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The Speed of Sound [Paperback] [Jan 04, 2018] Thomas Dolby
The remarkable story of rising to the top of the music charts, a second act as a tech pioneer, an....
317 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2016
68 people are currently reading
751 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Dolby
8 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
December 26, 2016
This is such a fun book! The truth is, I had never even heard of Thomas Dolby before I picked up this book. In fact, I had mistaken him for electrical engineer Ray Dolby, who developed the noise suppression system. (As a matter of fact, this becomes an interesting development in their lives, when Ray Dolby sued Thomas Dolby to change his name!)
Thomas Dolby has had several interesting careers in music and technology. First, he was a keyboard player, specializing in playing synthesizers. He composed eclectic rock music, and played with a number of English rock bands. He eventually had a chance to perform his own music, and produced some excellent albums and rock music videos. He became a music producer/engineer, helping to engineer the sound and songs of a number of rock bands.
Then Thomas Dolby went to Silicon Valley, where he founded a company that would eventually become successful. As I understand it, his company developed a software synthesizer using the Java language, that would become the ringtone generator in most of the world's cell phones. And, presently, Dolby is a professor of music and film at Johns Hopkins University.
Throughout the book, Dolby comes out sounding like a sincere, dedicated, human being. He cares strongly for other people, and is deeply offended by the corruption in which the music and film industries are mired. Dolby is a good storyteller, and his stories are worth reading.
Thomas Dolby has had several interesting careers in music and technology. First, he was a keyboard player, specializing in playing synthesizers. He composed eclectic rock music, and played with a number of English rock bands. He eventually had a chance to perform his own music, and produced some excellent albums and rock music videos. He became a music producer/engineer, helping to engineer the sound and songs of a number of rock bands.
Then Thomas Dolby went to Silicon Valley, where he founded a company that would eventually become successful. As I understand it, his company developed a software synthesizer using the Java language, that would become the ringtone generator in most of the world's cell phones. And, presently, Dolby is a professor of music and film at Johns Hopkins University.
Throughout the book, Dolby comes out sounding like a sincere, dedicated, human being. He cares strongly for other people, and is deeply offended by the corruption in which the music and film industries are mired. Dolby is a good storyteller, and his stories are worth reading.
October 11, 2021
I'm not much of a biography or autobiography reader, but I've been a fan of Mr. Dolby's since buying THE GOLDEN AGE OF WIRELESS as a young man so when I saw that this book existed I knew I was going to have to give it a read.
Who would be interested in this book? Well, obviously, fans of Thomas Dolby of course, and I'd also add to that fans of 80's British synthpop in general. Those with an interest in the backdoor machinations of the music industry as well. Those with an interest in the early years of Silicon Valley start-ups, internet tech, and the bust of the dot.com bubble will also find much of interest here from its personal, insider perspective.
This book is interesting for a number of reasons. It's rare that a "one hit wonder" musician (although that's purely an American bias - Dolby had a number of other charting songs in the U.K. & Europe) has such an involved background in music production, synth tech and audio engineering at the time of his "charting career", so while there's the requisite background details (family life, school, friends. etc.) the book doesn't dwell on them to pad out the length of a memoir by an artistic individual who only had one hit. As it turns out, due to his enthusiasm, tech and music skills, Thomas Dolby had quite a career behind the scenes, working with/for or interacting with a wide array of talents (Prefab Sprout, Michael Jackson, George Clinton, George Lucas, Whodini, Lene Lovich, Andy Partridge, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, etc.) and accrued a lot of friendships and contacts in the music world. So that's the first part of the book - held together by the rise and fall of Thomas Dolby, "Musician Boy Scientist". And for fans of his music this is an interesting read, especially the parts where he delves into the rather seamy/dubious underbelly of the music business (if you've always considered THE FLAT EARTH a solid second album and wondered why it tanked, or why "Hyperactive" from that album, climbing the charts, suddenly dropped out of sight like a stone, well Dolby does a good job laying out the reasons here - involving investigations of payola leading to labels abruptly severing ties with a network of radio insiders, who then retaliated, and EMI/Capitol's decision to play hardball with MTV over video production costs, a fight which they lost). So you go from "Dolby as (seemingly) overnight sensation" to "Dolby as fading star/behind the scene tech boffin" pretty smoothly, with some nice snapshots along the way: Michael Jackson as "kind but driven" superstar, an unfruitful collaboration with Joni Mitchell, David Bowie as frightened flyer, our boy being sued by Dolby Labs (because seemingly a noise-reduction process could be confused with a pop music album!) the over-complicated production of HOWARD THE DUCK and how Dolby's car at that time is now ensconced at Skywalker Ranch, beaten and destroyed for metallic sound effects recordings, after he abandoned it there.
From there, we move onto his burgeoning audio tech company Beatnik which ends up being a passion and a frustration for the man as it maneuvers the thorny, high-stakes world of internet start-ups and wealthy, impulsive investors. This part is interesting for non-musical reasons, as its never so tech-heavy that you can't follow the basic thread, and the whole time sounds endlessly frustrating and random. But that randomness pays off as Beatnik, succeeding and floundering again and again, eventually accidentally creates the backdoor by which huge profits are made for the man. If you've ever wanted to know who to blame for the early, tinny ringtones on cellphones - as well as for the breakthrough by which you could automatically download new and old hit songs as your ringtones - well, blame and praise Thomas Dolby, boy-scientist musician. And peppered throughout are charming and interesting anecdotes - fishing with George Clinton, backstage with Bootsy Collins, a run-in with Don Henley's stalker lookalike.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thomas Dolby strikes me as a passionate, artistic guy who also has the kind of upright moral and aesthetic instincts that may have doomed him in a long-term music career. He is also charming and humorous about laying out his failings, culpability in his own problems, or just relating anecdotes that reflect on himself as a fallible human being. All in all a pleasant read. Now if only the Mael Brothers would write one....
