Once in a Lifetime

United States

1981

4 Min

Color

1.33:1

English

Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
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The music video features a bespectacled David Byrne dancing much like a marionette. Byrne is shown making sudden flings of his arm, tapping his head, and getting on his hands and knees to pat the floor, much like simple tricks which can be done with actual marionettes. In the background, clones of Byrne dance in perfect synchronization; in the foreground, a larger Byrne is getting further and further out of synch.

The video is exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern Art. Some of Byrne’s mannerisms (such as physical spasms, unfocussed eye movements, and sharp intakes of breath) were inspired by his choreographer Toni Basil showing him footage of epilepsy sufferers. —Wikipedia

Director

Toni Basil

Toni Basil began her career as a dancer and choreographer, working on such shows as “Hullabaloo” (1965). Later, she choreographed the hit film American Graffiti (1973) and also began appearing in films, including the now-classic Easy Rider (1969). After several films, she launched her music career with her first album, “Word of Mouth”, in 1981, which was released both as a record and a video, quite an innovation at the time. Culled from that album was a innocent little ditty called “Mickey”, which soon became a massive hit all over the world, first in Britain. The song topped the American music charts in December 1982, and the video (directed by Basil, as were all of her others) still receives airplay, today. In 1984, Toni Basil’s self-titled follow-up album was released, which included the American Top 40 hit “Over My Head”. Although she found future chart success elusive, Basil remained busy appearing in such films as Rockula (1990) and has appeared in a guest shot on “Baywatch”… read more