Wild Wild Life

"Wild Wild Life"
Single by Talking Heads
from the album True Stories
B-side"People Like Us (movie version)"
ReleasedAugust 1986 (1986-08)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:39 (album version)
  • 5:30 (extended version)
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)David Byrne
Producer(s)
Talking Heads singles chronology
"Once in a Lifetime (Live)"
(1986) 		"Wild Wild Life"
(1986) 		"Love for Sale"
(1986)
Official video
"Wild Wild Life" on YouTube

"Wild Wild Life" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads, released in August 1986 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, True Stories (1986). It was the band's third and last top-40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also successful worldwide, peaking at number two in New Zealand and number nine in Ireland.

Critical reception

Cash Box called it "quirky and typically fun."[3] Billboard said that Talking Heads "put a minimal post-new wave accompaniment to a bouncy singalong tune."[4]

Music video

The video for the song won "Best Group Video" at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987. Taken from the film True Stories, with some additional content, it includes band member Jerry Harrison parodying Billy Idol, Kid Creole, Ralph Macchio's character in The Karate Kid, and Prince. "My favorite T. Heads video, the most fun to make," Harrison recalled in the liner notes of Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads. "I always wondered what Prince thought of it." The rest of the band also appears in various costumes.

The video is set in a 1960s ambienced cabaret bar, where a frantic series of unannounced performers lip sync to the song, imitating such singers as Madonna and Prince as disjointed images play across a wall of video screens behind them. Byrne wrote about this scene:

The song itself becomes a vehicle that can say anything they want it to. Some gestures and movements are obviously derived from well-known sources: television shows ... movies ... and, most recently, rock videos. Odd to think that some lip-synchers are imitating characters in videos, who are really musicians imitating other characters.[5]

Actor John Goodman, prior to his fame in the sitcom Roseanne, appeared in both the film and MTV versions of the video. Goodman was also featured on the B-side's "People Like Us", a song that also appeared in the film. Comedian Sam Kinison also makes a cameo appearance.

Track listings

7-inch single
No.TitleLength
1."Wild Wild Life"3:39
2."People Like Us" (movie version)4:23
12-inch single
No.TitleLength
1."Wild Wild Life" (extended mix)5:30
2."Wild Wild Life"3:39
3."People Like Us" (movie version)4:23

Charts

Use in media

The song was used in the trailers for Brother Bear,[19] Over the Hedge,[20] and Zookeeper, as well as the beginning of the 2006 animated film Open Season, for which it was included on the film's soundtrack. It was also used in the 2014 film United Passions as well as the aforementioned True Stories.

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 809. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ Tangari, Joe. "Talking Heads - Talking Heads Brick". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  3. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 23, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. August 23, 1986. p. 81. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Sytze Steenstra (2010). Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present. A&C Black. p. 112. ISBN 9780826441683.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  8. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wild Wild Life". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  9. ^ "Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  10. ^ "Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  11. ^ "Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  13. ^ "Talking Heads Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "Talking Heads Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  15. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  17. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1986". Kent Music Report. No. 650. December 1986. Retrieved January 24, 2023 – via Imgur.
  18. ^ "End of Year Top 50 Singles 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  19. ^ SaneelGB (January 1, 2013), Brother Bear Theatrical Trailer (2003), retrieved July 14, 2016
  20. ^ cineAE (December 8, 2006), Over the Hedge Trailer, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 14, 2016
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