Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (REACTION!) 

David Byrne always sounds like a man who's talking himself through a nervous breakdown and kind of enjoying the trip.

The Stop Making Sense concert film should have won an Oscar, what a Masterpiece

The lyrics are actually quite deep & meaningful. Reflecting on your life and all the decisions you made and then still asking yourself. How did I get here?

George nailed the meaning behind the song, but watching you two melt down trying to make it through the avant-garde acid trip of it all is a riot 😂😂

George nailed it . Letting the days go by , let the water hold me down . Time has passed him by and he's only just realizing , for once in his lifetime , that he is now so far ... down river that he's looking around wondering " how did I get here ? " RIvers flow into the sea. The tides are inevitable. Father time always wins. ...same as it ever was.

If the revelation of the Jay-Z sampling of this blew your mind, you guys need to react to "Genius of Love" by The Tom Tom Club (which is a side band by two members of the Talking Heads). Once you hear the bass line of that track, your mind will explode at HOW MANY SONGS have sampled it. You'll know it INSTANTLY.

And that’s a girl on the bass - Tina Weymouth. She’s an absolute star!

The Talking Heads were interviewed by my mother in our living room when I was about twelve.🖖🏼

The comparison to Parliament-Funkadelic is more accurate than you know. He's not on this track, but Bernie Worrell was their keyboard player throughout most of the 80's

Psycho killer is a great tune. Do that one.

"Talking Heads" is slang for tv news anchors. Their videos were as innovative as their music. Other classics are "Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House", "Take Me to the River", "This Must Be the Place", "Road to Nowhere", "Life During Wartime", "Stay Up Late", and "Wild, Wild Life".

One of the greatest songs ever recorded. I'm 49 and this song makes more sense to me every day. I agree with a lot of your analysis, but the song IS really about the lyrics. It's both "fun" and serious. Also, I love seeing people who have never been exposed to David Byrne getting their first dose. You need to see him perform live: he's neurotic, twitchy, awkward, and sweaty. You can't take your eyes off of him. He's not even trying to be a rock star or funk front man. Byrne questioned all of that rock star shit forty years ago and people are still trying to understand.

The Talking Heads had a side band called "Tom Tom Club" AND I KNOW YA'LL HEARD ONE OF THEIR SONGS..."Genius of Love". One of the greatest songs of the 80s.

This band was way ahead of their time and if this song had come out in the mid 90s, it would have been just as successful.

It's called New Wave.. That was his style of Talk/singing. Very deep song about achievements in a lifetime that really don't make you happy.

The song is essentially about the subconscious. About the fear and doubt and disbelief that we all face in our lives. About getting the things society tells us to want, but wondering if any of it is real.

David Byrne is so incredibly influential and accomplished musician, he has Grammys, Oscars, Tonys and is in the rock and roll hall of fame. And he's still making stuff!

The first side of this album is ridiculously good. Been obsessed with it for over 40 years. Oh, and Tina Weymouth knows how to hit you with a sick bass groove.

You guys are living proof that the writer accomplished what he set out to do. You said it yourself just groove to the rhythm and beat and not worry about the meaning. Most people just go to the beat and rhythm of life. Letting the days go by letting the water hold me down! That is what seperates artists and leaders from the common man.

Classic song. Most sick bassline from the 80s. Y'all will love Talking Heads "Naive Melody" 🙏🏼

Brian Eno the producer and David Byrne have spoken about making this song and it's pretty interesting. Byrne said “It wasn’t one of Brian Eno’s favorite tracks that we were working on. And there was a motion to just abandon this one. But I thought, ‘There’s something about this. I’m sure I can write words to it that it’s gonna make this work. And pull it together.’” Apparently it took a while but he wrote the right words and did the vocals in the style of giving a sermon rather than singing them. I love this song for how groovy, unique and otherworldly it sounds. The lyrics to me aren't necessarily meaningful but there is something in the words that intrigues you and makes you stop, look around and think about the world and your life.

This is basically an existential crisis in song form, kind of a midlife crisis where you ask how you ended up where you are and feeling like an impostor.

"Once in a Lifetime" was the lead single from Talking Heads' fourth studio album, Remain in Light (1980), which is one of those albums that deserves a full listen. I remember first hearing the song on the radio before seeing the video on early MTV. On the radio the song came across as the bright bouncey pop song it is. Dig that Fela Kuti inspired Afrobeat! And that simple but powerful bass line is supplied by Tina Weymouth. I rediscovered the song in a big way when the video came out a few years later. My buddies and I thought it was the bomb. The trippy water graphics, Byrne's quirky dancing, his duck walk, those jerky motions -- like he was getting beat up by the invisible man -- and that chopping gesture, that was strange and weird and cool to us. You'll have to watch it to get the full effect.

