What is the best track on 'Map of the floating city'?

[Stemish]

Thomas has videos for a few tracks (the Oceanea songs and the Toadlickers video) on his Youtube site.

He also has the Urbanoia tracks somewhere on Youtube (which he premiered in the Floating City game), but they are currently marked private and are unviewable.

[Micistm]

See, for the Deluxe edition, I would much rather have had the second disc a DVD with these Vids on (plus interview, and maybe studio tour around the boat )? Rather than the dub versions I seldom play.

Went back to hometown for xmas, the long drive had Map on again a few times...17 Hills still reigns supreme for me. But it's one of those good albums without a duff track on it IMO

[Dweebrex]

After listening to the album many many times back to back, the song that I always end up singing/humming later is Evil twin brother. Toadlickers is a close second, but I agree with all that the whole album is amazing. Spice train is the song that I am most looking forward to hearing/seeing live though.

[gryphonkin]

For one song, it's Oceanea. Just beautiful.

For overall sections, I love everything about Amerikana. Coming from just South of Nashville, it's been fun hearing him talk about how this area's music influenced him during his time living in the US.

[Lens Grinder]

For one song, it's Oceanea. Just beautiful.

For overall sections, I love everything about Amerikana. Coming from just South of Nashville, it's been fun hearing him talk about how this area's music influenced him during his time living in the US.

I have to agree that Amerikana is my fave section of the Album. Its funny really as I am not into this kind of music. Perhaps my musical tastes are changing.

[blnkrboy]

Simone - masterful bossa nova with film noir theremin
And lyrics. But Road gets a nod for the TJB vibe!

[BlueSilver]

My favorite section of the album seems to be Urbanoia... but I really do love the entire album

[blnkrboy]

As an update to my post for 'Simone', I shared the wonderful fan created video on You Tube via FB and received a few likes. At work today, a co-worker stopped by to say she downloaded Oceanea from iTunes and is liking all of it very much. Might even attend the Greenville, SC show to boot.

I had not known about Thomas' eldest bout with coming to their trans-gender terms.
Reviewing the breakfast programme video, the small piece spoke volumes as to how a family can adapt to such a situation.

[AlwaysPinin]

Emotionally, Oceania has always been my favorite song...have always loved the pull of finding ones place and at times it makes me cry (in a very good way).

For soaring music and storytelling, 17 Hills. My kids are sick of it. It's my post-work, loud music in the car start to my non-work day. Just like Peter Gabriel's "Secret World" it rises and ebbs, tells an incredible story, and goes right to my core.

[Duke]

Today, it's "To the Lifeboats"!

[blnkrboy]

Evil twin brother - for those ever so thinly cloaked Bowie 'Ashes' Whoa-whoah's!

[Copper Cables]

That's a very tough question! I'd have to go with Love is a Loaded Pistol - I'm such a sap for angsty love songs

[blnkrboy]

...And today's favourite track is: Nothing new Under the Sun. Wonderful synth gnats and majestically building crescendo - lyrically and musically. Catharsis?

[Axspel]

Hard question. At first I was kinda meh about the new songs, but I've quickly found a lot of them to be my favorites suddenly. What shocks me the most is Toadlickers. Disliked it a lot at the start, but now it's one of my favorite songs on the entire album. Mr. TD's gotta make more techno-random music genre mixups, it's something only he can do.

Ironically the best song besides Toadlickers is Evil Twin Brother since it feels a lot like something you'd find on his older albums.

[speedrcer1]

Like someone else said, well it's ### today, tomorrow $$$.
I'm a 49 yr old going to night school. (for fun) So when I leave class, Evil Twin Brother is pumping.
But my fav is torn between 17 hills and To The Lifeboats.
But I keep finding myself analyzing 17 hills. So it gets my vote.
Be well all.

[michaelmaclauchlan]

Note to TMDR: How about making copies of these songs available to YouTube so that we can link them to our FaceBook accounts and share them with friends? ...
==================

Looks as if there are 8 songs here:
http://www.youtube.com/artist/Thomas_Dolby

Also, my vote for best song on AMOTFC, "I'm Not Your Dog" - I like the Peter Gabriel vibe.

M

[BeechwoodAve]

Note to TMDR: How about making copies of these songs available to YouTube so that we can link them to our FaceBook accounts and share them with friends? ...
==================

Looks as if there are 8 songs here:
http://www.youtube.com/artist/Thomas_Dolby

Also, my vote for best song on AMOTFC, "I'm Not Your Dog" - I like the Peter Gabriel vibe.

M

Michael-

I never made the Gabriel connection on "Dog" until you mentioned it, but of course! I could hear his voice doing this for sure.

[Astrodolby]

I always like the techno wild and deep beats with the adventure and worldwide lyrics so Spice Train will have to be my favorite track because there is no best track, they all have their magic (again).

[Flopsy T. Hamster]

Out of the "officia" album track, my favorite has to be "Evil Twin Brother" it almost sounds like a sequel/alternate-univere-version of "Dissidents". Could the Floating City actually be on the Flat Earth of legend?

