The song is about how we go along in life not really thinking about where we are or what we're doing-then all of a sudden you're having a mid life crisis trying to figure out where you have been and where you are going. Life passing by too fast to sit down, think and realize where you are in life and if it makes sense.
David Byrne is a amazing artist who is still performing really interesting work in music and on stage.The Talking Heads started by Art School students. David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar).Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and funk. Your getting hung up on the visuals, first listen. They made very fun cool videos when videos were just starting and were mostly stupid.
It's about profound stuff but it definitely uses kind of a surreal and sometimes sarcastic humor to deliver it with along with the minimal arrangements and the sound of the band, which is wonderful. I love all of the Talking Heads stuff, especially the earlier stuff. It's fantastic.
I was in my early 20's when this came out. Talking Heads had a great following, but it wasn't universal. I had a friend that didn't like his style. I always liked the sound because it was a unique organized quirky Punk style and completely unique.
The Talking Heads were graduates of the Rhode Island school of design. I was lucky to see them twice play in Boston. One concert the opening act was the B-52’s. 😎👍
They were very avant-garde. They did manage to have 1 top 10 single called Burning down the house which is more contemporary with killer drums. You should check that one out for sure.
The man in the video is David Byrne. Leader of Talking Heads. He's like that in all of their videos. They had a lot of cool hits back in the day. I used to watch them a lot on VH1 and MTV when they were only music. Back in those days most videos were... odd. But very entertaining. I'm glad people are getting back into watching them because they were family friendly. No vulgar language or anything like that. That's one of the reasons I love Voiceplay. They are generally family friendly.
Check out life during wartime, either the studio cut or the live performance from stop making sense. It will tell you a lot about them just as it did me in junior high when the very hard rock station I listen to started playing this song. It was crossover from alternative music. I had no idea what to make of it but I instinctively liked it, and then my love for the Talking Heads grew up a few years later when I got to college and everybody had all these albums and was so knowledgeable. It was so fun and people dance to their songs at parties and so forth.
Thanks, Ace - Talking Heads and David Byrne are amazing.. (very "new wave" avant garde back in the day) if you have time & inclination you should see a movie called "True Stories" - it's a fun watch..."True Stories is a 1986 American satirical musical comedy film directed by David Byrne, who stars alongside John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Loving your reactions to a lot of my favorite artists...
Saw these guys in 1984. Fantastic show, one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Back then we had to figure this stuff out without the help of the web. We enjoyed music without worrying about genre and to this day if we don't get it, we just enjoy the music. Relax into confusion. No one understands the Talking Heads or their videos. It isn't necessary.
Within seconds into the video your eyes left your ears in the dust, and you were completely high-jacked by the visuals of this video. LOL Too bad, because it is really hard to recover from this effect. But then again, it may not be the sound that moves you. Which is cool too!
It's definitely meant to be ridiculous, but not necessary for comedy. He knew what he was doing was weird and it was done on purpose to draw people's attention. But underneath it he then wanted to send a message once he had someone's attention. Psycho Killer is a much better introduction to Talking Heads. After that would probably be Road to Nowhere, Take Me to the River, or And She Was
Basically it’s about how we walk through life asleep, the water is basically about life being pointless, like water never changing same as it ever was.
I saw them more as portraying a cog in the metropolitan machinery. To me, it's like Another Brick in the Wall. They have their quirks, but it's a funky sound. Try their Burning Down The House.
