She Blinded Me with Science
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| "She Blinded Me with Science" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Thomas Dolby | ||
| from the album The Golden Age of Wireless | ||
| Released | 1982 | |
| Recorded | 1981 | |
| Genre | Synthpop New Wave |
|
| Label | Capitol Records | |
| Writer(s) | Thomas Dolby, Joe Kerr | |
| Producer | Thomas Dolby | |
"She Blinded Me With Science" is a New Wave song by British musician Thomas Dolby, released in 1982. It first appeared on the album The Golden Age of Wireless. It is a quirky, playful synth-pop song featuring synthesizer sounds.
Although a "top 10" success in the United States, peaking at #5, the song failed to score among the Top 40 in Dolby's native United Kingdom. In 2002, VH1 named "She Blinded Me with Science" #20 on its list of the "100 Greatest One-hit Wonders."[1] While the song is Dolby's only top ten success on the Billboard Hot 100, he has had other songs which scored on the music charts. Thus, the label "one-hit wonder" might be considered a misnomer for this song. In 2006, VH1 placed it at #76 on their list of "Greatest Songs of the '80s."[2] Then, in 2009, it ranked #13 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
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[edit] Song structure
The song's chorus, "She blinded me with science," plays upon the colloquial British expression "to blind [someone] with science," meaning to deliberately confuse someone by giving the impression of highly complex knowledge. In the song, however, the phrase is interpreted as a straightforward reference to the natural sciences.
The song features interjections from the British scientist and TV presenter Magnus Pyke[1], who repeatedly shouts "Science!" and delivers other lines in a deliberately over-the-top "mad scientist" voice, the most famous line of which was, "Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
The song was showcased as part of Dolby's appearance at the South by Southwest 2007 music festival.[3]
[edit] Music Video
In the music video, Dolby commits himself to a Home for Deranged Scientists. Throughout the course of the video, Magnus Pyke (as the Home Doctor) tries to diagnose what he is suffering from, all the while being seduced by Miss Sakamoto, a secretary in the home. Interspersed into the video, various "deranged scientists" operate fanciful inventions on the grounds of the Home and act deranged with normal scientific items.
[edit] Chart performance
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 49[4] |
| United States | 5[4] |
[edit] Cover versions
- Singer Melissa Lefton covered the song (with a pronoun change to "He") on the soundtrack for the 2001 animated film Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius.
- A cover of the song was recorded by American alternative band The Click Five, which was played in the trailer for the 2008 animated movie Igor.
- A cappella group Toxic Audio covered the song in their album Chemistry.
[edit] Sampling
- In 2004, Mobb Deep sampled the song for their hit single "Got it Twisted".
- Sampled in "America's Most Hated" by Kevin Federline, which was taken from Got it Twisted.
- The synth part after the chorus is commonly used in radio mixes.[clarification needed]
[edit] Appearances in other media
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (November 2007) |
- This song was played over the opening credits of the pilot episode for the short-lived science fiction series Misfits of Science.
- It was used in some ad spots for MythBusters on the Discovery Channel.
- In an episode of Star Stories, a clip from the song would play when Simon Cowell had an idea.
- It was featured in the 1997 film Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.
- The Georgia Institute of Technology's pep band plays it to entertain the crowd at basketball games.[citation needed]
- Was featured in an Episode 104 of Muppets Tonight (episode guest star John Goodman) in a skit featuring Dr. Phil van Neuter singing the song.
- In 2000 it was used on Dharma & Greg Episode #66 "The Best Laid Plans"
- Some frames of the music video briefly passed by in an ultra rapid scene of the movie Koyaanisqatsi.
- It was the initial theme song for the skeptical podcast, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.
- The song appears in King of the Hill, sung by Kahn during a medley of eighties songs.
- In the episode "This Spud's for You, Too" of the Food Network television show Good Eats, Frances Anderson says of Alton Brown, "He blinded me with science!"
- Florida Panthers announcer Randy Moller used the title, a recurring theme of his being uttering random pop culture phrases after goals.
- Used as ringtone for character Howard Wolowitz on television series The Big Bang Theory.
- It is the initial theme song of the Brazilian television show 15 Minutes.
- It has been used before as the intro song on The Atheist Experience.
- It was used as the music for the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in the Simpsons episode Treehouse_of_Horror_XIV.
- Weatherman Lloyd Lindsay Young would often shout, "Science!" when switching over to a weather-satellite photo.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Greatest One Hit Wonders List (#20-1) from the VH1 website
- ^ VH1's "100 Greatest Songs Of The '80s" an October 2006 press release from the VH1 website
- ^ Thomas Dolby at SXSW 2007 website, with a free MP3 download of a live version of "She Blinded Me with Science"
- ^ a b "Songfacts". http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1503. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