If you include the tracks on the bonus disc, I have to add that I really enjoy "I'm Not Your Dog". It sounds like a bit of a throw-back to 70's funk. It almost sounds like it should be coming from an 8-track player, and not my iPod.

[postpunkmonk]

I've only had the DLX CD for less than two weeks. When I found out Thomas was touring I quickly caught up. I had followed Thomas' blog in 2008-9 intermittently and I lost track of developments with the new album. I'm cool on downloads, so I had no interest in those, knowing the CD would eventually come. I got my ticket for The Handlebar and ordered the 2xCD from the webshop. It arrived almost a week before the show, so the service was appreciated. I've listened to it about 8-10 times so far, and every time I listen to it, I keep thinking "it's over already?" when "Oceanea" ends, so that has to be my early favorite. It's funny, Eddi Reader can sometimes oversing, though I was a huge fan of The Academy Of Fine Popular Music and Fairground Attraction. That love didn't extend towards her solo career. I traded in her 1st solo album and forgot about Ms. Reader. Her restraint on "Oceanea" was appreciated. Often, less is more.

[Nougat]

For me it is a toss up between "My Evil Twin Brother" and "I'm Not Your Dog". If push came to shove... "I'm Not Your Dog". Why isn't that track on the standard CD?!

Well after listening to the CD over and over again, I think I have changed my mind... Oceanea has got me under it's grip. Absolutely beautiful.

[Synth80s]

"Road To Reno" is my hands down favorite.

It's interesting that TD combined so many styles for this album (though some narrow minded reviews have criticized him for it), but the Amerikana section really feels like the most natural progression for TD's continued evolution.

He was such an innovative force in electronic music in the early '80s and has done some many great and varied things since, but the middle section of this album feels like the most challenging thing he's doing right now from a songwriting perspective. It reinforces my optimism that TD will continue to develop his sound and styles and we'll get to hear the results.

[K`shandra]

At the moment I'd pick Spice Train, but I have to echo the sentiment of previous posters and say that on certain days, my favorite song is completely different. Such as today. I'm having a 17 Hills kind of day, mainly because I've been working on a drawing inspired by the song.

Did you ever finish this? I'd love to see it, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

[K`shandra]

I'm very much in agreement with scarymonster re: Evil Twin Brother. I had extreme difficulty believing that wasn't MJ on the backing vocals originally, and as I've mentioned in several other places on the forum, that was the first song out of all of them that took up residence in my brain and refused to leave.

A follow-up question, if I may, because this is how my own brain is processing the original post:

For those of you who played the game last summer, do you think your favorite track would be different if you had just bought the new album without prior exposure? I honestly don't think I'd have the attachment to 17 Hills that I do had that not been my tribe (I was quite literally wrapped around myself and crying when he played it at the Red Devil Lounge).

[Micistm]

Anyone still listening to those dub versions on disc 2?

[98/1000]

Anyone still listening to those dub versions on disc 2?

Hate to say this, but ... erm ... no, not really

[Micistm]

I listened to them twice...once, wasn't impressed. Gave them a second spin, nup, just do nothing for me. They're not instrumentals, with some different things going through them, they're kareoke dub versions simply without the vocal.
Sorry to bleat on- I know I'm bleating on about it- But I just think this was such a waste for a deluxe version. The only reason I got it over the standard is for the demos/extras tracks. But the rest of that filler means I seldom will touch that disc again.
I love the album. I'm disappointed with the deluxe version which I don't believe was worth the extra. It should have offered more on the second disc, be it extra demos, shelved songs, or a DVD with the videos. Those instrumentals are just 'nothing' tracks to me. Feel free to disagree.

[AndyJ]

I used the bare version of Nothing New Under the Sun to remove the annoying "nutroast... nutroast..." vocal repeats.
I synched up the vocal version and bare version in Audacity, and worked my way through, muting either one track or the other

I then chopped away at "the cancer found a lump" which made the track unsuitable for radio play due to reasons of poor taste - especially on Hospital Radio
It now sounds more like "somehow.... sir found a (indistinct)" which I can get away with.

I also 'remixed' a version to start the vocals straight away as the beat starts, without the bare musical intro - reducing the run time to a more playable 4 minutes or so. I believe it works really well and I'm happy with it.

So, yeah, I'm glad I had the means to do it, I turned it into a track I really really like, now!

[98/1000]

They're not instrumentals, with some different things going through them, they're kareoke dub versions simply without the vocal.

That's it unfortunately - at least we have the Oceanea remix download for free (if you got it) - that's the sort of thing that would have been great on the deluxe disc.

Anyhoo, 'tis done. As TD said on the chat at Christmas, it was an idea ...

[Micistm]

Yep, got the remix download- didn't even have to tinker, the itunes put it straight in as an album track! And I do love the remix, it's something a bit different.
And the second disc is not going to detract from my love of the album of course...I just feel it is such a wasted opportunity, considering what it could have been.