Music: Thomas Dolby @ Martyrs' Pub, 10/7/11 - Now 1,000% more insanely talented than ever.

Thomas Dolby, Martyrs' Pub, 10/7/11, performing "Evil Twin Brother" from "A Map of The Floating City"

I spent Friday evening watching and hearing Thomas Dolby with my dear friend Ann.  I met him in person.  I shook his hand.  It struck me again how jaw-droppingly talented he is - now more than ever - 29 years after his smash "She Blinded Me With Science" was in endless rotation on the radio and MTV.

Friday night represented a watershed moment for me in terms of being inspired by someone who never stopped making innovative electronic music almost 30 years later, and who is known and widely respected by the likes of Brian Eno and J.J. Abrams.  A Map of the Floating City is the first album he's released in 20 years.  To drum up buzz for the album, Dolby developed a Web-based social media game, The Floating City, in consultation with Abrams and a gifted group of developers, dazzling in its visual design, richness, and multilayered complexity, which eventually drew 5,000 players globally before it concluded this past August with a private concert for the winning team.

The new music, especially the funky, bhangra-ish "Spice Train," made me feel 17 again - and how happy I was to be able to say that to Mr. Dolby personally.  Listening to great new work from someone I admired long ago gives me hope that it's never too late for me to do new things too.  I was on an altered emotional plane driving home, with the new album pounding through the speakers, on an October night so warm that all the windows were down.

Ann captures my excitement at seeing Thomas Dolby at Martyrs' Pub last Friday.

A remarkable, unforgettable evening.  Multiple geeky links abound below.

And Now For Something Completely Thomas Dolby, pollstar.com, 9/11/2011
TED Blog Announcement about the US Lecture tour for Thomas Dolby and the Floating City (including the Floating City game trailer), 10/1/11
Floating City Game (closed but the front page & the trailer are available)

All Hail Kraftwerk:  Thomas Dolby, Hot Chip, The Orb..., clashmusic.com, 9/10/09
Guest Editor J. J. Abrams puts Dolby at the top of his list of What's Wired This Month, Wired, May 2009
A nicely done summary of Dolby's career and influence, "He Blinded Me With Science," Dissociated Press, May 2010.

Official Thomas Dolby Blog
Dolby's Wiki