"She Blinded Me With Science", by Thomas Dolby

Thomas Dolby sounds like a fake name, like if you were getting into movies and called yourself Frank Kino or you were taking up painting and were suddenly Cal Utrecht.

Oh...according to Wikipedia, it is a fake name. Ha! That makes me like this song even more.

I hate the '80s and generally think little to nothing good came out of it. Awful music, bad books, suspect mores, terrible fashion, Iran-contra, Robert Downey Jr AND Bret Easton Ellis. It was a celebration of assholishness that seemed to endlessly ask the question, "What can I get away with?" and answer it with, "Everything."

This song ought to fit right in with the synth pop that continues to haunt my nightmares -- I mean, holy Mary, even the great Steve Miller somehow morphed his white boy blues into the mushy meaninglessness of "Abracadabra" (pure genius to rhyme it with "grab ya", though, no? No.). The '80s were cruel.

But I can listen to this song endlessly because it's full of little treats and unexpected turns: little pops and funky jumps down the scale stairs and Dolby's vocal barks and playful, actorly line readings, and the undeniably authentic yearning of his growling lament "she's poetry in motion". The lyrics tell the story with perfect economy and charm. It's synth-funk; or hiptronic?

Plus I like that Dolby is a dedicated electro-geek and is still at it, performing behind banks of keyboards. He made this song out of love, and it shows.