Dolby promoted himself as a kind of mad scientist, an egghead that had successfully harnessed the power of synthesizers and samplers, using them to make catchy pop and electro-funk. Before he launched his solo career, Dolby had already worked as a studio musician, technician, and songwriter. After starting out as a teenaged live sound man, mixing The Fall, The Members and others using a PA he built himself, he formed the arty post-punk band Camera Club (also known as Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club) with Bruce Woolley, Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn and Matthew Seligman. Within a year, he had left the group and joined Lene Lovich’s backing band and gave her his song "New Toy", which became a British hit in 1981. That same year, he released his first solo single, "Urges", on the English independent label Armageddon. By the autumn, he had signed with Parlophone and released "Europa and the Pirate Twins", which nearly cracked the UK Top 40.
Dolby started playing synthesizer on sessions for other artists in 1982. That year, he played keyboards on Def Leppard’s Pyromania and Joan Armatrading’s Walk Under Ladders. His most distinctive session credit is that keyboard line after the chorus on Foreigner’s "Waiting for a Girl Like You". In that eventful summer, Dolby also collaborating with New York rappers Whodini to create "Magic’s Wand" – a pivotal early hip hop track (the first rap single to shift 1 million copies), and it also single-handedly started the new jack swing movement.
Even with all of these achievements, 1982 was most noteworthy for the release of Dolby’s first solo album, The Golden Age of Wireless, in the summer of 1982, the landmark album reaching number 13. "Windpower", the first single from the record, became his first Top 40 UK hit in the late summer. Other cuts from the album include "The Airwaves", and "One of Our Submarines", a meditation on the futility of empire.
In January of 1983, Dolby released an EP, Blinded by Science, which includes what would become his most well-known track, "She Blinded Me with Science" featuring a cameo vocal appearance by the notorious British eccentric Magnus Pike, who also appeared in the song’s video. "She Blinded Me with Science" was a minor hit in England, but the EP and the single became a major American hit in 1983, thanks to MTV’s heavy airplay of the video. Eventually, the song reached number five on the US charts and it was included on a resequenced and reissued version of The Golden Age of Wireless, which peaked at number 13 in America.
The Flat Earth, Dolby's second album, appeared in early 1984, and harkens back to a time when songs mattered more than the video, even as MTV was discovering its strength. Opening with "Dissidents", conjuring up images of blacklisted authors and ugly snow, gray from oppression, with Matthew Seligman’s bass at the fore, lavish, growling, popping through octaves, funk-a-fied and twinkling with harmonics throughout the album. The title track is an R&B daydream of piano and Motown stabs of rhythm guitar. "Screen Kiss" has a similarly ethereal quality, and the lyrics are lush with imagery. The cover of Dan Hicks’ 1967 "I Scare Myself" is a balmy jazz club cocktail – faithfully nostalgic, right down to a bittersweet trombone solo from Peter Thomas. "Hyperactive" is one part bizarre to two parts infectious; guest vocalist Adele Bertei fuels the fire to what was already destined to be a memorable diversion beyond the reach of Top 40. The single became Thomas’ biggest UK hit, peaking at number 17.
During 1985, Dolby collaborated with artists including Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield and Herbie Hancock; and notched up some more high-concept production credits. George Clinton's Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends, Prefab Sprout’s Steve McQueen, and Joni Mitchell’s Dog Eat Dog were all midwifed by Dolby, who also was musical director for David Bowie at Live Aid. Also in 1985, he began composing film scores, starting with Fever Pitch. In 1986, he composed the scores for Gothic and Howard the Duck, for which he credited himself as Dolby's Cube. (That credit led to a lawsuit from the Dolby Labs, who eventually prohibited the musician from using the name "Dolby" in conjunction with any other name than "Thomas.")
Aliens Ate My Buick, Dolby's long-delayed third album, appeared in 1988 to a mixed reaction, although "Airhead" became a minor British hit. That same year, Dolby married actress Kathleen Beller. For the rest of the late 80s and early 90s, Dolby continued to score films, producing and building his own computer equipment.
1992’s Astronauts and Heretics, features guest stars such as Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Ofra Haza. The album opens with "I Love You Goodbye", one of Thomas’ most evocative songs, and ends with "Beauty of a Dream" which is also a contender for that honour. Highlights found inbetween include "Cruel" (a duet with Fairground Attraction’s Eddie Reader), "I Live in a Suitcase" and "Close But No Cigar".
The following year, Dolby founded the computer software company Headspace in Silicon Valley, releasing The Virtual String Quartet as its first program, and also pioneered technology for music on mobile phones. For the rest of the 90s, Headspace occupied most of Dolby's time and energy. In 1994, he released The Gate to the Mind’s Eye, a soundtrack to the animated short film Mind’s Eye. Also that year, Capitol released the greatest-hits collection, Retrospectacle.
Thirteen years after Astronauts and Heretics, Dolby returned to live performance in 2006 with his solo Sole Inhabitant tour, which covered North America and the UK, with Thomas recreating the highlights of his earlier work from scratch, with a camera mounted like a miner’s lamp on his head, and a big screen showing the view from the artist, turning what would be a fairly dull one-man-and-a-rack-of-synths into a fascinating audio visual experience and an unintended masterclass for music technology students.
