds like sound effects from an '80s sci-fi" movie, said the lead author of a new study in the journal Scientific Reports. During the spring breeding season, male leopard seals dive underwater and perform their songs for two minutes before returning to the surface for air. They then repeat this performance for up to 13 hours a day, according to the study. The researchers determined that all leopard seals share the same set of five "notes" which are impossible to distinguish between individuals. However each seal arranges these notes in a unique way to compose their own personal song. "We theorise that they're using that structure as a way to broadcast their individual identity, kind of like shouting their name out into the void," Chambers said. The researchers believe the males use these songs to woo potential female mates -- and ward off rivals. - 'Songbirds of the ocean' - The team studied recordings of 26 seals captured by study co-author Tracey Rogers off the coast of Eastern Antarctica throughout the 1990s. "They're like the songbirds of the Southern Ocean," Rogers, who is also from the University of New South Wales, said in a statement. "During the breeding season, if you drop a hydrophone into the water anywhere in the region, you'll hear them singing." The team analysed how random the seals' sequences of notes were, finding that their songs were less predictable than the calls of humpback whales or the whistles of dolphins. But they were still more predictable than the more complex music of the Beatles or Mozart. "They fall into the ballpark of human nursery rhymes," Chambers said. This made sense, because the songs need to be simple enough so that each seal can remember their composition to perform it every day, she explained. She compared it to how "nursery rhymes have to be predictable enough that a child can memorise them". But each seal song also needs to be unpredictable enough to stand out from those of the other males. Leopard seals, which are the apex predator in Antarctic waters, swim alone and cover vast distances. They likely evolved their particular kind of song so that their message travels long distances, the researchers theorised. Varying pitch or frequency might not travel as far in their environment, Chambers said. Female seals also sing sometimes, though the scientists do not know why. Chambers suggested it could be to teach their pups how to sing -- exactly how this talent is passed down is also a mystery. But she added that this behaviour has never been observed in the wild. The females could also just be communicating with each other, she said. dl/ach Solve the daily Crossword
