Sounds from True Stories, subtitled Music for Activities Freaks is the soundtrack to David Byrne

David Byrne (musician)

David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...

's 1986 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...

. It was released only on cassette

Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

 and LP.

The album is not a complete soundtrack recording, featuring only a couple of the vocal songs heard in the movie, with the rest being instrumental music. Byrne's band Talking Heads

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...

 released the album True Stories, which contained versions of the other songs in the film.

Tracks

1. "Cocktail Desperado" – performed by Terry Allen and The Panhandle Mystery Band (2:59)
2. "Road Song" – performed by Meredith Monk
   Meredith Monk
   Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
   
    (3:36)
3. "Freeway Son" – performed by David Byrne (3:02)
4. "Brownie's Theme" – performed by David Byrne (2:27)
5. "Mall
   Shopping mall
   A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
   
    Muzak
   Muzak
   Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
   
   " – performed by Carl Finch
   Carl Finch
   Carl Finch is a guitarist, keyboardist, accordionist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Grammy-winning polka/dance band Brave Combo in 1979 in Denton, Texas.-Career highlights:...
   
    (5:37)
   1. A. "Building a Highway"
   2. B. "Puppy Polka"
   3. C. "Party Girls"
6. "Dinner Music" – performed by Kronos Quartet
   Kronos Quartet
   Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
   
    (3:31)
7. "Disco Hits!" – performed by David Byrne (2:02)
8. "City of Steel" – performed by Talking Heads
   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...
   
    (3:34)
9. "Love Theme from True Stories" – performed by David Byrne (1:28)
10. "Festa para um rei negro" – performed by Banda Eclipse
    Brave Combo
    Brave Combo is a polka/rock band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than twenty-five years...
    
     (2:19)
11. "Buster's Theme" – performed by Carl Finch (2:42)
12. "Soy de Tejas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
    
    " – performed by Steve Jordan
    Esteban Jordan
    Esteban "Steve" Jordan was a jazz, rock, blues, conjunto and Tejano musician from the United States. He was also known as "El Parche", "The Jimi Hendrix of the accordion", and "the accordion wizard"...
    
     (2:36)
13. "I ♥ Metal Buildings" – performed by David Byrne (2:16)
14. "Glass Operator" – performed by David Byrne (2:31)

"Glass Operator" is an orchestral rendition of "Dream Operator" featuring a glass harmonica

Glass harmonica

The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction The glass harmonica, also known as the glass...

 played by Terry Hinley; "City of Steel" is a steel guitar

Steel guitar

Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...

 version of "City of Dreams", which, along with "Dream Operator", appears on Talking Heads' True Stories.