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Cover of Naked by Talking Heads — Cover: Naked

Song · Talking Heads

“(Nothing But) Flowers” by Talking Heads

From the album Naked (1988)

“(Nothing But) Flowers” by Talking Heads appears on 35 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 1988 and 2026. It was first released in 1988 on the album Naked. Its best result is #20 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #13 alternative song of 1988, #1,098 alternative song of all time and #114 of the '80s.

35countdowns

11stations

#20best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1988–2026years charted

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Talking Heads - [Nothing But] Flowers (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (Talking Heads). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"(Nothing But) Flowers" was the second single from Naked, the 1988 album that turned out to be Talking Heads' eighth and last in the studio, and it's the band at their most sun-dappled. David Byrne sings over a bright, rolling groove, with Tina Weymouth's bass and Chris Frantz's drums bouncing along beside congas from Abdou M'Boup, shakers from Brice Wassy and Jerry Harrison's Hammond organ. Johnny Marr, lately of the Smiths, plays lead guitar, Kirsty MacColl joins the backing vocals, and Steve Lillywhite produced it with the band.

It only reached 79 in the UK, but the song has had a long afterlife: Bret Easton Ellis quoted it at the start of American Psycho, Kevin Smith opened Clerks 2 with it, and it turned up in The Mitchells vs. the Machines.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1988	20	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988	107
1988	36	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 1988	91
1988	24	Live 105 San Francisco, CA	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1988	106
1988	43	WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY	WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988	100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1989	429	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989)	495
1994	364	Live 105	Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994)	500
1999	1185	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	1186	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1186	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1185	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	358	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	1170	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	1472	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	1170	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2004	519	WXPN	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004)	885
2005	1170	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	840	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	784	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	795	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2009	329	WXPN	WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009)	885
2010	815	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2010	883	WXPN	WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010)	885
2011	800	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	800	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	794	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2014	789	WXPN	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014)	885
2020	1057	WXPN	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time	2020
2021	311	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s	909
2022	307	KEXP	KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022)	491
2022	923	WYEP	WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022	603
2022	337	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time	1055
2023	149	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850
2023	949	WYEP	WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023	1229
2025	55	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs	800
2026	929	WYEP	WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time	1180

Also listed as: Nothing But Flowers; Nothing but Flowers; (nothing But) Flowers.

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →

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