Humorous? Absolutely. Comedy? Absolutely not. Talking Heads were part of the Postpunk/New Wave movement, and they had strong Art Rock leanings, having initially formed while attending Art School (at the Rhode Island School of Design). All of their songs explore serious topics while frontman David Byrne uses his body abstractly as a major part of the performance. His vocals here (and in other key songs) are inspired by 70s and 80s fundamentalist radio preachers. The song is about "The American Dream" of social mobility, but it calls those goals and achievements (beautiful house, beautiful wife, beautiful car) into question. The chorus explores man's connection to nature, by contrast. So, while the imagery is obviously quirky and outlandish, it's not a joke or novelty song. Other major Talking Heads songs address geopolitics ("Life During Wartime"), climate change ("Nothing But Flowers"), social alienation ("Fear of Music"), psychopathy ("Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House"), and more. But never quite from the perspective one might guess. In fact, Talking Heads are considered one of the greatest US bands of the 20th century. Their impact (Radiohead are named after one of their songs) and influence were enormous. They fused black and white influences in then-new ways that still resonate, while their songs from this era often got airplay on R'n'B stations and on early Hip-Hop setlists. They would be joined on tour by members of Parliament Funkadelic, and their live performances can be just as humorously serious and perplexing to watch (check out the live version of "Life During Wartime" for instance). But through it all, they are remarkable and creative musicians. This song fuses AfroPop (African Pop music from the 1970s) with Electronic and Funk influences contemporary at the time. Other Talking Heads songs can be more jangly and worm, others are cold and brittle. They have even dabbled in Country Music. As you are expanding your horizons, it's important to recognize that more Art-leaning bands and artists (David Bowie, Kate Bush, most New Wave and Postpunk acts, some Indie and Alternative Music) will rely on image, performance, social commentary, abstract lyrics, and outlandish ideas. Their music might sound weird or even cacophonous on the first listen. But that's because Art is meant to challenge us. Talking Heads had challenging ideas and made sounds we'd never heard before, but they were also very catchy and easy to love. "Once in a Lifetime' wasn't a major chart success, but it was one of the biggest videos in rotation for the early years of MTV, making it one of the most iconic pairings of sight and sound from the entire decade. In addition to diving deeper in their catalog, their blent of art commerce and danceability can point in the direction of myriad other performers who are similarly unique and singular.
Great synopsis! I am 61 and I really enjoy and appreciate the artistry of this band so much. The first time I ever heard this song all those decades ago my younger self instantly felt an odd kinship to his style and to the music and it took me awhile to begin to parse deeper meanings in both lyrics and performance. To my friends it was just a weird song but fun to dance along to!
Bernie Worrell and other P-Funk alumni were all over this album and tour. I saw them in the Oakland Colosseum in 1985 ... dance fever, bro. Check out their LP version of TAKE ME TO THE RIVER!
I first heard this song as a kid and I instantly loved it and still do. If you want an idea of David Byrne's range, I recommend looking up his cover of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Vocally, I don't think anyone can compete with Whitney, but he wasn't trying to out-sing her or make a better version, he just really loved the song and wanted to perform it at his live shows. The arrangement is incredible. He had a whole string section and an awesome percussionist.
If you thought this was a strange video, check out Life During Wartime, Girlfriend is Better and Psycho Killer from their live video concert, "Stop Making Sense".
It's a shame that some people don't belong anywhere, and don't trust where they are, or anything around them, or every moment that happens to them. I heard this when I was 10 and I knew it was about me.
People will say The Talking heads are so great and very talented but to a new listener they come across as being weird and strange. I totally get that. This video speaks volumes as do all of their songs. If you want to try another strange quirky band try Devo
Comedy as far as caricature, yes. You could read it as exaggerated physical ticks of someone realizing their innate need for spirituality is at odds with the cookie-cutter path laid out for them by a spiritually lacking status quo. How satirical to make a pop song repeat "same as it ever was" over and over.... Brilliant, really.
This guy cannot appreciate your tistic value of the talking head and the impact that they made during the punk rock era. They were the leaders and Pioneers of that are and not too many people even compared. Not even Ziggy pop. David Byrne also went on to write and perform so many other top songs that his artistic value cannot be measured. Which says a lot about this guy's ability to criticize or analyze any music whatsoever.
David is autistic and his offbeat movements is contrary to the rhythm of the movement. In my humble opinion, the humor exactly that having the capacity to sing the lyrics and move offbeat to the music. I always like this song from first hearing back in the day. When I actually saw the video, and seeing David on an HBO Special, I really respect the genius of this song........The Autistic spectrum has a range of capacities which include Asberger's and Savant Syndrome.....
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The song is about how we go along in life not really thinking about where we are or what we're doing-then all of a sudden you're having a mid life crisis trying to figure out where you have been and where you are going. Life passing by too fast to sit down, think and realize where you are in life and if it makes sense.
yeah this!!
Humor hides the darkness of reality.
David Byrne is a amazing artist who is still performing really interesting work in music and on stage.The Talking Heads started by Art School students. David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar).Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and funk. Your getting hung up on the visuals, first listen. They made very fun cool videos when videos were just starting and were mostly stupid.
I love watching cool people react to the T-Heads for the first time. ❤
It's about profound stuff but it definitely uses kind of a surreal and sometimes sarcastic humor to deliver it with along with the minimal arrangements and the sound of the band, which is wonderful. I love all of the Talking Heads stuff, especially the earlier stuff. It's fantastic.