A truly original band. Overused word, but genius.

“Life During Wartime” from their Stop Making Sense concert is phenomenal 👍

One of the most instantly recognizable bass lines in music history. This whole Album is 🔥

The live version from the Stop Making Sense concert movie, where the had some Parliament-Funkadelic members filling out the band. The concert version really elevates the song.

Remain in Light is one of the greatest albums ever made. They essentially recorded loops and played over them, experimenting more with sound and rhythm. The repetition was hypnotic and they created a great fusion of art rock and afrobeat.

This was a song I always heard and bobbed my head to but never really listened. One day, out of nowhere, I was in a store and it was playing, and I was thinking about my childhood, and lyrics saying 'How did I get here?' just hit me with this emotional molotov cocktail. I was questioning everything about my life, genuinely asking how I got here, wondering what my younger self would think of me now, denying how quickly time flew by, and filled with terror of the future. I still like the song, but it hits a little too close to home for me, haha. It's sort of miserable and hopeful at once.

And She Was was pop rock bliss, but Psycho Killer is the song that started it for them

They did a reboot of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" about baptism -- turned it into a slow burn, almost sensual groove. My favorite though is probably "Psycho Killer." I like checking out Byrne's brain stretching work, but the tunes I play again and again are the easier hits.

I saw David Byrne in 1990 in Orlando, Florida. He was such a showman and greatly entertaining. He sang with genuine enthusiasm and he made everyone in the room feel like he was there for them. More Talking Heads, please!

This song has been a running joke in my family for almost 30 years. 😂 "Same as it ever was!"

This is a song where you HAVE to listen to the lyrics. They reflect on a life not lived - the road not taken.

Talking Heads are an eclectic band and David Byrne is very theatrical onstage and seems neurotic with his stage persona. They had a big MTV hit with "Burning Down the House".

Talking Heads are amazing..gotta do a deep dive..genius song writing. New wave is so underrated. B-52's REM. New Order, etc..soooo good!

Talking Heads is a little unapproachable at first (sort of like Radiohead) because their music is unconventional and obscure to what you may be used to or expecting from music but once you get past that and the more viewed, i.e. more commercially popular songs, and dig deeper you will discover their truly great work. "Once in a Lifetime" is one of their most commercially successful songs but one of their weakest in my opinion and will give you not a true picture of their talent. They are one of the most unique, creative and groundbreaking bands ever.

this album is one of the best of all time, absolute classic

Talking Heads: Burning Down the House, The Great Curve, Take Me To The River, Born Under Punches, Girlfriend is Better, Life During Wartime, Cross-eyed and Painless, Making Flippy Floppy. Etc. Trust me. If you guys dive a bit deeper, your going to LOVE these guys. Bits of Funk, Soul, Very creative stuff.

LOL.....................I'm in Vietnam watching this! Lived here for the past 20 years.

The music video will make you laugh or scratch your head even more- a classic

David Byrne studied Candomble and was eventually initiated as a priest, and still is practicing. Many of his songs have a spiritual foundation. He took a lot from different images and cultures, which you can see if you check out the TH official video for this song, which includes some very interesting visual storytelling. (Talking Heads was a fine art band - they all met in art school.) In this song, you can hear taking on the tone of a preacher, exhorting his flock not to be buried in a life not meant for them. As to his attitude about his art, I've followed his career since the 70's, and the impression I've always gotten is that he takes his art very seriously, but he doesn't expect anyone else to see it the same way. He does what he does and you can do what you want with it. He's an eclectic, interesting dude, so he makes eclectic, interesting art, and sometimes it's funny. :)

I literally wearing the "you may ask yourself" shirt rn lolololol

They must absolutely be seen live. The choreography and stage presence are amazing !

Man, this song lyrically taps into something so many people can relate to- following someone else's bouncing ball, finding yourself terribly unhappy and thinking, "How did I get here?" How do I get out? The fact that this is all happening to a groovy beat isn't happenstance- thats LIFE- there's this great groovy beat happenning and it exposes all our lies and BS and what we have to do is surrender to it. But sometimes that seems so hard.

In "Secret Window" (2004), Johnny Depp's character Mort Rainey (who is going through a divorce) drives past his house where his wife is with another man and quotes this song in a vengeful voice: "This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife." CLASSIC.

