Listen to David Byrne’s specially curated ‘Biking Playlist’

David Byrne has revealed his ‘Biking Playlist’ while sharing his thoughts on the continued evolution of pop music. See his complete song selection below.

The former Talking Heads singer is currently touring behind his newest solo record, ‘Who Is The Sky?’. Issued last September, it marked his first studio project since 2018’s ‘American Utopia’ and included contributions from Hayley Williams, St. Vincent and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner.

While travelling between concerts, Byrne has been cycling alongside music from Olivia Rodrigo, Sofia Isella, Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski and several others. He has now gathered the tracks into a fresh edition of David Byrne Radio called “Biking Playlist”.

Byrne explained that every member of the group travels with a folding bicycle, allowing them to discover the different places they visit. He added: “If I have an afternoon off, I’ll often go for a ride to clear my head. And if I’m on my own and it’s a secure path or not a busy road… I’ll listen to this playlist.”

David Byrne’s ‘Biking Playlist’ is:

‘Square’ – Mitski
‘Demons’ – Allison Russell
‘Numbers 31:17-18’ – SOFIA ISELLA
‘Wet Hair’ – Audrey Hobert
‘Cruise Ship Designer’ – Dry Cleaning
‘The Book of Love’ – Olivia Rodrigo, War Child Records
‘Tie Game’ – Diagonale des Yeux
‘Vegetation’ – WILLOW
‘Sue me’ – Audrey Hobert
‘Trying Times’ – James Blake
‘Alright’ – Yebba
‘Running To Pain’ – Kelsey Lu
‘Hell Is Near (Live)’ – St. Vincent, Jules Buckley
‘Are You Listening Yet?’ – Harry Styles
‘Bowling alley’ – Audrey Hobert
‘La Perla’ – ROSALÍA, Yahritza Y Su Esencia
‘Rite of the Ancients’ – The Budos Band
‘Above the Neck’ – SOFIA ISELLA
‘sitting silently’ – WILLOW
‘Love Takes Miles’ – Cameron Winter
‘what’s wrong with me’ – Olivia Rodrigo, Robert Smith
‘Playground’ – Jesca Hoop
‘West Memphis’ – Yebba
‘Hi Ho’ – Tune-Yards
‘Springtime’ – Allison Russell
‘Salesman Saint’ – Paul McCartney
‘Flushed Chest’ – Joan As Police Woman
‘Aset’ – Ibeyi
‘Another Time’ – Zoh Amba
‘Lost Boys’ – Phoebe Bridgers
‘Eternal Flame’ – Joan As Police Woman
‘She’s My Religion’ – WILLOW
‘Sex and the city’ – Audrey Hobert
‘Need It’ – ECara Delevingne
‘What Am I Gonna Do?’ – Aldous Harding
‘Real Life’ – Joan As Police Woman
‘Honeybee’ – Olivia Rodrigo
‘Dry Spell’ – Kacey Musgraves
‘Offerings’ – Ibeyi
‘Momma Gets By’ – Paul McCartney

In a message published alongside the collection, Byrne discussed his varied musical preferences and perspective on pop, suggesting that the boundary between mainstream and experimental sounds continues to move.

“What I think of as pop music is broadly defined,” he wrote. “Some songs are, by consensus, mainstream, but even some of those often push at the edges. Others take the format, length and shape of pop songs, but to my ears they don’t sound anything like the ones considered more mainstream.”

“That said, they’re all equal in my book,” he continued. “I don’t think of any of them as inside or outside – as I’ve seen those definitions change with plenty of exceptions that prove the rules are meant to be broken.”

The collection was released soon after Byrne appeared with Anna Calvi during her Halifax and Cardiff concerts, where they performed their joint song ‘Strange Weather’.

NME awarded the ‘Strange Weather’ EP three and a half stars in 2014, writing: “It’s only worth doing a version of someone else’s song if you bring something new to it. Anna Calvi certainly does that on this five-track EP of covers. Potential cover performers take note: this is how you do it.”

NME also attended Byrne’s Mad Cool performance this summer and called the show a “bonanza”, adding: “As he and his backing musicians moved in formation across the stage, video screens depicted a variety of colourful environs – waves, a misty forest – before the Talking Heads track ‘Life During Wartime’ was accompanied by images of brutal ICE raids.”

Byrne is also preparing for a series of intimate UK appearances promoting his upcoming book Sleeping Beauties. The November tour will stop in London, Brighton, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh. Full details can be found here.