See Detroit Teens Perform David Byrne’s ‘Everybody’s Coming to My House’
David Byrne recruits students of a Detroit arts school for the singer’s celebratory “Everybody’s Coming to My House” video, a track off Byrne’s new LP American Utopia.
The video features a performance by the Detroit School of Arts’ Vocal Jazz Ensemble interpreting “Everybody’s Coming to My House” accompanied only by a living room piano. DSA’s Radio & Television department students directed the homemade video.
“When I saw what the DSA students did with my song, it completely changed the way I thought of it. In fact, it changed the meaning of the song—I realized it was about inclusion, welcoming, and not being alone. It’s a more generous interpretation of the song than what I do with my voice,” Byrne said of the video in a statement. “We ARE all in the same house—if we want to be. Just goes to show how a song can change (radically!) depending on who is singing it.”
In addition to the official “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” Byrne also shared the American Utopia: Detroit short film highlighting how the DSA students became involved in the project as well as their rehearsal of the song at the home of their music teacher “Mrs. V.”
American Utopia: Detroit is tied to Byrne’s ongoing tableaux Reasons to Be Cheerful, a series that “recognizes the darkness and complexity of today while showcasing alternatives to the despair that threatens us.”