Who would be interested in this book? Well, obviously, fans of Thomas Dolby of course, and I'd also add to that fans of 80's British synthpop in general. Those with an interest in the backdoor machinations of the music industry as well. Those with an interest in the early years of Silicon Valley start-ups, internet tech, and the bust of the dot.com bubble will also find much of interest here from its personal, insider perspective.
This book is interesting for a number of reasons. It's rare that a "one hit wonder" musician (although that's purely an American bias - Dolby had a number of other charting songs in the U.K. & Europe) has such an involved background in music production, synth tech and audio engineering at the time of his "charting career", so while there's the requisite background details (family life, school, friends. etc.) the book doesn't dwell on them to pad out the length of a memoir by an artistic individual who only had one hit. As it turns out, due to his enthusiasm, tech and music skills, Thomas Dolby had quite a career behind the scenes, working with/for or interacting with a wide array of talents (Prefab Sprout, Michael Jackson, George Clinton, George Lucas, Whodini, Lene Lovich, Andy Partridge, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, etc.) and accrued a lot of friendships and contacts in the music world. So that's the first part of the book - held together by the rise and fall of Thomas Dolby, "Musician Boy Scientist". And for fans of his music this is an interesting read, especially the parts where he delves into the rather seamy/dubious underbelly of the music business (if you've always considered THE FLAT EARTH a solid second album and wondered why it tanked, or why "Hyperactive" from that album, climbing the charts, suddenly dropped out of sight like a stone, well Dolby does a good job laying out the reasons here - involving investigations of payola leading to labels abruptly severing ties with a network of radio insiders, who then retaliated, and EMI/Capitol's decision to play hardball with MTV over video production costs, a fight which they lost). So you go from "Dolby as (seemingly) overnight sensation" to "Dolby as fading star/behind the scene tech boffin" pretty smoothly, with some nice snapshots along the way: Michael Jackson as "kind but driven" superstar, an unfruitful collaboration with Joni Mitchell, David Bowie as frightened flyer, our boy being sued by Dolby Labs (because seemingly a noise-reduction process could be confused with a pop music album!) the over-complicated production of HOWARD THE DUCK and how Dolby's car at that time is now ensconced at Skywalker Ranch, beaten and destroyed for metallic sound effects recordings, after he abandoned it there.
From there, we move onto his burgeoning audio tech company Beatnik which ends up being a passion and a frustration for the man as it maneuvers the thorny, high-stakes world of internet start-ups and wealthy, impulsive investors. This part is interesting for non-musical reasons, as its never so tech-heavy that you can't follow the basic thread, and the whole time sounds endlessly frustrating and random. But that randomness pays off as Beatnik, succeeding and floundering again and again, eventually accidentally creates the backdoor by which huge profits are made for the man. If you've ever wanted to know who to blame for the early, tinny ringtones on cellphones - as well as for the breakthrough by which you could automatically download new and old hit songs as your ringtones - well, blame and praise Thomas Dolby, boy-scientist musician. And peppered throughout are charming and interesting anecdotes - fishing with George Clinton, backstage with Bootsy Collins, a run-in with Don Henley's stalker lookalike.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thomas Dolby strikes me as a passionate, artistic guy who also has the kind of upright moral and aesthetic instincts that may have doomed him in a long-term music career. He is also charming and humorous about laying out his failings, culpability in his own problems, or just relating anecdotes that reflect on himself as a fallible human being. All in all a pleasant read. Now if only the Mael Brothers would write one....
December 13, 2018
I heard Thomas Dolby interviewed about The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology: A Memoir on an episode of the Word podcast and was intrigued.
It's a splendid read. As far as I knew Thomas Dolby was a short-lived synth-orientated 80s pop star who had disappeared without trace after a few hits. It turns out he has a very interesting story to relate. His early years of struggle are fascinating, his pop career has some great stories attached to it, however it is his later career as a Silicon Valley digital pioneer that is possibly most interesting.
Along the way he shares stories about Prefab Sprout, Michael Jackson, George Clinton, George Lucas, Whodini, Lene Lovich, Andy Partridge, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, along with record company politics, the dot com boom, scoring films, creating ringtones with Nokia, being TED's musical director, and plenty more. Overall Thomas Dolby comes across as a decent, thoughtful and pleasant human being who has learned some valuable life lessons across the course of an interesting life.
Recommended
4/5
The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology: A Memoir by Thomas Dolby
It's a splendid read. As far as I knew Thomas Dolby was a short-lived synth-orientated 80s pop star who had disappeared without trace after a few hits. It turns out he has a very interesting story to relate. His early years of struggle are fascinating, his pop career has some great stories attached to it, however it is his later career as a Silicon Valley digital pioneer that is possibly most interesting.
Along the way he shares stories about Prefab Sprout, Michael Jackson, George Clinton, George Lucas, Whodini, Lene Lovich, Andy Partridge, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, along with record company politics, the dot com boom, scoring films, creating ringtones with Nokia, being TED's musical director, and plenty more. Overall Thomas Dolby comes across as a decent, thoughtful and pleasant human being who has learned some valuable life lessons across the course of an interesting life.
