For references to "Once in a Lifetime" in other media, see HERE.
For references to Stop Making Sense in other media, see HERE.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure would reference the band on two separate occasions. The first being the Stand of Tiziano in Golden Wind, aptly named Talking Head, and the second being the Stand of Emporio Alniño from Stone Ocean, entitled Burning Down the House.
- Down and Out in Beverly Hills opens and closes with the band's live version of "Once in a Lifetime".
- Queens Logic: When Eliot is greeting people as they enter Ray's bachelor party that isn't, he says, "This ain't no bachelor party, this ain't no disco."
- "I Zimbra" plays over the opening scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Literature
- In American Psycho, Patrick Bateman namedrops Talking Heads as his favorite band.
Music
- "Weird Al" Yankovic's original song "Dog Eat Dog" is written in the style of a Talking Heads song. In live performances, he even dons a Stop Making Sense-inspired big suit.
- The Pixies' "Dig for Fire" is also written in the style of Talking Heads, as are and the first and third thirds of "Job in the City" by Red Vox. In fact, Talking Heads has long been one of the more popular 70's/80's acts to pastiche, even within their own time (exemplified on songs like "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby, "DJ" by David Bowie, and even "Sports Men" by Haruomi Hosono), due to both their sheer influence on popular music and their highly distinctive styles.
- Radiohead's name comes from the track "Radio Head" off of True Stories.
- The opening lyrics for Sheryl Crow's hit "All I Wanna Do" are based on the chorus for "Life During Wartime".
- To go along with a few other music references, one of the levels in the first Crash Bandicoot game is named after Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere".
