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Talk Shows on Mute

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"Talk Shows on Mute"
Single by Incubus
from the album A Crow Left of the Murder...
Released2004
RecordedOctober–November 2003
StudioSouthern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia
Genre
Length3:52
LabelEpic/Immortal
Songwriter(s)Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger, Ben Kenney, Chris Kilmore, José Pasillas
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien
Incubus singles chronology
"Megalomaniac"
(2003)
"Talk Shows on Mute"
(2004)
"Make a Move"
(2005)

"Talk Shows on Mute" is a song by the American alternative rock band Incubus. It was released as the second single from the band's 2004 album, A Crow Left of the Murder..., and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and #18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and also peaked at number 16 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

Background

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The song has a mellow and stripped-down sound, with lyrics containing references to George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Lead singer Brandon Boyd says the inspiration for the song came to him while watching a talk show on an airplane.

"I was on an airplane when a talk show began playing on the TVs. I decided to start narrating for the people, which is a really great game if you're ever bored enough. I realized a time will probably come when television will watch us if we're watching it, if that hasn't already happened, figuratively or literally. It sounded like some sort of pseudo-Big Brother nightmare, so I wrote it down."

Music video

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The song's music video was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who also directed the band's "Megalomaniac" video. The video alludes to another George Orwell novel, Animal Farm. It depicts a world where animals have taken over, and the members of Incubus are shown on a talk show demonstrating "stupid human trix".

Track listing

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US/EU CD Single

  1. Talk Shows On Mute
  2. Wish You Were Here (Live In Osaka, Japan)
  3. Talk Shows On Mute (Live In Osaka, Japan)
  4. Hello - BBC Radio 1 Version

Yellow 7"

  • Side A
  1. Talk Shows On Mute
  2. Here In My Room - BBC Radio 1 Version
  • Side B
  1. Vitamin - Live "Bootleg" Version - Osaka, Japan
  2. Hello - Live "Bootleg" Version - Osaka, Japan

Charts

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Charts (2004) Peak
Position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[1] 42
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[2] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 43
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[4] 16
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[5] 3
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[6] 18

References

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