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Once in a Lifetime

ethanhein.com

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Re: Once in a Lifetime

#2
Happy to see another Talking Heads (TH) fanatic.

Pull Up The Roots has been the most impactful TH song for me so far. I was obsessed with it for about 6 months. I literally listened to it probably 2-3 times a day for those 6 months. I was in a point of my life where I felt like I needed radical change so "pull up the roots" was a powerful message for me. Also I love how weird and chaotic the message is and the song is just downright catchy to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQS6XfuH2wE

That whole Speaking In Tongues album is quite good. Definitely my favorite TH album. Great name for an album and very attractive cover art.

True Stories is also a very fun peak into the 80s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Stories_(film)

Re: Once in a Lifetime

#3
I’m convinced that this is one of the greatest songs written to date. Very simple but at the same time deep, and I haven't yet met a person who didn’t like it.

As an aside I read that fela kuti was an influence to eno at the time and I think that can be heard in the repetitive nature of the song, especially in the guitar lines.

Re: Once in a Lifetime

#4
When I saw that somewhat ambiguous title, I was hoping it was about that song. Now I have to watch all those videos!

Stop Making Sense is one of the all-time great music movies (and I try to watch 'em all).

Once in a Lifetime is a song where you just have to ask "where the hell did that come from?"

Re: Once in a Lifetime

#5
I got the pleasure of meeting David Byrne and having a lunch with him at Affrah Mediterranean in Richardson, TX in the late 2000s. It was near the end of my stint at Hanson Robotics for the exhibition "Souls & Machines" at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, Spain. He voiced one of our robots singing. He was, without a question, the most down to earth celebrity I have met to this day. I left that lunch struck how genuinely kind and encouraging he was, even to me as a lowly intern early in my career. I try to channel a bit of him at that lunch anytime I’m working with anyone cutting their teeth on anything new. We all need a little bit of kindness and encouragement at that stage.

Re: Once in a Lifetime

#7
I was at that 1983 LA Concert! Attending UCLA at the time and getting into what they called at the time "world music". The Talking Head's mix of rock riffs and African beats on this album won me over. The cover art was the first time I had seen digital pixelation.
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