Recommended
4/5
The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology: A Memoir by Thomas Dolby
December 12, 2016
I loved this book, especially the audiobook narrated by Dolby himself. Speed of Sound is one of those wonderful biographies that simultaneously tells one man's story and along the way builds a palpable picture for readers of day-to-day life in a historical period: in this case in the music business and the Silicon Valley of the 1980s thru the early 2000s. Absolutely worth a read, whether you're a Thomas Dolby fan or you're just interested in the history of music and technology. I recommend the audiobook because Dolby is, not surprisingly, a wonderful narrator of his own story.
March 13, 2018
Got to love a rock memoir where a typical story has the star stop his drug-filled tour bus at a payphone to try and send Michael Jackson some demos using an acoustically coupled modem. And a memoir partly based on notes written in the secret word processor of a Fairlight synth.
July 22, 2024
This is an eclectic memoir. Thomas Dolby is both a legitimate pop star and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, making this a fun and engaging read. The book is divided into two parts, each focusing on different phases of his career and life.
The first part delves into how he stumbled into a music career despite growing up in a family of academics. He began by playing for other bands and running audio systems before branching out on his own. Dolby played with some famous names, including David Bowie and Michael Jackson. Interestingly, I initially picked up the book thinking it was a biography of Ray Dolby (of Dolby Noise Reduction fame). In fact, Thomas Dolby was sued by Ray Dolby over the use of his name, and the book includes a disclaimer about this right at the start.
Thomas Dolby comes across as both creative and a tinkerer. He rewired and rigged different instruments to create quirky music. He composed several hits with record companies but soon became disillusioned with their unethical business practices. This led him to move to Hollywood, where he started a company almost by accident. The second half of the book deals with this phase of his life. His entrepreneurial spirit and tinkering nature are evident in the roller-coaster ride of his startup, Beatnik, which introduced polyphonic ringtones on Nokia mobile phones and later on most mobiles. It's a typical Silicon Valley story of the late 2000s boom and bust.
The final few chapters of the book discuss how Dolby slowed down and reconnected with his creative side. Through his eyes, we also see how the music industry has dramatically changed over the last 30 years. This memoir is a fascinating read due to its intersection of two industries, offering insights from an insider in two radically transformed industries from the 90s to the present. Thomas Dolby was at the heart of these changes, and this is his amazing story.
The first part delves into how he stumbled into a music career despite growing up in a family of academics. He began by playing for other bands and running audio systems before branching out on his own. Dolby played with some famous names, including David Bowie and Michael Jackson. Interestingly, I initially picked up the book thinking it was a biography of Ray Dolby (of Dolby Noise Reduction fame). In fact, Thomas Dolby was sued by Ray Dolby over the use of his name, and the book includes a disclaimer about this right at the start.
Thomas Dolby comes across as both creative and a tinkerer. He rewired and rigged different instruments to create quirky music. He composed several hits with record companies but soon became disillusioned with their unethical business practices. This led him to move to Hollywood, where he started a company almost by accident. The second half of the book deals with this phase of his life. His entrepreneurial spirit and tinkering nature are evident in the roller-coaster ride of his startup, Beatnik, which introduced polyphonic ringtones on Nokia mobile phones and later on most mobiles. It's a typical Silicon Valley story of the late 2000s boom and bust.
The final few chapters of the book discuss how Dolby slowed down and reconnected with his creative side. Through his eyes, we also see how the music industry has dramatically changed over the last 30 years. This memoir is a fascinating read due to its intersection of two industries, offering insights from an insider in two radically transformed industries from the 90s to the present. Thomas Dolby was at the heart of these changes, and this is his amazing story.
November 9, 2017
I surprised myself with how quickly I tore through this and how much I enjoyed it. In his autobiography, Thomas Dolby recounts his rise as an unlikely 80's pop star and his later work an a technical audio pioneer in Silicon Valley. The book is divided into halves that cover these two different life directions. For me the most interesting part was reading about some of the details behind songs I love, such as hearing how Dolby worked with Eddie Van Halen to record a guitar solo for his song
Eastern Bloc
. I liked hearing of Dolby's interaction with Michael Jackson and other famous musicians, including members of The Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, and David Bowie.
The second half of the book is also quite interesting in detailing Dolby's 2nd career as the founder of a Silicon Valley startup. His company ultimately produced the audio software that landed in millions of Nokia phones (a few years before the iPhone came out) to power the ubiquitous ringtone themes we all know. His own company's IPO never materialized as the stock market crashed a few months before the planned IPO date, so Dolby didn't walk away as a multi-millionaire like so many other dot-com startups of the day.
The memoir recounts several of these "close-but-no-cigar" moments where Dolby could have really hit it big, both in the music world and the business world, if circumstances had been a little different. Despite perhaps not achieving mega-stardom or riches he did have many huge successes, and many would say he did hit it big. I liked how the bio revealed the author's disillusionment with the music industry and later with the business world, but also showed how he ultimately came to terms with his true passion as an audio tinkerer. I liked that Dolby married and remained married as a father of three. I liked little details, such as when he hiked the trails above the Griffith Observatory in L.A. at night to reflect and sort out his feelings (trails I have also hiked on my own).
(Aside: A few years ago I decided to submit some songs to a local radio station's "Perfect Playlist," where the DJ would select someone's list and play a set of 5 songs. Eastern Bloc was the first of the songs in the set I submitted, and I detailed my reasons along with a personal story--which I had a strong hunch would get it selected. And sure enough within a couple of days my list was picked and played, but in a disappointment to me the DJ decided to substitute Europa and the Pirate Twins instead because he said he didn't have Eastern Bloc, which is billed as sequel to the earlier and more radio-played Europa and the Pirate Twins.
