It's My Life (Talk Talk song)

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"It's My Life"
Single by Talk Talk
from the album It's My Life
B-side	"Does Caroline Know?"
Released	January 1984 1990
Format	7" vinyl 12" vinyl
Recorded	1983
Genre	Synthpop New wave
Length	3:53
Label	EMI Parlophone
Writer(s)	Mark Hollis Tim Friese-Greene
Producer	Tim Friese-Greene
Talk Talk singles chronology
"Another Word" (1984) "It's My Life" (1984) "Such a Shame" (1984)
"I Believe in You" (1988) "It's My Life" (1990) "Life's What You Make It" (1991)

"It's My Life" is a synthpop song written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene for Talk Talk's second album It's My Life (1984). The song was re-released twice: first in 1985, then in 1990. In 2003, it was successfully covered by No Doubt.

[edit] Talk Talk version

[edit] Background and writing

The song was the first collaboration between Hollis and Friese-Greene.^[1] "It's My Life" was released as the album's lead single in January 1984 (see 1984 in music), which started their drift from straightforward Synthpop sound into more experimental albums. Both the song and the album are synthpop, but their instrumentation is richer than in the debut album. The single went #46 in UK charts - a relative disappointment - but reached #31 in the U.S. and Netherlands charts, #30 in Canada, #33 in Germany, #25 in France and #7 in Italy (where Talk Talk had a huge success).

In 1990, "It's My Life" was reissued to promote the compilation Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk. This time, the song was a major hit in the UK Top 40, charting at #13.

The song is also featured on the Rockstar Games video game for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the 'Flash FM' radio station. No Doubt released a cover version of "It's My Life" for its 2003 compilation album The Singles 1992-2003.

[edit] Music video

There are two versions of the video for "It's My Life." The first, envisioned by director Tim Pope as a statement against the banality of lip-synching, consists almost entirely of footage from nature documentaries, interspersed with shots of Talk Talk lead singer Mark Hollis standing in the midst of the London Zoo, with his mouth pointedly shut tight and often obscured by hand-drawn animated lines. The second version, recorded at the behest of EMI, consisted of the entirety of the original video projected on a green screen behind Hollis and his two bandmates as they lip-synched and mimed the song, deliberately poorly and with comic exaggerated gestures. Hollis was "pissed off" in that shoot.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] Chart

[edit] Cover version by No Doubt

"It's My Life"
Single by No Doubt
from the album The Singles 1992–2003
Released	January 13, 2004
Format	CD, digital download
Recorded	2003
Genre	Synthpop New Wave Alternative rock
Length	3:45
Label	Interscope
Producer	Nellee Hooper, No Doubt
Certification	Platinum (ARIA), Gold (RIAA)
No Doubt singles chronology
"Running" (2003) "It's My Life" (2003) "Bathwater (Invincible Overlord Remix)" (2004)

No Doubt recorded a cover version of the song to promote their greatest hits album The Singles 1992–2003. Because the band was on hiatus, while lead singer Gwen Stefani recorded her solo debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., they decided to record a cover to avoid having to write a new song.^[9] The band listened to hundreds of songs and narrowed it down to "It's My Life" and INXS' 1982 song "Don't Change".^[10] No Doubt had doubts on recording a cover and contemplated writing new material.^[9] However, they decided on "It's My Life" after rehearsing the song with producer Nellee Hooper,^[10] referring to it as a "feel good" song.^[9] The song was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 47th Grammy Awards but lost to Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven".^[11] Jacques Lu Cont, the song's programmer, created the Thin White Duke mix of "It's My Life", which won the award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.^[12]

This version was featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2. On December 9, 2008 it was also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series.

[edit] Chart performances

The cover was successful in the United States, reaching number ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for twenty-eight weeks.^[13] It was moderately successful on adult contemporary stations, reaching number twenty on the Adult Contemporary chart, but had high longevity and appeared atop the Adult Top 40's recurrent chart. The single was more successful in clubs, peaking at number sixteen on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and had some play on modern rock stations, reaching number thirty-two on the Modern Rock Tracks.^[14] The Recording Industry Association of America certified the digital download gold for selling half a million copies.^[15]

On the UK Singles Chart, "It's My Life" debuted at number twenty but was unable to reach a higher position until it was released with a remix of the No Doubt song Bathwater which boasted the single up to number 17. The single dropped off the chart after seven weeks. It was more of a success across Europe, reaching the top ten in Italy, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden and the top twenty in Austria, Belgium, France, and Switzerland.^[13] The single reached number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart, lasting seventeen weeks on the chart,^[13] and was listed at number eighty-one on the 2004 end-of-year chart.^[16] The Australian Recording Industry Association certified the single platinum in 2004 for shipping 70,000 copies.^[17]

[edit] Music video

Gwen Stefani in trial from the music video.

The 1930s-style music video was directed by David LaChapelle.^[18] In the song's music video, Stefani portrays a black widow whose look closely resembles that of actress Jean Harlow.^[19], who is put on trial and sentenced to die for the murders of three men she knew. The first victim (played by Tom Dumont) dies when Stefani laces his dinner with rat poison, the second victim (Tony Kanal) dies when Stefani runs him down with her car, and the third victim (a house painter played by Adrian Young) dies in a bathtub after Stefani throws her hairdryer in there. In between the death scenes are scenes of Stefani in court and being dragged to the gas chamber where she is executed. The video ends with the three murder victims in the afterlife, laughing and watching her televised execution.

The music video was moderately successful on video chart programs. On MTV's Total Request Live, it reached number seven in November 2003^[20] and was on the countdown as late as January 2004.^[21] The video peaked at number eight on MuchMusic's Countdown and remained on the program through March 2004.^[22] At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, "It's My Life" won the awards for Best Group Video and Best Pop Video. It also received nominations for Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction but lost to Jay-Z's "99 Problems" twice and "Hey Ya!" respectively.^[23]

[edit] Formats and track listings

[edit] CD single / Australian CD

1. "It's My Life" – 3:48
2. "Sunday Morning" (2002 live) – 4:49
3. "Rock Steady" (2002 live) – 5:53
4. "Bathwater" (2002 live) – 4:01

[edit] 2-track

1. "It's My Life" – 3:48
2. "Rock Steady" (live) – 5:53

[edit] Official Versions

• "It's My Life" - 3:48
• "It's My Life" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - 6:59
• "It's My Life" (Chocolate O'Brien Remix) - 6:30 (unreleased)
• "It's MY Life" (Dave Aude Remix) - 3:51 (unreleased)

[edit] Charts

[edit] Certifications

[edit] References