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Life During Wartime (song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Life During Wartime
| cover = Life During Wartime Talking Heads.jpg
| alt =
| caption = UK vinyl single
| type = single
| artist = Talking Heads
| album = Fear of Music' and 'The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
| B-side = Electric Guitar (1979)
| released = September 1979, 1982 (live)
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = New wave, post-punk, dance-punk
| length = 3:41
5:52 (live)
| label = Sire
| writer = David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth
| producer = Brian Eno, Talking Heads
Gary Goetzman (live)
| prev_title = Take Me to the River
| prev_year = 1978
| next_title = I Zimbra
| next_year = 1980
| misc =
}}
"'Life During Wartime'" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their 1979 album 'Fear of Music'.Bershaw, Alan [http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/06/exclusive-listen-to-a-talking-heads-concert-from-1.html Exclusive: Listen to a Talking Heads Concert from 1979] 'Paste Magazine'. December 14, 2015 It peaked at #80 on the US 'Billboard' Pop Singles Chart.
The song is also performed in the 1984 film 'Stop Making Sense', which depicts a Talking Heads concert. The performance featured in the film prominently features aerobic exercising and jogging by David Byrne and background singers. The 'Stop Making Sense' live version of the track is featured in the film's accompanying soundtrack album. Its official title as a single, "'Life During Wartime (This Ain't No Party... This Ain't No Disco... This Ain't No Foolin' Around)'", makes it one of the longest-titled singles.
The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[https://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll] Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. December 15, 2015
Origin
In David Bowman's book 'This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the Twentieth Century' Byrne is quoted as describing the genesis of the song:
AllMusic's Bill Janowitz reviewed the song, calling attention to its nearness to funk, saying that it is a "sort of apocalyptic punk/funk merge" comparable to Prince's later hit single "1999". In 2012, 'The New Yorker' described "Life During Wartime" as, "an apocalyptic swamp-funk transmission in four-four time," adding "[it] is the bands pinnacle, and the song is still a hell of a thing to hear."Verini, James [http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-talking-heads-song-that-explains-talking-heads The Talking Heads Song That Explains The Talking Heads] 'New Yorker'. December 15, 2015
Lyrics
The lyrics are told from the point of view of someone involved in clandestine activities in the U.S. (the cities Houston, Detroit, and Pittsburgh are mentioned) during some sort of civil unrest or dystopian environment.
The line "This ain't no Mudd Club or CBGB" refers to two New York music venues at which the band performed in the 1970s.
"The line 'This ain't no disco' sure stuck!" remarks Byrne in the liner notes of 'Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads'. "Remember when they would build bonfires of Donna Summer records? Well, we liked some disco music! It's called 'dance music' now. Some of it was radical, camp, silly, transcendent and disposable. So it was funny that we were sometimes seen as the flag-bearers of the anti-disco movement."
Charts
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (1979)
!Peak
position
|-
|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|align="center"|80
|-
|}
Chart runs
*'Billboard' Hot 100 (5 weeks, entered November 3): Reached #80Personnel
*David Byrne - vocals, guitar*Jerry Harrison - synthesizers
*Tina Weymouth - bass guitar
*Chris Frantz - drums
*Ari and Gene Wilder - congas
Other versions
An alternative mix of the song featuring heavy guitar was released on the 2005 compilation 'Talking Heads'.
Live versions
* 1980 'Remain in Light' tour version, appeared on the 1982 live compilation album 'The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads'
* 1983 'Stop Making Sense' tour version, appeared on the album and film of the same name.
* 1992 David Byrne solo version, from the 'Between the Teeth' film.
* 2001 David Byrne solo version appeared on the 2007 album and film 'Live From Austin TX'
* 2003 David Byrne solo version appeared on the 'Live at Union Chapel' film.
* 2004 David Byrne and Caetano Veloso version, featured on the 2012 album 'Live at Carnegie Hall'
* 2009 David Byrne solo version, featuring in the 2010 film 'Ride, Rise, Roar'
Cover versions
The Staple Singers covered this song on their eponymous 1985 album.In other media
* In the 2020 video game 'Cyberpunk 2077', a mission is named after the song.
References
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