Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime: The Stories Behind Every Song

by Ian Gittins

A superbly illustrated, in-depth examination of the stories, events, places, and characters that inspired the songs of the Talking Heads, arguably the most significant band to emerge from the late-'70s New York punk scene based around CBGB's club. Led by guitarist-vocalist David Byrne, the band enjoyed major chart success on both sides of the Atlantic with infectious, incendiary singles like Road to Nowhere, Psycho Killer, and Once in a Lifetime. During their influential seventeen-year career, Talking Heads assembled a body of raw yet intellectual rock music second to none. Then in 2002, having vowed to never work together again, the four original Heads reconvened and played live when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ian Gittins has written about music and popular culture for fifteen years for such varied publications as Melody Maker, Q, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Time Out, MTV, and the New York Times. He lives in London, England.

Genres: Music

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Charlie]

For anyone who ever wondered what the hell David Byrne was warbling about, here's a book that...wonders the same thing. Dont expect tales of trashed hotels and knocked-up fifteen year olds...Talking Heads were nerds. Glorious Nerds.

[Steve]

This book may have been underwhelming at times content wise, but I still had a blast making my way through Talking Heads entire discography chronologically.

[Gator]

Talking heads is in my top three favorite bands of all time, so this book was perfect for me. It was a good book with a lot to offer, but at times the writer left things a bit vague. This book allowed me to learn more about the band then I previously knew and I highly recommend any heads fan to give this book a read. It's quick and interesting, you will not regret it.

[Fantastic Mr. Fox]

Nice enough book for TH fans, but doesn't really discuss the stories behind the songs so much as the author's personal opinions (I will not take this Moon Rocks slander).

[Joseph McHale]

A brief and vague look at the songs around Talking Heads