ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Eddi Reader - Singer/songwriter
In her warm, glorious voice, Eddi Reader sings thoughtful songs about love, longing and introspection.

Why you should listen

Scotland-born Eddi Reader was an '80s pop star in the UK, where her band Fairground Attraction had a #1 hit with the supercatchy "Perfect." Now, as a solo artist, her sounds has matured; quiet acoustic arrangements and gentle harmonies put her lush voice front and center. TED Music Director Thomas Dolby calls her his favorite singer of all time.

Albums such as Candyfloss and Medicine and Angels & Electricity established her as a thoughtful songwriter and interpreter, with an affinity for wistful songs of longing and loss -- and a nice sideline in what used to be called "message" songs, which call to the listener to think about war and peace, the Earth and our place in it.

Reader has also become a noted interpreter of the poems of Robert Burns. Her latest album, Peacetime, offers a compelling mix of Burns lyrics, traditional folk tunes and new songs written by Reader and her longtime songwriting partner, Boo Hewerdine. Fun fact: The title song on the album, "Peacetime," Eddi first learned backstage at her 2003 TED performance.

More profile about the speaker
Eddi Reader | Speaker | TED.com
Thomas Dolby - Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City."

Why you should listen

Perhaps best known for blinding us with science, Thomas Dolby has always blurred the lines between composition and invention. As a London teenager, Tom Robertson was fascinated with the convergence of music and technology. His experiments with an assortment of keyboards, synthesizers and cassette players led his friends to dub him “Dolby.” That same fascination later drove him to become an electronic musician and multimedia artist whose groundbreaking work fused music with computer technology and video. Two decades, several film scores, five Grammy nominations and countless live-layered sound loops later, it's clear Dolby's innovations have changed the sound of popular music.

In the 1990s, Dolby re-created himself as a digital-musical entrepreneur, founding Beatnik, which developed the polyphonic ringtone software used in more than half a billion cell phones. From 2001 to 2012, Dolby served as TED's Music Director, programming great music for the TED stage, assembling a wide variety of house bands and collaborations to play between speakers. At TED2010, backed by the string quarter Ethel, he premiered the song "Love Is a Loaded Pistol," from his sweeping, A Map of the Floating City. The album marked his return to recording and touring after a 15-year hiatus, and used seriously retro technology -- '40s-era oscilloscopes and Royal Navy field-test equipment -- to control modern synthesizers, in shows at once nostalgic and cutting edge.

In 2014, Dolby took on a new name: professor. He was named the Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, teaching the course "Sound on Film."

More profile about the speaker
Thomas Dolby | Speaker | TED.com
TED2003

Eddi Reader: "What You've Got"

Eddi Reader canta "Ciò che hai"

