Thomas Dolby: The Golden Age of Wireless

Thomas Dolby: The Golden Age of Wireless

1982

Capitol Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. She Blinded Me with Science  2. Radio Silence  3. Airwaves  4. Flying North  5. Weightless  6. Europa and the Pirate Twins  7. Windpower  8. Commercial Breakup  9. One of Our Submarines  10. Cloudburst at Shingle Street



Oh yea...They're not especially related to Thomas Dolby, but I'd say they're music related...My friend Josh and I used to always try to crack each other up drawing people out of magazines, yearbooks, etc...Here are some that I drew from some old Guitar magazine in the early-mid 90s...

I have no idea who the guy on the top is supposed to be (Yngwie Malmsteem? Somebody from Dream Theater? The guy seems to have an air of bombastic arrogance to him)... I'm pretty sure the guy on the bottom is supposed to be Mark Sandman  from Morphine...lol...Wait, what were Morphine doing in a guitar magazine?

 

These were drawings from the same magazine..Probably some old blues guys or something...

Alright, enough with the old drawings..Let's talk some Thoma Dolby...

My wife, Amy, is really into 80's pop music..We were at the record store and I was like, "Yea, pick up any records you like...I'm buying!" And she came back with Thomas Dolby's "The Golden Age of Wireless." Huh? I mean, I always liked "She Blinded Me With Science" alright, but in a strictly "novelty" manner...

 The stuffy,  old coot in the video always cracked me up, but I couldn't imagine listening to it without the visuals...I'm actually an 80's keyboard fanatic, but the song came across as extra gimmicky which tainted my view...

Anyway, we brought the album home and to my delight there was a long, yellowed sheet of paper inside...I believe I've gone over this countless times on this blog, but I LOVE when used records have the previous owner's stuff in them...It's like the cherry on top...And then it struck me...Hey! I don't even have to write up a review of this record! It already came with one! Whelp...I'm taking the rest of the night off...See ya, folks...

Hmmm, it appears to be an AP Wire or something...By someone named Don Kreis..Great write-up, by the way...We not only get Thomas Dolby being quoted as saying that Michael Jackson's music is a "very Plebeian taste," but we also get a brief update on what the Talking Heads are up to...Man, I love this so much...I should google the writer's name...See what they're up to these days...

Oh shit! According to Google it appears he's a lawyer! Am I going to get sued for reproducing his article without permission? Is this the end of the Friday Night Record Party blog? Should I start ironing my court clothes? 

"She Blinded Me With Science" kicks off the album and I still think it's gimmicky...It's nostalgic 80's fun but that's about it...I kind of settled in for a night of funny voices and Mad Scientist jokes, but then "Radio Silence" came on next and it was good...Not just good, but pretty freakin' great actually... Tons of catchy hooks and the he gets a lot of warmth out of usually cold 80's synths...And the best part? Not even one other gimmicky song...The rest of it is either smart, upbeat new-wave or quiet, glowing, atmospheric tracks...Think of an incredibly melodic Kraftwerk doing synth-pop ballads...Mechanical, fully of shimmering beauty and featuring lots of lyrics about radios, airplanes and pylons...

 

This is one of those albums where the slow songs are possibly even better than the uptempo stuff...The atmosphere is very finely detailed, but it's not an end in itself...No matter how glacial the speed, the songs  continue to be memorable, highly-hummable stuff...I guess what I'm trying to say is, a lot of it is slow but you don't notice cos the songs are real catchy...So don't be scared away by the novelty hit..."The Golden Age of Wireless" is a mighty fine record...If you're into stuff like Kraftwerk, Gary Numan or David Bowie at his most aloof, you'll dig this...If everything you listen to absolutely must have a guitar in it, skip it...

Oh yea, if you're looking for some heavy reading, check out the Discogs entry for this thing...The album was released and re-released with so many different track listings, covers, etc...The one I have is the 2nd US release put out by Capitol records that closely resembled the original UK release, with "Science" and a couple remixed tracks tossed in...Collect 'em all!

Wait, what day is it? Is it Friday? Ehhh, Thursday night...Close enough...Let's get some Mo' day beers and listen to a song by the Dolb-Man...Here's "Radio Silence" (This is the best version of it I can find online...Apparently he released an alternate, crappy version which seems to be more popular...But the video below is of the vinyl version, which is the same as the one I have and it rules)...Enjoy....