It’s a love thing!!! YES!!! You are in my world now!!! Early 80’s Funk R&B and Disco was and is my LIFE! ❤❤❤

" Remain in light " is one of the seminal albums of the past 50 years. The way it was recorded literally advanced the recording process for every artist that came after. " once in a lifetime " is an amazing song amongst an album filled with gems.

hell yeah, you guys gotta do more talking heads

As a white dude who’s always loved the Talking Heads, and who had always wanted to check out more Jay Z, but never went any farther than the black album or his big hits, showing the sample he use for “it’s all right,“ and how it all connected is what makes me love your guys’s channel. You are educating the masses out here and showing how music is connected through a wonderful intricate web of influence. It is both the great communicator and connector. Seeing you guys try out Dillinger Escape plan and knowing now that I’m going to specifically check out more Jay Z is exactly what makes this channel awesome - it is cultural exchange on the fundamentally amazing level. Thank you! Keep on rockin! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Was 13 when this came out; 55 now and still rock this is the car 🔥. I had the pleasure of seeing David Byrne in concert in 2018/2019 when he was touring smaller venues fine tuning his Utopia show for Broadway; he’s only gotten better with age. This song is timeless❤❤❤ Brooklyn in the house 😊🗽🗽🗽

Speaking of samples, Tom Tom Club was a spinoff band from Talking Heads. They did a song called Genius of Love. It's, uh, been sampled a bit.

Actually when it came out in the 80's, we were in our 20's and we all danced to the song. It was played a lot in dance clubs. 🕺 People repeated the lyrics while they danced 💃. And we mimic David Byrne's movement that was in the video. Great reaction!!! 👍

The first half of this record would be right up your guys alley. "Born Under Punches", "Crosseyed and Painless" and "The Great Curve" are a trio of funk/afrobeat jams that absolutely slam. Their other songs on other records are fantastic, but those three were made for you

This song always makes me feel a feeling I’ve only ever felt before while listening to this song. It is a mixture of happiness and nostalgia tinged with a minor regret. Just uncanny.

I think you all nailed this one. "Nerdy charismatic" is a bang on description of David Byrne's persona. And while the song is indeed plenty dark, it's deliberately funny too--a kind of satire of a certain sort of "straight" way of being in the world. And I have a feeling the whole band would have taken the comparison with The Whispers as the compliment that was intended.

The Great Curve is another one of my favorites from that album. has a lot of cool vocal harmonies

George pretty much nailed it on the head with his interpretation of the lyrics, the song deals with the futility of not being content with what you have, wife,possessions etc...like water flowing under the earths surface, there's just no way to stop the forces of nature, or change the course you're on. In an interview with NPR, Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne said: "We're largely unconscious. You know, we operate half awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?'

“There is water at the bottom of the ocean” gets me, every time 😂

Love Talking Heads, they were way ahead of their time. Try “Burning down the house” from them, I think you’ll really dig it. I’m sure you’ve heard it in pieces it’s been used in a lot of tv shows & movies.

Nice to see you guys getting to some Talking Heads.

Man, just when I thought your videos couldn't get more enjoyable - you guys do Talking Heads! Loved seeing you guys react to this!

This band is amazing, I'm excited for you guys to explore more of them

World music just means music from other parts of the world. In the Talking Heads case, they incorporated a lot of different types of music from around the world like Afrobeat and particularly the Latin music that was so popular in New York City in the 1970s in to their songwriting.

It's funny listening to what this song is about. IMHO it's just about how universally, for everyone, life passes you by, and that is the nature of life itself. Even the title 'Once in a Lifetime' refers to this moment in your life, but it also refers to every moment in your life. It's Deep.

God damn it George, your ears for catching beats and samples is amazing bruh.

Hey guys, i just wanna say that i really appreciate this channel, what youre doing, and how you go about doing it because it is pretty special. You influence diversity and teach openness by genuinely highlighting the craftmanship artistry and creativity. Even when its not your jam, you will still acknowledge it for being all those...,thats whats up. I've been a long time follower/subscriber but have been off RU-vid a while..decided to drop in and see what's been up and I'm seeing yall have been busy as can be! I appreciate yalls time spent making all this content that I am now about to devour. 🕺✌️💃

This is a great TH track and it must be wild to hear this one for the first time as your first TH experience. I highly recommend Road to Nowhere if you want to check out any more of their material. That one is very different and reminds me of my dad, listening to it with him in the 80s and 90s. Good times. Great reaction and props for recognizing the Jay-Z sample!

you gotta check out live performances, whether it's the Stop Making Sense concert, or more recent David Byrne live performances (he still performs Talking Heads hits along with his vast solo material). He was the musical guest on SNL a couple years ago, and the performance of this song was fiiiire. Also, if you have a chance to see him live, I'd almost guarantee you or anyone would would have their minds blown- he just has a brain for how to create a production

I love your "it don't matter what he says" vibe, i mean you're right! Funny.