UK indie label Invisible Hands Music released a CD and DVD box set recorded on the Sole Inhabitant tour. These fresh and modern reinterpretations of Thomas’ work to date precedes a new studio album due in 2008, which is as-yet untitled, but does include a song about Britney’s ex Kevin Federline (“K-Fed”) who used an uncleared sample from "She Blinded Me with Science" and did not respond to legal approaches until a ‘cease-and-desist’ was posted in the comments field of his MySpace page. That song is called "My Karma Hit Your Dogma", and bodes well for a mighty return to form, combining Thomas’ humour and intelligence with a unique musical vision.
2011 saw Dolby get busy by returning with a new studio album A Map of the Floating City on 29 October. The album is broken down into three genres of Urbanoia's tales of city experiences; Amerikana as Dolby's take on his years living in America and it's roots music; and Oceanea: songs of life by the sea in his home country of England. The music was debuted first as download EPs to Dolby's online community and then previewed by a transmedia interactive game also called the FloatingCity.com.
Thomas Dolby is taking the music back on tour as a solo artist and with varying line-ups of bands, doing two tours of the UK in 2011, and has his first trip to Australia in February 2012 followed by dates in Japan. In March Dolby kicks off the Time-Capsule.tv tour at the SxSW Festival in Austin playing dates in USA and Canada through April. He will have a trailer parked at venues on his tour where you can produce a 30 second video offering words of wisdom to whoever will be walking the earth in the future. Dolby wants to give people a chance to “explain to an alien visitor what went wrong with our civilization. Our species may not be around on this planet much longer, so you might as well leave a welcome message for the next guys.”
Airhead
Thomas Dolby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My friends say she's a dumb blonde but they don't know she dyes her hair
She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved
But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
She's an airhead
Tinted contacts don't change the fact that black is black
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the length of those legs
She's not an intellectual giant
She'd like to model, or maybe act, or start a magazine
Before she signs any big contracts, she better learn to read
But in her dreams she's the queen of the fashion regime
You ask me do I love you, does the Pope live in the woods?
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, baby ("ooh, you speak French")
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the size of that chest
She's not an intellectual giant
Sweet and low and oh-so, little Ms. Dora Jarre
Safe sex and fishnets and could you walk me to my car, pa
She's losing faith in a world that is out of control
So she's gonna nix politics, she's taking up volleyball
Volleyball, why?
'Cause she's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
And now the time's come for the end of my song
Don't get me wrong
If she's an airhead, it has to be said
It was men made her that way
It was us made her that way
It was us made her that way
Oh airhead
In Thomas Dolby's song Airhead, he sings about a woman who is obsessed with her appearance and who he describes as an airhead. The lyrics describe how Thomas buys her expensive clothes and jewelry, but she is unaware of world events such as the fighting in Central America. Instead of paying attention to important matters, she worries about what to wear to Bel-Air premieres. Thomas points out her lack of intelligence, noting that she had better learn to read before she signs any contracts. He sarcasctically asks "You ask me do I love you, does the Pope live in the woods?", and signs off with the final statement that men are the ones who made her into an airhead.
The song is a commentary on the societal values of the 1980s, where looks were often prized over intelligence and substance. It is also a critique of the stereotypes of women being vain and unintelligent. Thomas Dolby uses the term "airhead" as a pejorative to describe his partner's lack of intelligence and care for anything other than her own appearance.
Line by Line Meaning
I buy her all the right clothes and pretty jewels to wear
I spend lots of money dressing and decorating my girlfriend.
My friends say she's a dumb blonde but they don't know she dyes her hair
My friends think my girlfriend is unintelligent due to her blonde hair, but they don't realize she colors her hair and is not naturally blonde.
She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved
My girlfriend underestimates the complexity of the conflicts in Central America.
But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve
My girlfriend has difficulty deciding what to wear to events in the wealthy area of Bel Air.
She's an airhead
My girlfriend is not very intelligent.
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
My girlfriend's possessions, such as her car with vanity plates, are reflective of her airheadedness.
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
My girlfriend has a lot of money in a trust fund and was born on the cusp of the Aquarius zodiac sign, but still lacks seriousness or intelligence.
Tinted contacts don't change the fact that black is black
My girlfriend may change the color of her contacts, but the truth remains that she is not smart.
And while I'm impressed with the length of those legs
Although I appreciate my girlfriend's physical appearance, it doesn't change her lack of intelligence.
She'd like to model, or maybe act, or start a magazine
My girlfriend has aspirations of becoming a model or actress, or even creating a magazine.
Before she signs any big contracts, she better learn to read
Before my girlfriend signs any important documents, she should first learn to read.
But in her dreams she's the queen of the fashion regime
Despite her current lack of fashion sense, my girlfriend still dreams of being a fashion icon.
You ask me do I love you, does the Pope live in the woods?