Astronauts and Heretics is the album that includes this song and many excellent others--one of my favorite albums of all time. Alas, it was a U.S. bomb, so it seems relatively no one has heard it, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to hear it played on the radio. I assume maybe it was due to the label on which it was released or to the poor U.S. air play that the radio station didn't have access to it, but it meant my "perfect playlist" was not so perfect after all.)
Here's a short video of the author describing his book: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertain...
The second half of the book is also quite interesting in detailing Dolby's 2nd career as the founder of a Silicon Valley startup. His company ultimately produced the audio software that landed in millions of Nokia phones (a few years before the iPhone came out) to power the ubiquitous ringtone themes we all know. His own company's IPO never materialized as the stock market crashed a few months before the planned IPO date, so Dolby didn't walk away as a multi-millionaire like so many other dot-com startups of the day.
The memoir recounts several of these "close-but-no-cigar" moments where Dolby could have really hit it big, both in the music world and the business world, if circumstances had been a little different. Despite perhaps not achieving mega-stardom or riches he did have many huge successes, and many would say he did hit it big. I liked how the bio revealed the author's disillusionment with the music industry and later with the business world, but also showed how he ultimately came to terms with his true passion as an audio tinkerer. I liked that Dolby married and remained married as a father of three. I liked little details, such as when he hiked the trails above the Griffith Observatory in L.A. at night to reflect and sort out his feelings (trails I have also hiked on my own).
(Aside: A few years ago I decided to submit some songs to a local radio station's "Perfect Playlist," where the DJ would select someone's list and play a set of 5 songs. Eastern Bloc was the first of the songs in the set I submitted, and I detailed my reasons along with a personal story--which I had a strong hunch would get it selected. And sure enough within a couple of days my list was picked and played, but in a disappointment to me the DJ decided to substitute Europa and the Pirate Twins instead because he said he didn't have Eastern Bloc, which is billed as sequel to the earlier and more radio-played Europa and the Pirate Twins.
Astronauts and Heretics is the album that includes this song and many excellent others--one of my favorite albums of all time. Alas, it was a U.S. bomb, so it seems relatively no one has heard it, and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to hear it played on the radio. I assume maybe it was due to the label on which it was released or to the poor U.S. air play that the radio station didn't have access to it, but it meant my "perfect playlist" was not so perfect after all.)
Here's a short video of the author describing his book: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertain...
October 22, 2017
Thomas Dolby was a bit before my time, given that I was born in 1990 and he had moved over to silicon valley by the time I reached memorable childhood age. I've been a fan of music my entire life, and vividly remember the early days of music file sharing and listening to songs before my time. I also remember the days after MTV and VH1 and abandoned playing music videos but there were upper cable channels like VH1 Classic that played videos nonstop. To this day, Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime is one of my favorite songs, in a similar vain and era as Thomas Dolby's earlier work.
Without much of the memories tied to the era of his early days I am sure my experience in reading his story was missing a certain icing on the cake but I enjoyed it nonetheless and have tremendous respect for the career Thomas has crafted for himself across music and the tech industry. His story is nothing short of inspiring for each one of us who constantly battles between doing work that will pay the bills and doing work that will fulfill the deepest parts of our soul and allow us the truest expression of our souls.
Without much of the memories tied to the era of his early days I am sure my experience in reading his story was missing a certain icing on the cake but I enjoyed it nonetheless and have tremendous respect for the career Thomas has crafted for himself across music and the tech industry. His story is nothing short of inspiring for each one of us who constantly battles between doing work that will pay the bills and doing work that will fulfill the deepest parts of our soul and allow us the truest expression of our souls.
August 8, 2018
The first half of this book is a ton of fun for anyone growing up in the 70s and 80s, as Dolby tells one funny and insightful story after another about the music industry, synth pop, his expertise, and especially, favorite stars (Bowie, Duran Duran, George Clinton, Foreigner, Joni Mitchell). The second half is more of a wired magazine-like piece about his role in the development of ringtones, and it isn't especially fun, but interesting to get his sense of tech personalities (Andressen, Jim Clark), key companies, tech conferences and the rise of S. Valley. Dolby's music and personality always seemed kind of constructed to me, and the book does, too. But it is definitely worth reading for the music personality insights. Bowie in a helicopter!
August 29, 2018
Really enjoyed Dolby's memoir. I had no idea how he had become a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and ended up with such a huge place in the market he eventually found -- recommended reading for those with music/software/hardware interests for sure.
January 25, 2021
“Technology continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, but there’s a creative mindset that will enable you to tackle any problem.” - Thomas Dolby
February 7, 2023
Thomas Dolby is one of my all-time musical heroes. His albums always had a touch of intelligence as well as some highly catchy tunes. His image went against the current trend and that made him more attractive to me, as left-of-left-field was always my musical tapestry.
This book opened my eyes to more than just his musical adventures, collaborations and production credits, also casting light on his tech career as an innovator in mobile phone sound development and musical software. The guy is a real adventurer.
If you loved the music of the late 80's and 90's and its characters, then this will entertain you hugely.
It did me.
This book opened my eyes to more than just his musical adventures, collaborations and production credits, also casting light on his tech career as an innovator in mobile phone sound development and musical software. The guy is a real adventurer.
If you loved the music of the late 80's and 90's and its characters, then this will entertain you hugely.
It did me.
September 15, 2017
Anyone who knows my choices in books, knows that I rarely read non-fiction or memoirs. This book was a gift from my friend Tami for my birthday (Thank you!). I could not put this down, in fact read it in two days. What a journey Thomas Dolby had through the music industry and Silicon Valley. This is a story of resilience, failure, success and happiness. I thoroughly enjoyed the references to the bands from the 80s, the chance meetings with Michael Jackson and the interactions with tech titans.
Great read.