Tina Weymouth, the bassist, came up with these propulsive riffs. She also started the Tom Tom Club, whose “Genius of Love” was sampled heavily, famously by Mariah Carey for “Fantasy” and most recently Latto. I’d love to see you guys do a reaction to that too. Speaking of Parliament, their keyboardist Bernie Worrell went on to tour with the Talking Heads in the 80s.

Psycho Killer is another (of their many) incredible songs that is quite different from this song. Also the Talking Heads had a side project called the Tom Tom Club that is worth dipping into. Genius Of Love was their big hot.

David Byrne is a treasure. It's still amazing to me that the Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, and The Ramones all came out of CBGB's at around the same time from the same scene.

Talking heads was one of the origional NY punk alternative bands but they always had some dance grooves in the mix. .Keep in mind this is from New York City in 1980. His quirky spoken aproach on this track was actually a bit of a nod to the rap scene. (kind of like Blondies song Rapture was inspired by Grandmaster Flash and the furious five) try their song 1978's Psycho KIller or 1983's Burning down the house

Brothers - the Talking Heads were THE JAM back in the 70's and 80's! Bernie Worrell the keyboardist from Parliament/Funkadelic was the keyboardist on ONCE IN A LIFETIME and provided the funk in a lot of Talking Heads songs (Worrell was considered the "5th Talking Head." Black folks in the clubs would be on the floor when ONCE IN A LIFETIME played. To see/hear more about Talking Heads, watch the documentary 'STOP MAKING SENSE' directed by Jonathan Demme which was a concert film of the Talking Heads performing at The Pantages Theater in the early 80's.

You guys have to check out Little Feat. Spanish Moon or Skin it Back or anything at this point. But if you’re looking for bands you haven’t heard before just give them a listen.

They are mind blowing

Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a sermon, with a call-and-response chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile". The Guardian writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked consumerism and advancing age". Rolling Stone ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

That was an incredible sample catch. Bravo sir.

As a child in the '80s this was just a nice groove. Never tried to analyze it

David Byrne is a genius, his lyrics always have a meaning, even if it doesn't seem that way initially.

Nice take, G. Loved this one. Thanks.

When listening to The Talking Heads, they always commanded your attention and were great at catching you off guard. Great reaction!

I'd be curious to see your response to Crosseyed and Painless (there's a great live version too).

If you guys enjoyed this one, please try Psycho Killer by them.😊

I was in to New Wave, Alternative when I was young. I played Talking Heads in front of my parents. I played the whole cd. They told me after that it was the first band that I ever played that they liked and enjoyed. I was shocked.

It's a mind-blowing song. So funny watching these two getting their minds blown! 😅😂🤣😆

This song makes so much more sense once you've taken acid; it's much more divine than most people can initially pick up on. It's a reminder of our eternal struggle across lifetimes

I think it’s super cool of you guys to promote up and coming bands. That’s a very generous thing to do with your channel. Props to you…

Ryan this is art rock, not everything is a groove let me sing in the pocket. that's what dope about this is David Byrne's doing a spoken word thing over this, off beat but it works, nobody's ignoring what he's saying, his vocal is the lead actor in this, nobody remembers the groove everyone remembers 'this is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife?!"

Also, part of David Byrne's thing is that he had a strange, unique singing style and quirky world view. The video gave a visual element that added to it.

Y'all the GOATS of music reactions..💪🏿

I love the way you guys really listen and break down the lyrics. ❤

Yo guys thanks for introducing me to The Whispers! I had never previously heard of them before (I mainly listen rock and metal). But, I do like to get outta my comfort zone every once in awhile and that song you played is great! Very catchy and fun, will definitely explore their catalog.

When I was a teen, I went to a nightclub...Stop Making Sense had just released (not the 'extended' version) and the DJ put on Side one of the record....then left for a few drinks, came back and flipped it over...the dancefloor was packed the entire time.....never seen anything like it again, such a massive hit in my hometown.

Your comment about "disco" is spot on. Talking Heads have said 'basically we're a disco band.'

Everyone ends up closing their eyes and going into bobble head mode. It is hypnotic.

Cheers, George! Shout out to the Tunnel! Snuck in when I was 16 one summer while visiting family in NYC. Good times. ;-D

I'm a 50 year old bald accountant named Bob...this song...oh yeah I can completely relate to what he is saying. My God! What have I done....

gotta watch the music video for the full experience 🤣 such a trip