take on me

it was an a-ha moment when this one-hit-wonder (if you don't count their top twenty hit 'the sun always shines on tv') took on top of the charts in the u.s. they became the biggest thing to come out of norway since the vikings discovered america. the leadoff single from their first album hunting high and low was originally released a year before; but when it failed to chart they recorded a new version, the familiar one. their american label invested in the groundbreaking music video that combined live action with animated characters.

was it the glorious synthesizer riff, that unattainable (for me, at least) falsetto, or the amazing video that made this song a worldwide smash? while they have disappeared from the american consciousness, a-ha continued to have hits around the world. they have recorded eight albums in the intervening years (all of them huge hits on the norwegian charts). their most recent album foot of the mountain sold more than 300,000 units and made the top five album chart in several countries (their only album that did not hit the number one spot in norway - it made it to number two) last year. after twenty-eight years together, the group recently announced they will mount a farewell tour before disbanding. so far, only the final date, in oslo on december 4, 2010, has been confirmed.







http://a-ha.com/

the revolutionary music video was inspired by the movie altered states. it won six mtv music awards and may have led to increased sale of comic books.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914
  

talking away,
i don't know what i'm to say
i'll say it anyway,
today's another day to find you
shying away,
i'll be coming for your love, okay

take on me (take on me)
take me on (take one me)
i'll be gone in a day or two

so needless to say,
i'm odds and ends but i'll be stumbling away,
slowly learning that life is okay
say after me, it's no better to be safe than sorry

take on me (take on me)
take me on (take on me)
i'll be gone in a day or two

oh, the things that you say,
yeah, is it a life or just a play my worries away,
you're all the things i've got to remember
you're shying away, i'll be coming for you anyway

take on me (take on me)
take me on (take on me)
i'll be gone in a day

here's the first version of the song with its accompanying video.

this parody is good for a laugh.