Great read.
May 1, 2018
Memoir of a musician, producer and Silicon Valley techie. Self-deprecating - although reading between the lines he’s a very determined guy - and humorous without being mean-spirited. On visiting Michael Jackson’s house, Jackson says “Let’s sit”, which for Dolby means an ottoman, while Jackson climbs up onto an oversize jewelled throne. But he’s also impressed by Jackson’s work ethic and advice he got from him. It was a surprise to read that he produced Prefab Sprout records, including Steve McQueen, and the description of the McAloon family is fascinating. Of course I enjoyed the description of the early 80s London music scene but there are also memorable stories of Microsoft paranoia among tech startups, and hunting jokes that Finnish Nokia employees tell in saunas.
August 12, 2018
Thomas Dolby has always been know for that guy who sung about being blinded by science, but he is so much more. He did not fade away, he just changed careers and you won't believe the things he accomplished as a creator of a high-tech company in Silicon Valley in the 90's and who has always kept abreast of the latest technologies, especially when it came to audio. I have even more respect for this man, not only as a musician, but as an inventor and entrepreneur.
If you are looking for stories of sin and sleaze, then this is not the book for you. But if you love knowing what went on the inside of the music business and the tech business through the eyes of someone who was there, this book is the one for you.
If you are looking for stories of sin and sleaze, then this is not the book for you. But if you love knowing what went on the inside of the music business and the tech business through the eyes of someone who was there, this book is the one for you.
November 19, 2016
I loved this book! Thomas Dolby has always been a favorite of mine, through his first album and "Blinded me with Science" to his later more introspective songs like "The Flat Earth" and "I Love you Goodbye". It was great to listen to his origins, his successes and failures, the ups and downs of the Internet bubble as well as insight into his personal life with his family and friends. We learn about his many friends in the industry, playing with David Bowie and George Clinton among others. Listening to this book, with his narrating, was a joy and you even get to hear one of his new songs at the end and I really liked it (gotta check out Spotify and play it some more). Excellent book.
December 19, 2023
This was so unexpectedly delightful. I could name exactly one Dolby song before I started reading this and then in the process of reading discovered I knew so many more. Also it was really fun to supplement the reading with Spotify playlists to listen to a career unfold. Fascinating career and interesting stories about the people and technology that have gotten us to this point. If you are any kind of music fan, have any kind of computer development interest, have ever bought a ringtone for your phone, or listened to any band in the 80's, then I recommend this book.
January 30, 2017
There's a lot more to Thomas Dolby than his synth-pop hit "She Blinded Me With Science". This fascinating autobiography is a great look behind the scenes of the music industry, Silicon Valley, and ultimately the drive of a creative person to make art and the danger of not doing so. I've been a fan of Thomas Dolby since hearing "Science" more than 30 years ago, but never more so than after reading this book.
January 20, 2017
If you like music, technology, synthesizers and anything in between this one is a must-read. Thomas go in deep details on how he recorded his albums, got his deals with recording companies and opened his startup in the Silicon Valley.
November 4, 2024
Music and technology? What’s not to love!
March 20, 2022
Thomas Dolby's memoir is delightful! All kinds of fascinating stuff has happened to him and he relates it in such an engaging way. I love reading about music and about people fully flowering into their creativity as artists because it's so inspiring. The paying-his-dues opening is great--for just one example, he's busking in Paris when he gets a letter that Mick Jones wants to hire him and he's so excited because he's a big fan of the Clash--but it's the OTHER Mick Jones, from Foreigner.
I do love New Wave music but it usually gives me the feeling that it was created by people who thought playing an instrument was too hard and would rather not. Obviously Thomas Dolby, although self-taught, is the opposite and saw the synthesizer as a way to make music more multilayered and innovative. I was apprehensive that this book would be too technical with long descriptions of MIDI this and Moog that, but it's not like that at all. It's more like a fun steampunk science fiction story, honestly, because Dolby accomplished so much with equipment that by today's standards is so primitive. His description of the (mostly legal) payola, graft, and corruption in the music industry was also super interesting and super depressing. I've always thought that he is a commercially "mid list" musician simply because his music is quirky. But this memoir tells a very different story of how he almost hit the big time (or actually, briefly did hit the big time) and then the tide turned against him through a combination of bad luck and the fact that he would not play the game. I kept thinking, he's a terrible businessperson, he's way too principled. Which is interesting because the second half of the book is about him going into business.
The thing I always heard about Dolby is that "he invented the Nokia ring tone," which seemed to me like a terrible comedown after writing banger songs like The Key to Her Ferrari, My Brain Is Like a Sieve, Pulp Culture, etc. Luckily, that isn't the exact truth. What actually happened was, he gave up music, saw the possibilities for music and sound on the nascent internet, founded a start-up during the dot com bubble, and one thing his company did was license technology to Nokia for polyphonic ringtones. This part was not as fascinating to me because I'm not particularly interested in tech or business. (I mean, you can tell from my description... "they licensed technology"--obviously I don't understand this part and also don't care.) But again, the story is well-told, and Dolby got out before his soul could be completely crushed. Now music is so embedded into the internet that it's hard to remember it wasn't always like that--I remember being at the computer lab in college in the early 1990's and being horribly embarrassed when I went onto someone's GeoCities page and music started playing; I had no idea that was even possible--so Dolby really was a visionary. And I say he was a "bad" business person, but on the other hand he made a good living as a musician which is next to impossible and after this company he did in fact make money creating ring tones. And had enough to ship a boat across England to his backyard and outfit it as his personal recording studio. So how is that "bad"? Basically this book was the story of artistic satisfaction and time with family being more important than mega-success. And that is why I give it 5 stars even though Part Two was not as much to my taste, because when I was done I felt happy and inspired, which is not an easy feeling to grasp these days.
