Jonathan Demme, who died today at age 73, was probably most famous as the director of films like Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. Music fans may remember him best as the director of Talking Heads’ influential concert film Stop Making Sense. But his connection to the world of music, particularly rock’n’roll, ran even deeper than those quick highlights might suggest. “Music was my first love, movies came second,” he was once told an interviewer.
In Demme’s films, songs and scores often played a role nearly as prominent as those of the actual stars, from Tom Petty’s “American Girl” in Silence of the Lambs to Meryl Streep covering that song and others in Ricki and the Flash. Musicians acted in Demme films—New York Dolls frontman David Johansen in Married to the Mob, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe (singing Neil Young!) in Rachel Getting Married. Stop Making Sense wasn’t Demme’s only feature-length musical project, either. He also directed three Neil Young documentaries, plus concert films for Robyn Hitchcock, Justin Timberlake, and Kenny Chesney.
When not making films, Demme also directed a handful of music videos. Typically, as in Stop Making Sense, these were performance-based clips: “You get to design three minutes in a stylized way,” Demme said. “You really get lost in a song you like.” Here are some of the times, as a video director, he tried to find his way.
Suburban Lawns, “Gidget Goes to Hell” (1980)
The future Academy Award winner got an offbeat start as a music video director. This video for Southern California new wavers Suburban Lawns’ nervy 1979 single “Gidget Goes to Hell,” as the title suggests, was something like a ’60s beach movie meets Jaws. It debuted on “Saturday Night Live.”
New Order, “The Perfect Kiss” (1985)
Likely Demme’s finest non-Stop Making Sense music footage is this 11-minute live take of New Order performing one of their most affecting songs. He reputedly was disappointed the band wouldn’t be playing live drums. The wonkily dispassionate process he documents instead is all the more fascinating.
Artists United Against Apartheid, “Sun City” (1985)
Steven Van Zandt’s protest song against South Africa’s racist government policy, produced by Arthur Baker, featured a vast array of artists. Demme captured quite a number of them in this nearly eight-minute clip, which was nominated for a Grammy.
The Feelies, “Away” (1988)
New Jersey’s finest had perhaps their best-known Demme appearance covering David Bowie’s “Fame” in his film Something Wild. But he also captured the pioneering band’s spastic live performance style in this video, shot at the legendary, now-defunct Maxwell’s in Hoboken.
Bruce Springsteen, “Streets of Philadelphia” (1993)
Deme commissioned Springsteen for this cornerstone of the Philadelphia soundtrack, earning the Boss an Oscar for Best Original Song. Demme co-directed the song’s video with his nephew Ted, who died in 2002 at only age 38. The elder Demme reunited with Springsteen for 1995’s “Murder Incorporated” video.