History Music / OnceInALifetime

"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by American PostPunk[=/=]NewWaveMusic band Music/TalkingHeads, originally released on their 1980 album ''Music/RemainInLight''. Like the rest of the album, the song was born out of the band and producer Music/BrianEno's growing interest in {{Afrobeat}}, Eno and frontman Music/DavidByrne having already taken heavy influence from the genre with their collaborative album ''Music/MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts'' (which was still awaiting sample clearances).

!!''Into the tropes again, after the money's gone'':

In 1984, a live recording of "Once in a Lifetime" was released, taken from the ''Music/SpeakingInTongues'' tour to promote their ConcertFilm and LiveAlbum ''Film/StopMakingSense''; the film's depiction of the song was used as an impromptu music video for the live single. While Talking Heads stopped doing live performances after that tour (barring a one-off reunion at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002), "Once in a Lifetime" remains a staple of Byrne's live performances as a solo act, with two new live renditions appearing on both ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and the ''Music/AmericanUtopia'' concert film in 2020. "Once in a Lifetime" would also inform the titles of two post-breakup compilations of Talking Heads material: a GreatestHitsAlbum released in 1992 (as an international-exclusive truncated version of the ''Sand in the Vaseline'' retrospective) and a three-CD + DVD BoxedSet put out in 2003.

-->''Time isn't holding up.\\
Time isn't after us.''

* BookEnds: The first shot of the video is David Byrne abruptly swinging into view against a backdrop of computer-generated water ripples. The last shot of the video is Byrne in the distance, stumbling backwards into the ripples during that FadeToBlack.

* ElementalMotifs: The song repeatedly makes use of aquatic imagery as a metaphor for the passage of time, flowing past our conscious perception like an underground river and forming an opaque void like a vast ocean.

** The song's Hammond organ outro was inspired by [[Music/TheVelvetUnderground "What Goes On"]] by the Music/VelvetUnderground.

In 1984, a live recording of "Once in a Lifetime" was released, taken from the ''Music/SpeakingInTongues'' tour to promote their ConcertFilm and live album ''Film/StopMakingSense''; the film's depiction of the song was used as an impromptu music video for the live single. While Talking Heads stopped doing live performances after that tour (barring a one-off reunion at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002), "Once in a Lifetime" remains a staple of Byrne's live performances as a solo act, with two new live renditions appearing on both ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and the ''Music/AmericanUtopia'' concert film in 2020. "Once in a Lifetime" would also inform the titles of two post-breakup compilations of Talking Heads material: a GreatestHitsAlbum released in 1992 (as an international-exclusive truncated version of the ''Sand in the Vaseline'' retrospective) and a three-CD + DVD BoxedSet put out in 2003.

* ShoutOut: The song's Hammond organ outro was inspired by [[Music/TheVelvetUnderground "What Goes On"]] by the Music/VelvetUnderground.

In 1984, a live recording of "Once in a Lifetime" was released, taken from the ''Music/SpeakingInTongues'' tour to promote their concert film and live album ''Film/StopMakingSense''; the film's depiction of the song was used as an impromptu music video for the live single. While Talking Heads stopped doing live performances after that tour (barring a one-off reunion at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002), "Once in a Lifetime" remains a staple of Byrne's live performances as a solo act, with two new live renditions appearing on both ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''David Byrne's American Utopia'' in 2020. "Once in a Lifetime" would also inform the titles of two post-breakup compilations of Talking Heads material: a GreatestHitsAlbum released in 1992 (as an international-exclusive truncated version of the ''Sand in the Vaseline'' retrospective) and a three-CD + DVD BoxedSet put out in 2003.

During ''Remain in Light''[='s=] promotional cycle, "Once in a Lifetime" was picked as the album's leadoff single in 1981, following a promotional release of "Crosseyed and Painless". A music video was also shot to promote the track, the first in Talking Heads' careers. Directed by choreographer Toni Basil and Byrne himself, the low-budget video depicted Byrne as a sweaty, neurotic preacher, clad in a suit and glasses, performing various odd rituals, and reciting the song's lyrics against various ChromaKey backdrops. Like the music, Byrne's moves in the video were improvised by the man himself, with Basil singling out the ones she thought worked best; the pair would collaborate again for a music video for "Crosseyed and Painless", without any of the band members on-camera this time. While the physical single stiffed (just barely making the Bubbling Under chart), the music video quickly found a home on a fledgling network by the name of Creator/{{MTV}}. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_music_videos_aired_on_MTV First airing as the 64th video on the channel]], the network placed it in heavy rotation throughout the year, making it one of the first videos to achieve that distinction and encouraging Talking Heads to continue exploring the music video as an artistic extension of their music.

During ''Remain in Light''[='s=] promotional cycle, "Once in a Lifetime" was picked as the album's leadoff single in 1981, following a promotional release of "Crosseyed and Painless". A music video was also shot to promote the track, the first in Talking Heads' careers. Directed by choreographer Toni Basil and Byrne himself, the low-budget video depicted Byrne as a sweaty, neurotic preacher, clad in a suit and glasses, performing various odd rituals, and reciting the song's lyrics against various ChromaKey backdrops. Like the music, Byrne's moves in the video were improvised by the man himself, with Basil singling out the ones she thought worked best; the pair would collaborate again for a music video for "Crosseyed and Painless", without any of the band members on-camera this time. While the physical single stiffed (just barely making the Bubbling Under chart), the music video quickly found a home on a fledgling network by the name of Creator/{{MTV}}, which placed it in heavy rotation throughout the year (making it one of the first videos to achieve that distinction), encouraging Talking Heads to continue exploring the music video as an artistic extension of their music.

During ''Remain in Light''[='s=] promotional cycle, "Once in a Lifetime" was picked as the album's leadoff single in 1981, following a promotional release of "Crosseyed and Painless". A music video was also shot to promote the track, the first in Talking Heads' careers. Directed by choreographer Toni Basil and Byrne himself, the low-budget video depicted Byrne as a sweaty, neurotic preacher, clad in a suit and glasses, performing various odd rituals, and reciting the song's lyrics against various ChromaKey backdrops. Like the music, Byrne's moves in the video were improvised by the man himself, with Basil singling out the ones she thought worked best; the pair would collaborate again for a music video for "Crosseyed and Painless", without any of the band members on-camera this time. While the physical single stiffed (just barely making the Bubbling Under chart), the music video quickly found a home on a fledgling network by the name of Creator/{{MTV}}, which placed it in heavy rotation throughout the year, encouraging Talking Heads to continue exploring the music video as an artistic extension of their music.

"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by American PostPunk[=/=]NewWaveMusic band Music/TalkingHeads, originally released on their 1980 album ''Music/RemainInLight''. Like the rest of the album, the song was born out of the band and producer Music/BrianEno's growing interest in {{Afrobeat}}, Eno having already taken heavy influence from the genre with ''Music/MyLifeInTheBushOfGhosts'' (which was still awaiting sample clearances).

In 1984, a live recording of "Once in a Lifetime" was released, taken from the ''Music/SpeakingInTongues'' tour to promote their concert film and live album ''Film/StopMakingSense''; the film's depiction of the song was used as an impromptu music video for the live single. While Talking Heads stopped doing live performances after that tour (barring a one-off reunion at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002), "Once in a Lifetime" remains a staple of Byrne's live performances as a solo act, with two new live renditions appearing on both ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''David Byrne's American Utopia'' in 2020.