This Is Music & Me

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Strips about music

The Big Drug Scare, Part 3 (8/10/2007)
With Friends Like These (9/26/2007)
Aural Drug Consumption, Part 1 (11/12/2007)
Aural Drug Consumption, Part 2 (11/14/2007)
Aural Drug Consumption, Part 3 (11/16/2007)
Music & Me Part 1: Thomas Dolby (11/30/2007)
Music & Me Part 2: Adamski (5/5/2008)
Hidden Subtext (5/7/2008)
Useless Aversions (5/28/2008)
Restrained (8/29/2008)

Music & Me: Thomas Dolby

First published on November 30, 2007

Whereas I feel myself growing old real fast, Mr. Dolby seems to keep himself young by reinventing himself. The music press frequently calls Thomas Dolby a "one hit wonder", which tells you just how much they know. I became aware of him only after he released his third album, "Aliens Ate My Buick". For the music press, that would possibly be "past his prime", for me, it was the mother lode.

Initially, it was the 50's B-movie poster pastiche that drew me in (see below). After looking at the CD cover for weeks without buying, I decided to give it a listen in the store. The decision took me all of two minutes. At first, I preferred the wacky, upbeat numbers. During a rocky relationship, Mr Dolby spoke to me through the deeply melancholic "My Brain Is Like a Sieve". When I feel down, the build-up of "Budapest by Blimp" never fails to lift me up. I rushed to track down his previous two albums. They don't quite give me the same kick, but I love them nonetheless.

It took Mr. Dolby four years to release another album proper. The cover of "Astronauts & Heretics" looks earthy, a bit goth and indy-rock. The inner sleeve displays Thomas Dolby with his eyes closed and his head turned to one side, a china doll in a fantasy uniform with a superimposed skeleton and Leonardo da Vinci wings.

By this time, an appealing cover no longer was required to draw me in. Indeed, I consider it his best work to date. Commercially, the album seems to have been a failure, but why should I care. After all these years, it still sounds as beautiful as on the first day I heard it. I listen to it and I feel understood.

Two years after "Astronauts & Heretics", Thomas Dolby published a soundtrack to a computer graphics compilation. Holding my breath, I awaited his next album proper. Instead, Dolby disappeared from the music scene and founded an Internet company. When he briefly reappeared in 2001 with an intimate live set – sold in a limited edition, web order only, I whooped and bought it without a second thought. Dolby was back, if only for a single, private engagement.

In 2006, Thomas Dolby stepped back into the music scene. He released another live album, accompanied by two concert DVDs and an EP with additional material, including his first new song in... quite a while. Now he's moved back to England, determined to compose new music.

The Golden Age Of Wireless The Flat Earth Aliens Ate My Buick Astronauts & Heretics Forty Limited Edition The Sole Inhabitant Live At SXSW

Selected Discography

The Golden Age Of Wireless, debut album from 1982. Contains "She Blinded Me With Science", probably his main royalty source. "Airwaves", "Flying North", "Windpower" and "Cloudburst at Shingle Street" point at things to come.
The Flat Earth from 1984. The big hit was "Hyperactive!", a high-energy dance track somewhat at odds with the rest of the album. My favorites are "Screen Kiss" and "I Scare Myself".
Aliens Ate My Buick from 1988. The point of my conversion. Of the upbeat songs, "Airhead" is a great single. In the long term, it's outclassed by the massive "May The Cube Be With You" featuring George Clinton and Lene Lovich. My favorites are "My Brain Is Like A Sieve", "The Ability To Swing" and "Budapest by Blimp".
Astronauts & Heretics from 1992. The opener "I Love You Goodbye" sets a melancholic mood for the album. "Close But No Cigar" is an obvious and enjoyable single. Mr. Dolby seems to have found a inner balance when he made this record – there's not a single track I ever consider skipping. It is one of those few albums that are just perfect.
Forty from 2001, a live album celebrating Mr. Dolby's birthday. It captures a private performance he gave for friends and acquaintances, with little interludes where he explains the origins of some of the songs. "She Blinded Me With Science" is not included, but my personal favorites are. (CD out of print, currently only available as MP3.)
The Sole Inhabitant from 2006, one of his recent one-man band live performances. Whereas "Forty" could be summed up as "these are my favorite songs", this album is a call to fans old and new: "I'm back and look at my great toys!" The concert DVD is precious by itself. (The UK edition combines CD and DVD.)
Live at SXSW from 2007, a 5 track EP featuring a great horn section, the "Jazz Mafia Horns". Four of the tracks hail from "Aliens Ate My Buick", the fifth is a previously-unheard song, "Your Karma Hit My Dogma". (Web orders only.)

Also available: "Gate To The Mind's Eye" (video soundtrack), "Retrospectacle" (very good compilation), "Hyperactive (less good compilation), "12x12" (remix compilation)

Not available: Cyberia soundtrack (which was, if memory serves, awesome)

Strips featuring Thomas Dolby:

Music & Me Part 1: Thomas Dolby