Dolby didn't really shit talk anyone he wrote about; I thought he was pretty fair and even-handed. And part of the reason for my extra happy feels is because he was supportive of his son who is transgender. (Some of the language used in Dolby's brief description is not the gold standard for describing a transition, but this book was written six years ago, and Dolby's love and non-angsty acceptance shine through.) No shade on divorced people (such as myself, and there's a glass and a half of divorce in everyone), but I am pretty impressed that Dolby and his actor wife have been happily married for over 30 years. (If it's all a sham and they actually hate each other, then this memoir is one helluva convincing work of fiction!)
I do love New Wave music but it usually gives me the feeling that it was created by people who thought playing an instrument was too hard and would rather not. Obviously Thomas Dolby, although self-taught, is the opposite and saw the synthesizer as a way to make music more multilayered and innovative. I was apprehensive that this book would be too technical with long descriptions of MIDI this and Moog that, but it's not like that at all. It's more like a fun steampunk science fiction story, honestly, because Dolby accomplished so much with equipment that by today's standards is so primitive. His description of the (mostly legal) payola, graft, and corruption in the music industry was also super interesting and super depressing. I've always thought that he is a commercially "mid list" musician simply because his music is quirky. But this memoir tells a very different story of how he almost hit the big time (or actually, briefly did hit the big time) and then the tide turned against him through a combination of bad luck and the fact that he would not play the game. I kept thinking, he's a terrible businessperson, he's way too principled. Which is interesting because the second half of the book is about him going into business.
The thing I always heard about Dolby is that "he invented the Nokia ring tone," which seemed to me like a terrible comedown after writing banger songs like The Key to Her Ferrari, My Brain Is Like a Sieve, Pulp Culture, etc. Luckily, that isn't the exact truth. What actually happened was, he gave up music, saw the possibilities for music and sound on the nascent internet, founded a start-up during the dot com bubble, and one thing his company did was license technology to Nokia for polyphonic ringtones. This part was not as fascinating to me because I'm not particularly interested in tech or business. (I mean, you can tell from my description... "they licensed technology"--obviously I don't understand this part and also don't care.) But again, the story is well-told, and Dolby got out before his soul could be completely crushed. Now music is so embedded into the internet that it's hard to remember it wasn't always like that--I remember being at the computer lab in college in the early 1990's and being horribly embarrassed when I went onto someone's GeoCities page and music started playing; I had no idea that was even possible--so Dolby really was a visionary. And I say he was a "bad" business person, but on the other hand he made a good living as a musician which is next to impossible and after this company he did in fact make money creating ring tones. And had enough to ship a boat across England to his backyard and outfit it as his personal recording studio. So how is that "bad"? Basically this book was the story of artistic satisfaction and time with family being more important than mega-success. And that is why I give it 5 stars even though Part Two was not as much to my taste, because when I was done I felt happy and inspired, which is not an easy feeling to grasp these days.
Dolby didn't really shit talk anyone he wrote about; I thought he was pretty fair and even-handed. And part of the reason for my extra happy feels is because he was supportive of his son who is transgender. (Some of the language used in Dolby's brief description is not the gold standard for describing a transition, but this book was written six years ago, and Dolby's love and non-angsty acceptance shine through.) No shade on divorced people (such as myself, and there's a glass and a half of divorce in everyone), but I am pretty impressed that Dolby and his actor wife have been happily married for over 30 years. (If it's all a sham and they actually hate each other, then this memoir is one helluva convincing work of fiction!)
October 22, 2025
Technology and music
Before picking up this well-written, fascinating memoir, I knew hardly anything about Thomas Dolby, being able to recall only his goofy "She Blinded Me with Science" single from the early 80's. So a lot of gaps get filled in by this book: I didn't know, for example, that he was responsible for the ethereal intro to Foreigner's "Waiting For A Girl Like You", or that he'd played in David Bowie's band at Live Aid, or that he had a whole post-music career in technology in the 90's.
He tells his story very well, in an entertaining, self-deprecating style with an eye for illuminating detail: finding his first synthesizer module in a dumpster outside a music shop, collaborating with Michael Jackson over an analogue payphone in the desert, visiting the White House for a copyright summit and meeting with Jim Clark about adding music to the first versions of the Netscape web browser. It's a tale of ups and downs (particularly the part about his work in Silicon Valley), but he appears to have weathered the storm: his headline achievement appears to be the development of the software synthesizer used in most of the world's mobile phones.
He also has interesting insights into the ethics and practices of the commercial music industry, and its transformation (and/or destruction) in the MP3 age; in particular, he pinpoints the moment when he realised that customers were willing to pay a lot (considering their brevity and quality) for ringtones, whilst pulling recorded music out of the ether for free. A consistently interesting story, which I highly recommend.
Originally reviewed 29 July 2019
Before picking up this well-written, fascinating memoir, I knew hardly anything about Thomas Dolby, being able to recall only his goofy "She Blinded Me with Science" single from the early 80's. So a lot of gaps get filled in by this book: I didn't know, for example, that he was responsible for the ethereal intro to Foreigner's "Waiting For A Girl Like You", or that he'd played in David Bowie's band at Live Aid, or that he had a whole post-music career in technology in the 90's.
He tells his story very well, in an entertaining, self-deprecating style with an eye for illuminating detail: finding his first synthesizer module in a dumpster outside a music shop, collaborating with Michael Jackson over an analogue payphone in the desert, visiting the White House for a copyright summit and meeting with Jim Clark about adding music to the first versions of the Netscape web browser. It's a tale of ups and downs (particularly the part about his work in Silicon Valley), but he appears to have weathered the storm: his headline achievement appears to be the development of the software synthesizer used in most of the world's mobile phones.
