During the latter part of 2010 and into the beginning of 2011, I discovered a Scottish band called the Proclaimers, who I am most certain you only know for this song
and possibly this song.
I consider that a shame. While those two songs are amazing in their own right, they're nowhere near the band's best work.
If I had to recommend other Proclaimers songs to you, it would be this one
and this one
Of course, it helps that I have an affinity for Scottish accents, but with the Proclaimers being identical twin brothers that are Scottish, and that sing... well that put the icing on the cake really.
In March 2011, Duran Duran released an album titled "All you need is now".
I didn't get a chance to buy the album until the summer, but I found it refreshing.
I first got into Duran Duran around the release of their 2004 album, "Astronaut". Then was their 2007 album "Red Carpet Massacre". Then, in 2011, "All you need is now".
I think Astronaut was the beginning of a kind of DD movement, where you can hear their roots but they still sound relevant. It was the same on "Red Carpet Massacre", where a lot of production was done by Timbaland. Timbaland's production on that album is good, but it threatens to sound stagnant because it sounds the same as all the other production he does.
Anyway.
"All you need is now", as an album, continues this movement, where Duran Duran continue to stay true to their roots and pay homage to their classic sound, but without rehashing it or sounding stale. I hope they continue to do so for subsequent album releases.
In the early summer, when I was delivering newspapers, I discovered Peter Gabriel. Well. Rediscovered in a way. I always knew songs like 'Sledgehammer', 'Shock the Monkey', 'In Your Eyes', 'Solsbury Hill' and whatnot. I was looking up songs by another Genesis member, Phil Collins, when I had a thought to look up the few Peter Gabriel songs I knew, and when I started listening to other PG songs of which I wasn't previously aware, I was in awe. I could post you a multitude of songs, from 'Here Comes the Flood', to 'Steam', to 'Big Time', to 'No self control', but there is one I want to focus on for the purposes of this entry.
It's inspirational, and uplifting, and at that point in my life, just what I needed.
Fast forward to mid/late summer, and I had discovered a Norwegian band called A-ha, who you may be familiar with due to this song.
They're pretty much considered one hit wonders in the U.S., which I think is a real shame. They're brilliant. Morten Harket has a gorgeous voice, which was still top notch when A-ha retired in 2010. Butterfly Butterfly (the last hurrah) was, as far as I know, the last new A-ha song to be released before their retirement.
Anyway, my discovering them lead me to purchase their 2002 album "Lifelines".
Other notable album tracks I recommend are "You Wanted More", "There's a reason for it", and this next song, called "Forever Not Yours". Forever Not Yours was among a handful of A-ha songs I knew in college, due to my 80s new wave phase.
As far as 80s A-ha goes, I recommend the album "Hunting High and Low". I believe 'Take on me' is on that album.
During the summer, I discovered an Australian band called Icehouse, who you may be familiar with due to this 80s hit.
I knew this song several years ago, when I was in my 80s new wave phase, but I never bothered to look into other songs by them until this summer
When my curiosity got the better of me and I looked up other Icehouse tracks, I was amazed and I loved what I heard.
This was another semi-big hit for them, and unless you're from Australia, it's probably the only other Icehouse song you know, sadly.
This is another Icehouse song I highly recommend, from the album of the same name.
It's a shame that Icehouse weren't more widely recognized. Also, since I live in the US, it can get pretty expensive to acquire any physical media by Icehouse, since everything is pretty much being imported from Australia.
I recommend the entire "Man of Colors" album, as well as a few random songs like "No Promises", and "Don't Believe Anymore".
In October of 2011, Thomas Dolby released "A Map of the Floating City", his first studio album in 20 years, leading me to rediscover his music for the umpteenth time. I have been discovering and rediscovering his work since my first exposure to his music, when I was a child. In my 80s new wave phase in college was when I first got really into him.
My first exposure to his music was the work he did for the random computer animation film, The Gate to the Mind's Eye. If you have the free music program Spotify, you can listen to the album in full, but it's nearly impossible to find on youtube. If you do look it up, I would lead you to concentrate on "Valley of the Mind's Eye" and "Nuvogue".
I can't embed the video, but I can link you to "Valley of the Mind's Eye".
It's a safe link, I've watched it there myself dozens of times.
Those are two notable tracks from "A Map of the Floating City". I also highly recommend the first four songs on the album... as well as the entire album. Again, if you have the free program Spotify, you can listen to the entire album for yourself.
I would also direct you to the 1992 album "Astronauts and Heretics".
I recently found out that Thomas Dolby will be touring the US in the Spring of this year, 2012, and I have decided that I WILL be at one of those concerts. Even if I can't technically afford it, I am going to be there. Thomas Dolby has consistently been one of my favorite musical artists for a very long time. He still has his beautiful voice, but honestly, as a man in his 50s, I don't know how much longer he'll be doing the whole touring, releasing music thing, and I don't want to lose my chance to see him play live.
As for the rest of my year in music, it's been more or less discovering and rediscovering all the music I posted you above.
As for predictions for my 2012 in music, I will probably continue to look into the artists I mentioned above, and who knows, I may discover another foreign band from the 80s to add to my list of loves.
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