Road to Nowhere
Encyclopedia
"Road to Nowhere" is a song by Talking Heads
, from the 1985 album Little Creatures
. It also appeared on Best of Talking Heads, Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites
, the Once in a Lifetime
box set and the Brick box set
. The song was released as a single
in 1985 and reached number 25 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 6 in the British and German singles chart. It also made #8 on the Dutch Top 40.
The video, released to promote the single, was directed by David Byrne
and Stephen R. Johnson
and features the band and various objects revolving, as if in their own "road to nowhere", and it was nominated for "Best Video of the Year" at the MTV Video Music Awards 1986. It was shot in the back yard and pool of actor Stephen Tobolowsky
, who was co-writing Byrne's film True Stories
at the time.
According to the sleeve of Talking Heads compilation Once in a Lifetime, Byrne added the choral intro after deciding the song in itself was embarrassingly simplistic and monotonous.
and the 1989 film Little Monsters
. It is also featured in the 1994 film Reality Bites
. It was featured on an advertisement for the 2006 final of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. It is also heard at the end of the 2008 film Religulous
.
The protagonist of Gex: Enter the Gecko
sings a brief line of the song during gameplay.
The song also got some play on comedic television and radio shows when the Gravina Island Bridge
"Bridge to Nowhere" scandal in Alaska surfaced in 2005.
Portuguese musician João Coração adapted part of "Road to Nowhere" in the last minute of his song "Muda que muda" from the album with the same name. What is heard is a musical parody of the verses "We're on a road to nowhere / Come on inside" translated to Portuguese.
Australian singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko
uses the lyrics and composition to end her song "Over & Over" on her 2009 album As Day Follows Night
.
Charlie Crist
, in his unsuccessful 2010 run for the U.S. Senate in Florida
, utilized the song in a campaign video without obtaining permission. David Byrne sued for copyright
infringement and, in a legal settlement, Crist issued a video apology for his improper use.
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, from the 1985 album Little Creatures
Little Creatures (album)
Little Creatures is the sixth album by Talking Heads, released in 1985. The album examined themes of Americana and incorporated elements of country music, with many songs featuring the steel guitar...
. It also appeared on Best of Talking Heads, Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites
Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites
Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites is a two-disc compilation album released by Talking Heads in 1992. It contains two previously unreleased demos , two tracks new to compact disc and three newly finished songs...
, the Once in a Lifetime
Once in a Lifetime (box set)
Once in a Lifetime refers to two compilation albums by the American rock band Talking Heads, being a one-disc set released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand by Sire/Warner Bros...
box set and the Brick box set
Brick (Talking Heads)
Talking Heads is a box set by rock band Talking Heads, containing the band's eight studio albums in DualDisc format with videos and previously unreleased material. Remixed by Jerry Harrison in Advanced Resolution 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, Brick is the first DualDisc release of an artist's entire...
. The song was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1985 and reached number 25 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 6 in the British and German singles chart. It also made #8 on the Dutch Top 40.
The video, released to promote the single, was directed by David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Stephen R. Johnson
Stephen R. Johnson
Stephen R. Johnson is a director. As well as directing several episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse, he has directed music videos for singles such as "Big Time," Sledgehammer, and Steam , Road to Nowhere and The Bug...
and features the band and various objects revolving, as if in their own "road to nowhere", and it was nominated for "Best Video of the Year" at the MTV Video Music Awards 1986. It was shot in the back yard and pool of actor Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
, who was co-writing Byrne's film True Stories
True Stories (film)
True Stories is an American film that spans the genres of musical, art, and comedy, directed by and starring David Byrne of the band Talking Heads. It co-stars John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Byrne has described the film as, "A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid...
at the time.
According to the sleeve of Talking Heads compilation Once in a Lifetime, Byrne added the choral intro after deciding the song in itself was embarrassingly simplistic and monotonous.
In popular culture
"Road to Nowhere" is heard during the ending of the 1985 movie The Peanut Butter SolutionThe Peanut Butter Solution
The Peanut Butter Solution is a 1985 family film. The movie was directed by Michael Rubbo and is the 2nd in the Tales for All series of children's movies created by Les Productions la Fête.-Plot:Michael Baskin is an average 11-year old boy...
and the 1989 film Little Monsters
Little Monsters
Little Monsters is a 1989 comedy-drama film starring Fred Savage as Brian Stevenson, a sixth-grader who has recently moved to a new town, and Howie Mandel as Maurice, the monster under the bed....