He also has interesting insights into the ethics and practices of the commercial music industry, and its transformation (and/or destruction) in the MP3 age; in particular, he pinpoints the moment when he realised that customers were willing to pay a lot (considering their brevity and quality) for ringtones, whilst pulling recorded music out of the ether for free. A consistently interesting story, which I highly recommend.
Originally reviewed 29 July 2019
April 29, 2024
This is, I suspect, one for fans of Thomas Dolby but not, probably, anyone else. So my star rating is for people with an inclination to shout "SCIENCE!!!" when gently prompted by someone saying, "She blinded me with science"; for people whose submarines are still missing; people who are determined to be the pirate twins again one day, no matter how long they have to wait. If you're someone who grew up with TD's quirky, strangely dystopian, cleverer-than-it-looks brand of synth pop, then this is a fascinating account of where those songs came from.
It's also an account of how difficult it can be to make it in the music biz. A surprising amount of the book is given over to the second act of Dolby's life: not as a performing and recording musician, but as a tech entrepreneur whose visionary work with downloadable ringtones for mobile phones – yes, really – made him more money than music ever did. And then, the return to touring and stage (and the wonderful solar and wind-powered houseboat studio)... it's all here.
So, one for completists: but if you're in that category, you'll really enjoy this. For everyone else it's probably a walk-on-by; but you could always swing by your local record shop and pick up a copy of The Golden Age of Wireless. When you're done, come on back; we'd be glad to have you on board the submarine.
It's also an account of how difficult it can be to make it in the music biz. A surprising amount of the book is given over to the second act of Dolby's life: not as a performing and recording musician, but as a tech entrepreneur whose visionary work with downloadable ringtones for mobile phones – yes, really – made him more money than music ever did. And then, the return to touring and stage (and the wonderful solar and wind-powered houseboat studio)... it's all here.
So, one for completists: but if you're in that category, you'll really enjoy this. For everyone else it's probably a walk-on-by; but you could always swing by your local record shop and pick up a copy of The Golden Age of Wireless. When you're done, come on back; we'd be glad to have you on board the submarine.
July 18, 2017
A introspective and detailed memoir made even more intimate by Thomas Dolby's narration. This book takes the reader through Dolby's early beginnings as a London teen in the late 70s enthralled by the underground music scene, through his rise in the early 80s as a musical innovator and pop star, and into the 90s and early 2000s as he becomes involved in the Dotcom boom trying to bring music and sound to the internet and mobile devices. Dolby weaves honest introspection and entertaining anecdotes together with rich details of his personal life that makes the listener feel like they are sitting across the table from him as he recounts his life.
On a personal note, Dolby's first two albums came at pivotal point in my life as a teen and I've always had an affinity for him and his music although, like many, I lost sight of him largely after he left the music scene in the early 90s. Catching up via this memoir was like catching up with an old friend and I am grateful for the opportunity.
I'd recommend this book to anyone curious about Dolby, the synth music scene, technology or pop music history. You won't regret spending the time reading/listening to this autobiography.
On a personal note, Dolby's first two albums came at pivotal point in my life as a teen and I've always had an affinity for him and his music although, like many, I lost sight of him largely after he left the music scene in the early 90s. Catching up via this memoir was like catching up with an old friend and I am grateful for the opportunity.
I'd recommend this book to anyone curious about Dolby, the synth music scene, technology or pop music history. You won't regret spending the time reading/listening to this autobiography.
February 8, 2021
Thomas Dolby is one of my favorite 80s artists that hardly anyone knows about beyond one huge hit. I've always been sad that he hasn't made more music, but I knew that he was doing other things that were probably a bit more important. I knew about his connection to ringtones, but I didn't know just how far it went.
As a lot of other reviewers have said, this book is split in half: first half about music, second about Silicon Valley. Of course, being a bigger music fan than startup fan, the first half was more interesting for me, but his sort of outsider vision of what was going on in the late 90s in the tech world was almost as interesting.
One thing I found very telling is that the book starts off (after the intro) with him already moved out of his family's house as a teenager. There really isn't a lot about his family outside of surface stories. Nothing at all, really, about his childhood. It made me curious about what happened. Maybe it just wasn't very interesting.
Anyway, I'm glad that I read this and I hope that Dolby has more tricks up his sleeve, whether musical or scientific.
As a lot of other reviewers have said, this book is split in half: first half about music, second about Silicon Valley. Of course, being a bigger music fan than startup fan, the first half was more interesting for me, but his sort of outsider vision of what was going on in the late 90s in the tech world was almost as interesting.
One thing I found very telling is that the book starts off (after the intro) with him already moved out of his family's house as a teenager. There really isn't a lot about his family outside of surface stories. Nothing at all, really, about his childhood. It made me curious about what happened. Maybe it just wasn't very interesting.
Anyway, I'm glad that I read this and I hope that Dolby has more tricks up his sleeve, whether musical or scientific.
January 13, 2019
'The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology' by Thomas Dolby was a well written autobiography.
The book is broken into two parts. In the first part, Thomas Dolby recounts his music career. From the early days of scrounging and building electronic keyboards, to stints in backup bands. He discusses his hits and misses, and the lessons learned along the way from the music industry.
In the second part, Mr. Dolby turns his back on the music industry and ends up in the world of internet startups in the 1990s. He recounts the trials and travails of Beatnik, the company he founded. He talks about the venture capitalists, the attempt at an IPO and the related stress.
