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 | 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 number built around bouncy synthesizer hooks, but occasionally ventures into darker interludes meant[citation needed] to evoke early Hollywood mad scientist films such as Frankenstein.
Although a Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at #5, the song failed to make 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] In 2006, VH1 placed it at #76 on their list of "Greatest Songs of the '80s."[2]
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science excerpt
Contents |
[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 (See also mathout). 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] Chart performance
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 49[4] |
| United States | 5[4] |
[edit] Pop culture
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- 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 used in 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]
- In 2004, Mobb Deep sampled the song for their hit single "Got it Twisted".
- 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"
- In Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, the 27th episode was entitled "She Blinded Me With Card Games".
- Singer Melissa Lefton covered the song (with a pronoun change to "He") on the soundtrack for the film Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius.
- 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.
[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. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