One of my favorite bands ever. I can't wait to see this.
I was in my early 20's when this came out. Talking Heads had a great following, but it wasn't universal. I had a friend that didn't like his style. I always liked the sound because it was a unique organized quirky Punk style and completely unique.
The Talking Heads were graduates of the Rhode Island school of design. I was lucky to see them twice play in Boston. One concert the opening act was the B-52’s. 😎👍
They were ‘artsy’. ‘Burning down the house’ might seem more ‘normal’.
Definitely. David Byrne and the Talking Heads were absolutely hilarious.
They were very avant-garde. They did manage to have 1 top 10 single called Burning down the house which is more contemporary with killer drums. You should check that one out for sure.
Basic message: Don't live a life you don't want. You will regret it once you look back and think of the wasted years.
The man in the video is David Byrne. Leader of Talking Heads. He's like that in all of their videos. They had a lot of cool hits back in the day.
I used to watch them a lot on VH1 and MTV when they were only music.
Back in those days most videos were... odd. But very entertaining.
I'm glad people are getting back into watching them because they were family friendly. No vulgar language or anything like that.
That's one of the reasons I love Voiceplay. They are generally family friendly.
Check out life during wartime, either the studio cut or the live performance from stop making sense. It will tell you a lot about them just as it did me in junior high when the very hard rock station I listen to started playing this song. It was crossover from alternative music. I had no idea what to make of it but I instinctively liked it, and then my love for the Talking Heads grew up a few years later when I got to college and everybody had all these albums and was so knowledgeable. It was so fun and people dance to their songs at parties and so forth.
Thanks, Ace - Talking Heads and David Byrne are amazing.. (very "new wave" avant garde back in the day) if you have time & inclination you should see a movie called "True Stories" - it's a fun watch..."True Stories is a 1986 American satirical musical comedy film directed by David Byrne, who stars alongside John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Loving your reactions to a lot of my favorite artists...
Saw these guys in 1984. Fantastic show, one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Back then we had to figure this stuff out without the help of the web. We enjoyed music without worrying about genre and to this day if we don't get it, we just enjoy the music. Relax into confusion. No one understands the Talking Heads or their videos. It isn't necessary.
You must check them out live!! You must!
I could watch your face reacting to this for hours. So expressive.
Within seconds into the video your eyes left your ears in the dust, and you were completely high-jacked by the visuals of this video. LOL
Too bad, because it is really hard to recover from this effect.
But then again, it may not be the sound that moves you. Which is cool too!
Great meaningful song. Bizarre video (on par with other Talking Heads videos)
It's definitely meant to be ridiculous, but not necessary for comedy. He knew what he was doing was weird and it was done on purpose to draw people's attention. But underneath it he then wanted to send a message once he had someone's attention. Psycho Killer is a much better introduction to Talking Heads. After that would probably be Road to Nowhere, Take Me to the River, or And She Was
Basically it’s about how we walk through life asleep, the water is basically about life being pointless, like water never changing same as it ever was.
I saw them more as portraying a cog in the metropolitan machinery. To me, it's like Another Brick in the Wall. They have their quirks, but it's a funky sound. Try their Burning Down The House.
It’s serious and has a very important message! Dig dig !
One of my favorite all time songs!
Humorous? Absolutely. Comedy? Absolutely not. Talking Heads were part of the Postpunk/New Wave movement, and they had strong Art Rock leanings, having initially formed while attending Art School (at the Rhode Island School of Design). All of their songs explore serious topics while frontman David Byrne uses his body abstractly as a major part of the performance. His vocals here (and in other key songs) are inspired by 70s and 80s fundamentalist radio preachers. The song is about "The American Dream" of social mobility, but it calls those goals and achievements (beautiful house, beautiful wife, beautiful car) into question. The chorus explores man's connection to nature, by contrast. So, while the imagery is obviously quirky and outlandish, it's not a joke or novelty song. Other major Talking Heads songs address geopolitics ("Life During Wartime"), climate change ("Nothing But Flowers"), social alienation ("Fear of Music"), psychopathy ("Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House"), and more. But never quite from the perspective one might guess.
