The Flattery Earth

Disc A

(The Covers)

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1)    Greetings The Flattery Earthlings - People from all over this flat earth come together to wish Mr. Dolby a happy fortieth! Collected from just about every source imaginable, edited and compiled by /\/\iles. Musical collage and mixdown by Ian Gifford.

2)    Dissidents Lee "make it louder" Jackson - "As with last year, an instrumental, but this time of the originally vocal work. If I tried to match the incredible intricacies of the original, I'd never be finished. Instead, I've quoted not one, but three songs in the final recording: "Hyperactive" and "Mulu" are briefly visited near the middle. Thanks to everyone Alloy, to /\/\iles for his steady encouragement, and to Thomas for writing Dissidents in the first place. Thomas, I promise to try not to act like a star-struck dweeb the next time we meet."

3)    Mulu The Rain Forest Keith "no longer the sole inhabitant" Stansell - Like Croydon, this is Keith's first musical outing. The rest of us should reflect on that - and be very afraid. Which is to say, if the more accomplished among us sounded that good on our first try, we'd likely be much better than we are. "Mulu was chosen, not only because of its beauty, but also because of its simple percussion. This was definitely a learning experience, and I've found an even greater respect for anyone who does this type of work. Thanks to JAMac for equipment loans and support."

4)    I Love You Goodbye Louise "Lissu" Ulfstedt - "Currently trying to take music (or anything else) more seriously, and very much enjoying the dual pleasures of having a go at doing some of her favourite TDMR songs, as well as having a blast on her own! Thanks and respect to Thomas (we love you!), Jani Lehto (what a great young talent!), and Jori Hulkkonen (huge respect and thanks to you, J!) All you guys are my inspiration!" Produced - J. Lehto

5)    Cruel Erik "the lurker" Habbinga - "As before, the arrangement for this year's Dolby cover came while in the shower. I knew this would be a fun song after discovering the six different key signatures (in 3:07!). Thankfully, I got to share the vocal duties this time, with my friend Rachel recording her vocals in less than a half-hour. If only the rest of the song was as quick to record…"

6)    Weightless Dennis "JAMac" Alexander - "Love, the greatest of all feelings: Thomas writes in some amazing shades about love - deeply and most beautifully, even when he seems to be abstract in its presentation. It's all about growth: The way life changes constantly and how one day you're crushed by reality, because she would never look your way, and the next you're in the arms of your soul mate. Can you compare leaking sumps and fruit juice everywhere to love? Thomas sure can!"

7)    Europa And The Pirate Twins Ian Gifford - The multitalented producer of last year's tribute comes forward with a lilting and whimsical treatment of this early gem. His great personal warmth is clearly apparent in this interpretation which deftly captures the innocence and loss associated with a first love. Mr. Gifford's fine work is also evident in this year's greetings. He created the TMDR musical collage over which he then mixed the individual greetings, cleverly blending many Dolby motifs into a cohesive whole.

8)    Don't Turn Away Mary "Europa" Brown - "I figured if Lea Thompson could sing this song, so could I. Even though I'm the one who has studied keyboards, because of time constraints /\/\iles did all the music (and did an excellent job - thanks, Sweetie!). I was the creative director, though, with my biggest contribution being the musical nods during the instrumental bridge. There are motifs from two songs TMDR worked on, namely "Waiting For A Girl Like You" by Foreigner and "Build Me A Bridge" by Adele Bertei."

9)    Hot Sauce Chris "Crackers" Cracknell - King of the Geeks and Accordionist from Hell, gives a dash of Louisiana flavour to the George Clinton - Thomas Dolby song. "This Dolby cover tune brings to mind a gaggle of drunken Cajuns sitting on the front porch of their shack scaring the hell out of any gator within earshot. Apart from Mr. Dolby himself, I credit the great Cajun accordionist Nathan Abshire with a huge chunk of the inspiration for this version."

10)    Valley of The Mind's Eye Lem "Croydon" Bingley - "It’s hackneyed to say that the Internet changes everything, but it does. How else could such a diverse bunch of people get together and record an album? So I decided I should make an effort to change myself. I bought a keyboard and figured out enough to play something vaguely Dolbyesque. Europa heard it and said, 'I imagined small figurines of Napoleon and Josephine dancing in a music box,' which is encouragement as beautiful as TMDR's song. Thanks, Mary. Thanks, Alloy. Thanks, Thomas."

11)    The Flat Earth Stephen "/\/\iles" Tilson - "Emerging from last year's relative safety of the somewhat obscure "Therapy/Growth" to offer a song we know all too well. The more I learn about his music the deeper my respect becomes for TMDR's singularity and relentless perfectionism. Thank you for the lessons, Thomas. Thank you also to all my music teachers past and present, and to Michael Tsang who patiently shared his knowledge of MIDI and computer-based sequencing that I might approach my vision for this project."

Disc B

(Original Contributions)

1)    (Withheld by request due to copyright.)

2)    Beat/\/\ix - Stephen Tilson Beatnik as a musical instrument and an example of what I hope approaches that which Thomas is always saying about making the Internet a musically interactive experience for the user. This is a collection of RMF files played strategically against the "Musical Cave" by Paul Sebastian. Additional authoring by T/\/\DR, Blake Leyh, and Brian Salter. Performance by /\/\iles using Netscape and Beatnik direct to two-track. Additional fly-ins from "Dissidents - The Search for Truth, part 1" were added later, but everything else came right off the Web - live.

3)    Ooplik Väli Das Krochiev (The Wedding of the Weasels) - Chris Cracknell "Kocho plinsk kragigro das pouchat? Aülf alt! Frœlient weirn das krochiev, tevachi hephnõpler das ooplik väli. Reinden Krãkers gech marshÿnik das zervine vouchna."

4)    Box of Bread - Erik Habbinga "Inspired by the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones song "Lochs of Dread", thus the name. I think this song would go well when played by a jazz combo at a beatnik cocktail party from the '50s. Hopefully that combo keeps better time than I do, especially during the drum solo!"

5)    Sunny Day / Binary - Tim "the_copse" Dunn brings us a mini-suite from his new album to be completed some time this year. "I guess it's supposed to show that despite the fact that you can viciously, but truthfully deconstruct everything you stand for, there's maybe sometimes something still there at the end of the day. The lyrics say it more clearly than I can." Produced by the_copse and Phil Elliott. Backing vocals by Vickii Hackett.

6)    Duke Nukem Theme - Lee Jackson Every action hero deserves a great theme. Duke got his from Lee. This rollicking anthem is the special edition of the song which was previously only available with the full version of this very popular game. Lee tells us, "No guitars were harmed during the recording of this song." Funny, I always envision smoking amplifiers, broken strings, and ripped drum skins when I hear this.

7)    CJMark's Complete Birthday Greeting - Mark "CJMark" Munson Not just a greeting - a creative work of art!

Images that didn't make it to the CD: