Like Humans Do

"Like Humans Do"
A pixelated picture of David Byrne's face with him screaming
Single by David Byrne
from the album Look into the Eyeball
A-side"Like Humans Do"
B-side
  • "All Over Me"
  • "Princess"
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2001 (2001-09-18)
Genre
Length3:32
LabelVirgin, Luaka Bop
Songwriter(s)David Byrne
Producer(s)Michael Mangini
David Byrne singles chronology
"Miss America"
(1997) 		"Like Humans Do"
(2001) 		"U.B. Jesus"
(2001)

"Like Humans Do" is the fourth track from David Byrne's Look into the Eyeball and was also released as a single in 2001. Most notably, the radio edit version of the song (which omits the line referring to cannabis) was selected by Microsoft[1] as the sample music for Windows XP to demonstrate the new Windows Media Player,[2] though it was only included in early releases of the operating system. It was also included as a sample track on the Rio Karma media player.

The song was also featured on Byrne's 2007 live album Live from Austin, Texas and 2004's Live at Union Chapel. In the latter film, he explains that the song is about trying to love human beings despite their failings, by taking a "Martian's perspective" on humanity and trying to accept them for what they are.

Track listing

  1. "Like Humans Do" (Radio Edit)
  2. "All Over Me"
  3. "Princess"
Notes
  • The B-sides were later appended to a re-release of Look into the Eyeball.

Personnel

The song was written by David Byrne and arranged by Thom Bell, with string and horn contracting by Sandra Park.[3]

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States September 18, 2001 EMI Records Compact Disc 897529

References

  1. ^ "David Byrne to Provide Promotional Music for Windows XP". Microsoft. August 1, 2001. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ^ You May Find Yourself On Windows XP - Forbes.com
  3. ^ "Look into the Eyeball — production credits". David Byrne. 2001. Retrieved 2008-08-19.