Nearly two years after first announcing the project, David Byrne has launched an online magazine named Reasons to Be Cheerful that aims to be a tonic for tumultuous times.
As the former Talking Heads singer explains in the introductory video, he founded the website part magazine, part therapy session, part blueprint for a better world where he can share smart, proven, replicable solutions to the worlds most pressing problems.
What if we started a project and brought some of those reasons to be cheerful into sharper focus, Byrne said of his first foray into online publishing.
Reasons to Be Cheerful launched Saturday, with Byrne contributing six stories so far, including Indias Tiny, Amazing Art Hub about the small city of Kochi and Doing the Right Thing Is Good for Business. Byrnes longtime collaborator Brian Eno also penned an article titled The Necessity of Nuclear, a response to Byrnes article about the concerns about nuclear energy.
Byrne added of Reasons to Be Cheerful in a statement, It often seems as if the world is going straight to Hell. I wake up in the morning, I look at the paper, and I say to myself, Oh no! Often Im depressed for half the day. I imagine some of you feel the same.
He continued, Recently, I realized this isnt helping. Nothing changes when youre numb. So, as a kind of remedy, and possibly as a kind of therapy, I started collecting good news. Not schmaltzy, feel-good news, but stuff that reminded me, Hey, theres positive stuff going on! People are solving problems and its making a difference! I began telling others about what Id found.
In addition to his publishing endeavor, Byrne will kick off his American Utopia residency at Bostons Emerson Colonial Theatre in September before migrating to Broadways Hudson Theatre in October.