Song · Trans-X
“Living on Video” by Trans-X
Released 1983
“Living on Video” by Trans-X appears on 12 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1984 and 2003. It was first released in 1983. Its best result is #54 on the KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #175 alternative song of 1984 and #1,481 alternative song of all time.
Trans-X, the Canadian synth-pop outfit, had "Living on Video" written by 1982, but Polydor didn't put it out as a single until May 1983. Pascal Languirand wrote the words and music, Carmine and Dominique Nicodemo produced, and Daniel Bernier engineered and mixed. The band cut a French version too, "Vivre sur Vidéo".
It's pure dance-floor machine music: a rigid electronic beat, chilly synth riffs and a robotic vocal that makes life on a screen sound both thrilling and a little eerie. The song became the title track of their debut album, and a 1985 remix pushed it to number 9 in the UK and onto the Billboard chart. Plenty of other acts have covered it since.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 96 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1984 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 124 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1988 | 259 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1989 | 159 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1991 | 375 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1992 | 136 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 265 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 228 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 54 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 95 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 942 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2003 | 1522 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
Also listed as: Living On Video.
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