Filmed:
515,331 views

La cantautrice Eddi Reader canta "Ciò che fai con ciò che hai", meditazione su un pensiero che è perfetto per TED: come usare i propri doni e i propri talenti per fare la differenza. Con Thomas Dolby al piano.
- Singer/songwriter
In her warm, glorious voice, Eddi Reader sings thoughtful songs about love, longing and introspection. Full bio - Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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This songcanzone is one of Thomas'Thomas' favoritesfavoriti,
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Questa è una delle canzoni preferite di Thomas,
00:28
calledchiamato "What You Do with What You've Got."
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si chiama "Ciò che fai con ciò che hai".
00:46
♫ You mustdovere know someonequalcuno like him ♫
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♫ Di sicuro conosci qualcuno come lui ♫
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♫ He was tallalto and strongforte and leanmagro
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♫ Era alto e forte e snello ♫
00:52
♫ With a bodycorpo like a greyhoundlevriero
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♫ Con il corpo di un levriero ♫
00:55
♫ and a mindmente so sharpacuto and keenacuto
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♫ E una mente così fine e acuta ♫
00:59
♫ But his heartcuore, just like laurelalloro
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♫ Ma il suo cuore, come l'alloro ♫
01:02
grewè cresciuto twistedcontorto around itselfsi
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♫ Si attorcigliò su sé stesso ♫
01:05
TillFinche ' non almostquasi everything he did ♫
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♫ Al punto che quasi ogni cosa facesse ♫
01:08
broughtportato paindolore to someonequalcuno elsealtro
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♫ causava dolore a qualcun altro ♫
01:15
♫ It's not just what you're bornNato with ♫
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♫ Non è solo ciò con cui nasci ♫
01:18
♫ It's what you choosescegliere to bearorso
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♫ È ciò che scegli di portare ♫
01:21
♫ It's not how biggrande your shareCondividere is ♫
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♫ Non è quanto è grande la tua parte ♫
01:25
♫ It's how much you can shareCondividere
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♫ È quanto puoi condividere ♫
01:28
♫ It's not the fightscombatte you dreamedsognato of ♫
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♫ Non sono le battaglie che hai sognato ♫
01:31
♫ It's those you really foughtcombattuta
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♫ Sono quelle che hai combattuto davvero ♫
01:34
♫ It's not what you've been givendato
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♫ Non è ciò che ti è stato dato ♫
01:37
♫ It's what you do with what you've got ♫
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♫ È ciò che fai con quel che hai ♫
01:45
♫ What's the use of two strongforte legsgambe
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♫ A che servono due gambe forti ♫
01:49
♫ if you only runcorrere away? ♫
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♫ se fuggi soltanto? ♫
01:52
♫ And what's the use of the finestmigliori voicevoce
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♫ E a che serve la più bella voce ♫
01:55
♫ if you've nothing good to say? ♫
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♫ se non hai nulla di buono da dire? ♫
01:58
♫ What's the use of strengthforza and musclemuscolo
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♫ A che servono forza e muscoli ♫
02:02
♫ if you only pushspingere and shovespintone? ♫
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♫ se sai solo spintonare? ♫
02:05
♫ And what's the use of two good earsorecchie
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♫ E a che servono due buone orecchie ♫
02:08
♫ if you can't hearsentire those you love? ♫
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♫ se non puoi sentire coloro che ami? ♫
03:11
♫ What's the use of two strongforte legsgambe
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♫ A che servono due gambe forti ♫
03:16
♫ if you only runcorrere away? ♫
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♫ se fuggi soltanto? ♫
03:18
♫ And what's the use of the finestmigliori voicevoce
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♫ E a che serve la più bella voce ♫
03:21
♫ if you've nothing good to say? ♫
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♫ se non hai nulla di buono da dire? ♫
03:24
♫ What's the use of strengthforza and musclemuscolo
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♫ A che servono forza e muscoli ♫
03:28
♫ if you only pushspingere and shovespintone? ♫
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♫ se sai solo spintonare? ♫
03:31
♫ And what's the use of two good earsorecchie
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♫ E a che servono due buone orecchie ♫
03:34
♫ if you can't hearsentire those you love? ♫
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♫ se non puoi sentire coloro che ami? ♫
03:37
BetweenTra those who use theirloro neighborsvicini di casa
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♫ Tra chi usa chi gli sta accanto ♫
03:40
♫ and those who use the canecanna
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♫ E chi usa il bastone ♫
03:43
BetweenTra those in constantcostante powerenergia
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♫ Tra chi è costantemente al potere ♫
03:46
♫ and those in constantcostante paindolore
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♫ E chi costantemente soffre ♫
03:49
BetweenTra those who runcorrere to glorygloria
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♫ Tra chi corre verso la gloria ♫
03:52
♫ and those who cannotnon può runcorrere
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♫ E chi non può correre ♫
03:55
♫ Tell me whichquale onesquelli are the cripplesstorpi
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♫ Dimmi quali sono gli storpi ♫
03:58
♫ and whichquale onesquelli touchtoccare the sunsole
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♫ E quali toccano il sole ♫
04:35
WhichChe onesquelli touchtoccare the sunsole
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♫ Quali toccano il sole ♫
04:40
WhichChe onesquelli touchtoccare the sunsole
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♫ Quali toccano il sole ♫
05:05
(ApplauseApplausi) Thank you very much.
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(Applausi)
Translated by Alessandro Morandi
Reviewed by Alessandra Pinchetti

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Eddi Reader - Singer/songwriter
In her warm, glorious voice, Eddi Reader sings thoughtful songs about love, longing and introspection.

Why you should listen

Scotland-born Eddi Reader was an '80s pop star in the UK, where her band Fairground Attraction had a #1 hit with the supercatchy "Perfect." Now, as a solo artist, her sounds has matured; quiet acoustic arrangements and gentle harmonies put her lush voice front and center. TED Music Director Thomas Dolby calls her his favorite singer of all time.

Albums such as Candyfloss and Medicine and Angels & Electricity established her as a thoughtful songwriter and interpreter, with an affinity for wistful songs of longing and loss -- and a nice sideline in what used to be called "message" songs, which call to the listener to think about war and peace, the Earth and our place in it.

Reader has also become a noted interpreter of the poems of Robert Burns. Her latest album, Peacetime, offers a compelling mix of Burns lyrics, traditional folk tunes and new songs written by Reader and her longtime songwriting partner, Boo Hewerdine. Fun fact: The title song on the album, "Peacetime," Eddi first learned backstage at her 2003 TED performance.

More profile about the speaker
Eddi Reader | Speaker | TED.com
Thomas Dolby - Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City."

Why you should listen

Perhaps best known for blinding us with science, Thomas Dolby has always blurred the lines between composition and invention. As a London teenager, Tom Robertson was fascinated with the convergence of music and technology. His experiments with an assortment of keyboards, synthesizers and cassette players led his friends to dub him “Dolby.” That same fascination later drove him to become an electronic musician and multimedia artist whose groundbreaking work fused music with computer technology and video. Two decades, several film scores, five Grammy nominations and countless live-layered sound loops later, it's clear Dolby's innovations have changed the sound of popular music.

In the 1990s, Dolby re-created himself as a digital-musical entrepreneur, founding Beatnik, which developed the polyphonic ringtone software used in more than half a billion cell phones. From 2001 to 2012, Dolby served as TED's Music Director, programming great music for the TED stage, assembling a wide variety of house bands and collaborations to play between speakers. At TED2010, backed by the string quarter Ethel, he premiered the song "Love Is a Loaded Pistol," from his sweeping, A Map of the Floating City. The album marked his return to recording and touring after a 15-year hiatus, and used seriously retro technology -- '40s-era oscilloscopes and Royal Navy field-test equipment -- to control modern synthesizers, in shows at once nostalgic and cutting edge.

In 2014, Dolby took on a new name: professor. He was named the Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, teaching the course "Sound on Film."

More profile about the speaker
Thomas Dolby | Speaker | TED.com