# song in total recall - what was it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744 "2002-05-18T22:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Salads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mr\_Salads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Salads)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/1 "2002-05-18T22:09:58Z")
Hi, For those that own or have seen Total Recall: When Ah-nold goes into the bar on Mars for the first time (complete with the woman with three breasts and the bardancers), there’s a song that’s playing. I know Ive heard it before, but can’t place it. It’s not on the TR soundtrack, either. Any answers will be greatly appreciated. Best, Rick ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/2 "2002-05-19T04:30:39Z")
Well, I have the “extended” soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, and I don’t recall any vocal song on the CD. This is a vocal song (not instrumental) I assume? Is there no mention of it in the end credits? They usually do that when another artist has contributed something to the score. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Salads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mr\_Salads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Salads)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/3 "2002-05-19T11:15:00Z")
No, there were no vocals. If you watch the scene where he meets up with Melina for the first time, the song’s playing. Very fitting for a stripclub. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/4 "2002-05-19T18:10:23Z")
If it’s not a pop song, but just instrumentals, it might be just another part of Jerry Goldsmith’s score. (Goldsmith is very versatile and can compose in many musical styles.) Do you have the extended soundtrack? (It was released about a year or so ago.) It might be on there. If not, you probably are out of luck unless you find a “bootleg” copy. One of the irritating things about musical scores is that they rarely record the ENTIRE score for the CD. A composer may write an hour or more of score, but only half of that may make it onto the CD. There are some legal/financial reasons for this, I believe. Some “big name” composers (like Goldsmith) are finally getting some of their scores re-released on CD, with the “deleted” music put back in. Searching on Amazon, I find that several CDs have been released on Total Recall. [Total Recall Volume 1](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001T62/ref=nosim/portraitartis-20) - this looks like something unrelated to the soundtrack, to be honest. (There are at least 10 Total Recall “Volumes” - what the hell is _this?_) But you can check it out. And then there is the [“extended” CD](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000053GUJ/ref=nosim/portraitartis-20) which may have the missing track you are looking for. Amazon has sample tracks of almost the entire CD, let me know if you find the one you are looking for! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Salads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mr\_Salads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Salads)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2002, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/5 "2002-05-19T23:12:45Z")
yeah, I bought the extended soundtrack a couple months back. Very cool CD, but that song’s not on it. ☹ That total recall volume 1 thing looks like it’s for a spin-off cartoon or something. Weird. Never even heard of it before. And Ive also heard this mystery song in another movie, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/6 "2002-05-20T06:15:22Z")
HA. I was wondering what to watch tonight. I think I’ll watch Total Recall and see if I can pin it for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Salads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mr\_Salads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Salads)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/7 "2002-05-21T19:20:53Z")
Bump ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/9 "2021-10-08T14:51:39Z")
I was hoping there was an answer after 19 years… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/10 "2021-10-08T14:58:56Z")
Was it…Rio by Duran Duran? I can’t believe this never got an answer. I see Spotify has a soundtrack with 27 tracks. If the OP us still around, maybe he can tell if it is in here? > **[Total Recall (Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)](https://open.spotify.com/album/6NohF98RDsGmogC9WMlx9I)** > > Jerry Goldsmith · Album · 1990 · 27 songs. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/11 "2021-10-08T14:59:46Z")
Seems this thread pre-dates YouTube; I got it eh. Here’s the scene (starts around 2:25): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QdOTkQ0kV3Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Total Recall - Last Resort [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdOTkQ0kV3Q) And here’s the song, _Mutant Dancing_, from the OST: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4KRpSf5JZSk/maxresdefault.jpg "Jerry Goldsmith - Mutant Dancing (From "Total Recall" OST)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRpSf5JZSk) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/12 "2021-10-08T15:31:04Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I was hoping there was an answer after 19 years… Weird. There was an answer yesterday, but it’s gone now. It was Mutant Dancing by Jerry Goldsmith ( **Snowboarder Bo** ’s link). The new user and their post must have been cornfielded. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/13 "2021-10-08T15:36:09Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > There was an answer yesterday, but it’s gone now Yeah. Post #8, by a new user, is missing. It had the same answer as @Snowboarder_Bo, and was probably responsible for rezzing the thread. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/14 "2021-10-08T15:42:27Z")
Always hilarious to hear Hollywood’s predictions of what music in the future will sound like. ---
**Author:** ![SargentoCGB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SargentoCGB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SargentoCGB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/15 "2026-01-22T00:43:25Z")
Very similar to the music playing on Jabba the Hut Sail Barge, during Return of the Jedi ---
**Author:** ![SargentoCGB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SargentoCGB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SargentoCGB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-in-total-recall-what-was-it/109744/16 "2026-01-22T00:44:28Z")
Very similar to the music playing on Jabba the Hut Sail Barge during Return of the Jedi