would escalate to a nuclear war any day, Dolby seemed to be meditating on the shifting fortunes of The West, symbolized by a wrecked military sea vessel, in вЂњOne of Our Submarines.вЂќ ThereвЂ™s something chilling and prescient in the way he sings вЂњBye bye, empireвЂ¦empire, bye byeвЂќ in the chorus. After track #1, Dolby uses his keyboards and drum machines to address some heavy subjects, ranging from his preoccupation with technology its effect on humanity (вЂњRadio Silence,вЂќ вЂњAirwaves,вЂќ вЂњWindpowerвЂќ), to wistful nostalgia for lost childhood love (вЂњEuropa and the Pirate TwinsвЂќ) to eating disorders (вЂњWeightlessвЂќ).ДЄnd at a time when it seemed the Cold War between ReaganвЂ™s America and the U.S.S.R. breakthrough song wasnвЂ™t really indicative of what was on the rest of the album or the depth of the artistвЂ™s talent. In the U.S., the song and video quickly relegated Dolby with other symbols of вЂ80s вЂњnerdвЂќ culture like the band Devo and the movies Revenge of the Nerds and Weird Science.ДЄs with a few other вЂњone hit wonders,вЂќ DolbyвЂ™s U.S. DolbyвЂ™s only hit in America was this albumвЂ™s first track, вЂњShe Blinded Me with Science,вЂќ a jumpy, expertly crafted techie love song with an accompanying video that was the exact kind of computer-pop that commercial radio and MTV could use to usher in the electronic age. The Golden Age of WirelessВ was originally released in 1982. His skills enabled him to make two of the best pop albums to come out of the New Wave era. Digital sounds didnвЂ™t come off the shelf they had to be built from the ground up and made into something useable, hopefully by someone who knows what theyвЂ™re doing, musically and technically. In these days of ubiquitous electronic equipment, itвЂ™s easy to forget there was a time when it wasnвЂ™t possible to just push a button and have coherent sounds (or songs, or albums) come pouring out. One day she got hold of two albums on cassette tapes that I dutifully sponged off of her and that introduced me to the brilliant synth-pop of Thomas Morgan Robertson, a.k.a. Fortunately I had a sister who was plugged in to the few places in town where one could find new stuff that wasnвЂ™t featured on Casey KasemвЂ™s Top 40.

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska in the mid-1980s, before the existence of the Internet and MP3 players, meant you had to look a little harder to find new and interesting pop music. The CHIRP Blog Clarence Ewing: The Million Year Trip writes Rediscovering Our Record Collections: Thomas DolbyвЂ™s вЂњThe Golden Age of WirelessвЂќ + вЂњThe Flat EarthвЂќ

Radio silence thomas dolby