Psycho Killer (Live)

The Stop Making Sense recording captures David Byrne performing Psycho Killer alone with acoustic guitar and programmed percussion at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983. It was released on the film's soundtrack in 1984. The stripped-down performance opened Jonathan Demme's concert film, establishing its gradual construction of a full-band show from a nearly empty stage. Byrne's entrance with a portable cassette player became one of the film's defining images. The performance reached renewed audiences through the film's 2023 restoration and expanded soundtrack.