In fact, Talking Heads are considered one of the greatest US bands of the 20th century. Their impact (Radiohead are named after one of their songs) and influence were enormous. They fused black and white influences in then-new ways that still resonate, while their songs from this era often got airplay on R'n'B stations and on early Hip-Hop setlists. They would be joined on tour by members of Parliament Funkadelic, and their live performances can be just as humorously serious and perplexing to watch (check out the live version of "Life During Wartime" for instance). But through it all, they are remarkable and creative musicians. This song fuses AfroPop (African Pop music from the 1970s) with Electronic and Funk influences contemporary at the time. Other Talking Heads songs can be more jangly and worm, others are cold and brittle. They have even dabbled in Country Music.
As you are expanding your horizons, it's important to recognize that more Art-leaning bands and artists (David Bowie, Kate Bush, most New Wave and Postpunk acts, some Indie and Alternative Music) will rely on image, performance, social commentary, abstract lyrics, and outlandish ideas. Their music might sound weird or even cacophonous on the first listen. But that's because Art is meant to challenge us. Talking Heads had challenging ideas and made sounds we'd never heard before, but they were also very catchy and easy to love. "Once in a Lifetime' wasn't a major chart success, but it was one of the biggest videos in rotation for the early years of MTV, making it one of the most iconic pairings of sight and sound from the entire decade. In addition to diving deeper in their catalog, their blent of art commerce and danceability can point in the direction of myriad other performers who are similarly unique and singular.
Great synopsis! I am 61 and I really enjoy and appreciate the artistry of this band so much. The first time I ever heard this song all those decades ago my younger self instantly felt an odd kinship to his style and to the music and it took me awhile to begin to parse deeper meanings in both lyrics and performance. To my friends it was just a weird song but fun to dance along to!
Great Band
Look where my hand was!
Quirky is major for Talking Heads! I heard it for ages before seeing the video….& yes, it’s a lot!
Bernie Worrell and other P-Funk alumni were all over this album and tour. I saw them in the Oakland Colosseum in 1985 ... dance fever, bro.
Check out their LP version of TAKE ME TO THE RIVER!
If we don't laugh, we would cry. (after the money's gone)
Much sampled by the hip hop scene 🎶😎🙌👍
I first heard this song as a kid and I instantly loved it and still do. If you want an idea of David Byrne's range, I recommend looking up his cover of Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Vocally, I don't think anyone can compete with Whitney, but he wasn't trying to out-sing her or make a better version, he just really loved the song and wanted to perform it at his live shows. The arrangement is incredible. He had a whole string section and an awesome percussionist.
Satire Laddie, he has an artistic bent to his compositions, yep your seeing it 😮❤❤😂😂
If you thought this was a strange video, check out Life During Wartime, Girlfriend is Better and Psycho Killer from their live video concert, "Stop Making Sense".
It's a shame that some people don't belong anywhere, and don't trust where they are, or anything around them, or every moment that happens to them.
I heard this when I was 10 and I knew it was about me.
Don't feel bad about being confused regarding this song and video. There are talking heads fans and "music experts" just as confused after 40 years.
Day 1 of broadening your brain. Move forward carefully.
People will say The Talking heads are so great and very talented but to a new listener they come across as being weird and strange. I totally get that. This video speaks volumes as do all of their songs. If you want to try another strange quirky band try Devo
cocaine is a hell of a drug
Comedy as far as caricature, yes. You could read it as exaggerated physical ticks of someone realizing their innate need for spirituality is at odds with the cookie-cutter path laid out for them by a spiritually lacking status quo. How satirical to make a pop song repeat "same as it ever was" over and over.... Brilliant, really.
This guy cannot appreciate your tistic value of the talking head and the impact that they made during the punk rock era. They were the leaders and Pioneers of that are and not too many people even compared. Not even Ziggy pop. David Byrne also went on to write and perform so many other top songs that his artistic value cannot be measured. Which says a lot about this guy's ability to criticize or analyze any music whatsoever.
David is autistic and his offbeat movements is contrary to the rhythm of the movement. In my humble opinion, the humor exactly that having the capacity to sing the lyrics and move offbeat to the music. I always like this song from first hearing back in the day. When I actually saw the video, and seeing David on an HBO Special, I really respect the genius of this song........The Autistic spectrum has a range of capacities which include Asberger's and Savant Syndrome.....
Disregard the video and listen to the lyrics...that's what counts in every song............
Not humor really. I think you have to be older or very thoughtful about growing older.
What a classic!