My love for my girlfriend is as clear as the sky, it's a given.
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, baby ("ooh, you speak French")
This Latin phrase means 'which was to be demonstrated' and emphasizes that there's no question of my love for my girlfriend, and she finds it impressive that I speak French.
Sweet and low and oh-so, little Ms. Dora Jarre
My girlfriend, Dora Jarre, is sweet and petite.
Safe sex and fishnets and could you walk me to my car, pa
My girlfriend has a preference for safe sex and wearing fishnet stockings, and she asks me to escort her to her car.
She's losing faith in a world that is out of control
My girlfriend is becoming disillusioned with a world that seems chaotic and disordered.
So she's gonna nix politics, she's taking up volleyball
My girlfriend has decided to stop following politics and dedicate her time and energy to playing volleyball.
'Cause she's an airhead
Again, emphasizing that my girlfriend is not very intelligent.
And now the time's come for the end of my song
The song is coming to an end.
Don't get me wrong
Don't misunderstand me.
If she's an airhead, it has to be said
If my girlfriend lacks intelligence, it must be acknowledged.
It was men made her that way
Suggesting that societal factors, such as gender or culture, may have contributed to my girlfriend's airheadedness.
It was us made her that way
Admitting that my own actions and choices may have contributed to my girlfriend's lack of intelligence.
It was us made her that way
Repeating the idea that my actions and choices may have contributed to my girlfriend's lack of intelligence.
Oh airhead
Finalizing the theme of the song and reiterating my girlfriend's lack of intelligence.
Lyrics © GRANT MORRIS PUBLISHING
Written by: Thomas Dolby, Grant Morris
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@celiavictor4049
I buy her all the right clothes and pretty jewels to wear
My friends say she's a dumb blonde but they don't know she dyes her hair
She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved
But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
Tinted contacts don't change the fact that black is black
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the length of those legs
She's not an intellectual giant
She'd like to model, or maybe act, or start a magazine
Before she signs any big contracts, she better learn to read
But in her dreams she's the queen of the fashion regime
You ask me do I love you, does the Pope live in the woods?
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, baby ("ooh, you speak French")
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the size of that chest
She's not an intellectual giant
Sweet and low and oh-so, little Ms. Dora Jarre
Safe sex and fishnets and could you walk me to my car, pa
She's losing faith in a world that is out of control
So she's gonna nix politics, she's taking up volleyball
Volleyball, why?
'Cause she's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
And now the time's come for the end of my song
Don't get me wrong
If she's an airhead, it has to be said
It was men made her that way
It was us made her that way
It was us made her that way
@svenfan87
I buy her all the right clothes and pretty jewels to wear
My friends say she's a dumb blonde but they don't know she dyes her hair
She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved
But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve
[Chorus]
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
Tinted contacts don't change the fact that black is black
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the length of those legs
She's not an intellectual giant
She'd like to model, or maybe act, or start a magazine
Before she signs any big contracts, she better learn to read
But in her dreams she's the queen of the fashion regime
You ask me do I love you, does the Pope live in the woods? Quod
Erat Demonstrandum, baby. ("Ooh, you speak french")
[Chorus]
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the size of that chest
She's not an intellectual giant
Sweet and low and oh-so, little Ms. Dora Jarre
Safe sex and fishnets and could you walk me to my car, pa
She's losing faith in a world that is out of control
So she's gonna nix politics, she's taking up volleyball
Volleyball, why?
Cause she's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius - get serious
She's an airhead
And now the time's come for the end of my song
Don't get me wrong
If she's an airhead, it has to be said
It was men made her that way
It was us made her that way
@johndotter351
Thomas Dolby- Shes an Airhead!
Airhead Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I buy her all the right clothes and pretty jewels to wear
My friends say she's a dumb blonde but they don't know she dyes her hair
She thinks the fighting in Central America's easily solved
But what to wear to Bel Air premieres is a problem she could never resolve
[Chorus]
She's an airhead
Stungun and mace, Kharmann Ghia plates say "Lost in Space"
She's an airhead
Thousands in trust, cusp aquarius, get serious
She's an airhead
Tinted contacts don't change the fact that black is black
She's an airhead
And while I'm impressed with the length of those legs
She's not an intellectual giant
@anthonymirabito1501
Aliens Ate My Buick is one of the most underrated albums in the history of popular music.
@ptschmal
Anthony, agree 100% A real gem.
@Enigmatism415
I like it, but it's my least favourite of his albums. I've always seen his first two and last two being pairs, and this one is kind of the awkward middle child.
@TyTye
How can it be underrrated if it charted in the top 30?
@jeanettedevereux7664
👏👏👏
@MacakFric-dt3qg
Just like some albums Prefab Sprout which he produced
@dejanhasecic9124
One of my favorite albums ever. Thomas is just unbelievable ..and the musicians on these recordings!!!!!!!
@_MrPink_
Sold many a hifi and blew out many a woofer with this track. Love.
@misfitbassist2203
The expressions on Dolby golem's face are priceless.
@UncleDavesKitchen
3:24 nice outline