. It is also featured in the 1994 film Reality Bites
Reality Bites
Reality Bites is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and featuring the directorial debut of Ben Stiller. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with major supporting roles played by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film was shot on location in Austin...
. It was featured on an advertisement for the 2006 final of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. It is also heard at the end of the 2008 film Religulous
Religulous
Religulous is a 2008 American comic documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words "religion" and "ridiculous"; the documentary examines and mocks organized religion and religious...
.
The protagonist of Gex: Enter the Gecko
Gex: Enter the Gecko
Gex: Enter the Gecko is a platform game released in 1998. It is the sequel to the 1994 game Gex. The game involves collecting 3 types of remotes to unlock different levels, and to aid in the fight against Rez.-Story:Since his retirement from the public eye in 1996, Gex has resided himself to a...
sings a brief line of the song during gameplay.
The song also got some play on comedic television and radio shows when the Gravina Island Bridge
Gravina Island Bridge
The Gravina Island Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, with Gravina Island, an island which contains the Ketchikan International Airport as well as 50 residents. The bridge was...
"Bridge to Nowhere" scandal in Alaska surfaced in 2005.
Portuguese musician João Coração adapted part of "Road to Nowhere" in the last minute of his song "Muda que muda" from the album with the same name. What is heard is a musical parody of the verses "We're on a road to nowhere / Come on inside" translated to Portuguese.
Australian singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko
Sarah Blasko
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid-1990s, Blasko developed her solo career from 2002. In 2007, she won the 'Best Pop Release' for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have at the ARIA Music Awards, which...
uses the lyrics and composition to end her song "Over & Over" on her 2009 album As Day Follows Night
As Day Follows Night
As Day Follows Night is the third album by Australian singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko. It was produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John and recorded in early 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden. It was released in Australia on 10 July 2009...
.
Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
, in his unsuccessful 2010 run for the U.S. Senate in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, utilized the song in a campaign video without obtaining permission. David Byrne sued for copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
infringement and, in a legal settlement, Crist issued a video apology for his improper use.
Cover versions
- The Kalamazoo, MichiganKalamazoo, MichiganThe area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
based bluegrass band Greensky BluegrassGreensky BluegrassGreensky Bluegrass is a five-piece American bluegrass band. The band was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the year 2000 and has toured consistently throughout the past decade, playing many of the nation's finest clubs, music halls and festivals.-Career:...
recorded a version of this tune on their 2007 release Live at Bell'sLive At Bell'sLive At Bell's is the third release from the winners of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Greensky Bluegrass. Recorded in the summer of 2007 at their home base of Bell's Brewery, this album is the first...
.
- The BritishBritish peopleThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group The Flying PicketsThe Flying PicketsThe Flying Pickets are a British a cappella vocal group, who had a Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You".-History:...
covered the song on the album The Original Flying PicketsThe Original Flying Pickets: Volume 1The Original Flying Pickets: Volume 1 is an album by the original Flying Pickets line-up. As with all of their albums, it contains a cappella cover versions of popular songs.-Track listing:#"Under the Bridge"...
.
- The British folk-rock group OysterbandOysterbandOysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
covered the song on the mini-album '25,' released to mark their 25th anniversary.
- The British Indie Rock band EditorsEditorsEditors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
covered the song for a Napster Session and released it as a B-Side to the re-issue of their single "Blood".
- The French band IndochineIndochine (band)Indochine is a French new wave/rock band, formed in 1981. The band was very successful in France in the 1980s, as well as other parts of continental Europe and Latin America, with songs like L'Aventurier and Canary Bay...
recorded a cover to support Reporters Sans Frontières.
- The French band Nouvelle VagueNouvelle Vague (band)Nouvelle Vague is a French musical collective led by musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words, meaning "new wave" in French, and "bossa nova" in Portuguese...
recorded a cover for their 2009 album 3.
- The song was featured in the 2008 documentary Young@HeartYoung@Heart (film)Young@Heart is a 2008 British documentary film directed by Stephen Walker. Its focus is Young@Heart, a New England chorus of senior citizens that sings contemporary and classic rock and pop songs.-Synopsis:...
.
- The song was released as a single in 2010 by the band Linfinity with Spanish Harlem as the b-side.