Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CIX--Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime

It's surprising, considering how many best of all-time lists it shows up on, that "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads was pretty much a dud when it was first released as a single.  It reached #103 (sadly, without much of a bullet) on the Billboard Hot 100 "Bubbling Under" chart and that was that.  But then a newfangled station, MTV (and proof that MTV wasn't always shit), gave its quirky video (Revenge of the Nerds sings a sermon) plenty of airplay and with the help of numerous critics (proof that critics aren't always full of shit) it's become the classic that it is.  

Talking Heads were formed by three art school friends (David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth--Jerry Harrison joined shortly thereafter) in 1975.  They released their first album in 1977, became immediate critical darlings (if not commercial successes), and with the Ramones and the New York Dolls were in the foreground of the U.S. punk movement.  They would go on to release eight albums (featuring sounds of pop, rock, punk, funk, and African beats), a concert film, tour regularly, and all produced some solo work (Frantz and Weymouth would eventually marry, and their side project, The Tom Tom Club, though not my cup of tea, had a modicum of commercial success).  Alas, inner turmoil led to the band's break-up in 1991, and other than the concert for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, haven't played together since.  Still, they are on most best bands of all-time lists (richly deserved, though I have to admit I came to appreciate their greatness more the older I got), and get shitloads of extra coolness points in my book for their killer cover version of Al Green's "Take Me to the River."

Released in 1981 on their Remain in Light LP (a classic in its own right), "Once in a Lifetime" is a, well, once in a lifetime song.  Driven by the African beat influenced rhythm section of Frantz (drums) and Weymouth (bass), the song thump, thump, thumps its way into your consciousness while David Byrne barks sing-speak like a Southern preacher the questions of a man questioning his very existence.  The song moves in and out of its catchy as all hell chorus before the song slows and Byrne calls out the song's signature line--"Same as it ever was..."--over and over until finishing on an emaycee fave, a chorus repeated again and again (with one more great question session mixed in).  Lightning in a bottle, a special kind of magic, thunderstruck, what have you, it's one of those rare songs that is both unique and a rock and roll dream.

Liner notes:  "And you may ask yourself/Am I right?...Am I wrong?/And you may tell yourself/My God!...What have I done!..."

Enjoy (Side note:  Their video for the song is considered one of the best ever made--it is most definitely unforgettable):

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee