The 1975 have shared the new video for ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’, taking inspiration from Talking Heads‘ classic concert film Stop Making Sense.
The Warren Fu-directed video sees frontman Matty Healy dressed in an oversized suit, similar to the now iconic outfit worn by Talking Heads’ David Byrne in the film – believed to be one of the greatest concert films of all time. There are obvious nods to the arthouse masterpiece, from Healy’s Byrne-esque mannerisms to the identical backing dancers.
The clip, which you can watch below, also features appearances from The 1975’s Dirty Hit labelmates No Rome and The Japanese House’s Amber Bain, as well as Healy entering the set of their recent ‘Sincerity Is Scary’ video mid-shoot.
You can see the similarities between the ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ video and Stop Making Sense below.
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A teaser for the ‘It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)’ video premiered in cinemas over the weekend as part of a Spotify advert for the band’s third album, ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’.
Reddit user @imnoteventhatfunny also pointed out that the advert contains a major gaffe, incorrectly spelling the album title: “first saw it last night, realised it doesn’t seem to be online yet so i figured i’d go back this morning to film it.
“also just noticed the ad gets the spelling wrong and calls it “enquiry” instead of “inquiry” lol”.
Healy recently dissected the story behind ‘It’s Not Living’, admitting that he never would have written about his heroin addiction if he hadn’t “gotten clean”.
The 1984 film ‘Stop Making Sense’ followed the Talking Heads at their creative peak with director Jonathan Demme capturing Byrne’s highly theatrical live show antics.
He also took the then-revolutionary approach of filming from the middle of the crowd, before every other bootleg YouTube took this perspective.
“Jonathan’s skill was to see the show almost as a theatrical ensemble piece, in which the characters and their quirks would be introduced to the audience, and you’d get to know the band as people, each with their distinct personalities,” said David Byrne in a eulogy, posted after Demme’s death. “They became your friends, in a sense.