It's told in such a gracious style. It felt like sitting down over dinner and hearing stories from a friend. Mr. Dolby is self-effacing, willing to discuss the missteps as well as the successes. It was fun to read and be reminded of the early days of the World Wide Web, a time of great creativity.
The book is broken into two parts. In the first part, Thomas Dolby recounts his music career. From the early days of scrounging and building electronic keyboards, to stints in backup bands. He discusses his hits and misses, and the lessons learned along the way from the music industry.
In the second part, Mr. Dolby turns his back on the music industry and ends up in the world of internet startups in the 1990s. He recounts the trials and travails of Beatnik, the company he founded. He talks about the venture capitalists, the attempt at an IPO and the related stress.
It's told in such a gracious style. It felt like sitting down over dinner and hearing stories from a friend. Mr. Dolby is self-effacing, willing to discuss the missteps as well as the successes. It was fun to read and be reminded of the early days of the World Wide Web, a time of great creativity.
October 20, 2020
Fascinating stuff. Somewhere around the turn of the century a caught wind that Thomas had left music and gotten into dot com development. Huh. I thought. Well that stinks. Miss new music from him. This book provided quite a bit more detail about his journey from music into tech development. Loved his music! Shame it wasn’t more widely appreciated I guess. Lot of great amusing stories in here. Guess my interview with him during a tech rehearsal for one of his concerts didn’t make the cut. Lol. That’s alright Thomas. Your interview didn’t go anywhere either. The college radio station my buddy and i were representing was actually shut down for the summer. But. We weren’t going to let that get in the way of getting free tickets to a Thomas Dolby show and the opportunity to meet him!! Eh. Wish I had that recording. It was the late 80s so video wasn’t easily accessible to us. Probably just a cassette tape which was left with my friend that actually did work for the radio station. Fascinating story I know. No wonder it didn’t make the book.
February 27, 2017
Full disclosure - I've loved Thomas Dolby's music since the eighties (I had "Dissidents" running through my head the entire time I was reading this. That said, I really enjoyed this book - it's written in a very light way, in a voice that sounds about what you would expect if he were telling you these stories over a meal and some drinks.
The book is split into two halves - his music industry says and his in Silicon Valley as a tech entrepreneur. I enjoyed both, but found the tech portion more gripping - perhaps because I too lived through something similar in the Telecom boom (albeit at a lower level). I also enjoyed this section because I knew less about it than his musical days.
I recommend this highly to any fan of Thomas Dolby - but also to anyone who wants insight into the music industry of the eighties or the tech industry of the nineties (with some crossover - as the technology and music industry overlap a bit).
The book is split into two halves - his music industry says and his in Silicon Valley as a tech entrepreneur. I enjoyed both, but found the tech portion more gripping - perhaps because I too lived through something similar in the Telecom boom (albeit at a lower level). I also enjoyed this section because I knew less about it than his musical days.
I recommend this highly to any fan of Thomas Dolby - but also to anyone who wants insight into the music industry of the eighties or the tech industry of the nineties (with some crossover - as the technology and music industry overlap a bit).
January 21, 2019
This book was bought for me because my husband had heard great things about it and knew that I liked his music. In fact I might be one of the only people who've listened to 3 or more of his albums!
The preface and opening chapters were fantastic! I zipped through them and couldn't wait to pick up the book next. I feel that the 2nd half was not as interesting to me because it deals more with his tech start up, business failings and some bad choices. I was still able to go through it but it certainly didn't hold as much interest to me as the 1st part of the book. The 1st part would have definitely been a 5 but the 2nd half trailed hence the rating of 4 stars.
What really delighted me about this is that Thomas truly seems like an English gentleman. He always kept a civility and self deprecating way about him that was refreshing in this day and age. Seems like a great chap. I wish him best in his future endeavors.
The preface and opening chapters were fantastic! I zipped through them and couldn't wait to pick up the book next. I feel that the 2nd half was not as interesting to me because it deals more with his tech start up, business failings and some bad choices. I was still able to go through it but it certainly didn't hold as much interest to me as the 1st part of the book. The 1st part would have definitely been a 5 but the 2nd half trailed hence the rating of 4 stars.
What really delighted me about this is that Thomas truly seems like an English gentleman. He always kept a civility and self deprecating way about him that was refreshing in this day and age. Seems like a great chap. I wish him best in his future endeavors.
May 18, 2021
Interesting background to a storied career which produced too few brilliant albums and then, radio silence. I knew he had gone into tech business and made an early synth for cell phones, but not the details.
Entertaining, well written, interesting... so why the three stars? Because too many things are glossed over here and dispatched summarily. I would have loved to have more details about album production, squabbles, arguments, discussions. Something!
TD always makes himself look good, there is no dirt, no instances where he was the total bastard, no blood spilled... Not that he HAD to cover that aspect, but if we are to believe him he is always safe as milk and as white as an angel. And then the book is over too damn soon and then nothing happened after Floating City. I do love all his albums and I AM super glad things turned out good for him and he no longer struggles to survive, but heck Thomas, is that the end of it all?
Entertaining, well written, interesting... so why the three stars? Because too many things are glossed over here and dispatched summarily. I would have loved to have more details about album production, squabbles, arguments, discussions. Something!
TD always makes himself look good, there is no dirt, no instances where he was the total bastard, no blood spilled... Not that he HAD to cover that aspect, but if we are to believe him he is always safe as milk and as white as an angel. And then the book is over too damn soon and then nothing happened after Floating City. I do love all his albums and I AM super glad things turned out good for him and he no longer struggles to survive, but heck Thomas, is that the end of it all?
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