A weekly(ish) series where I talk briefly about somebody who I think is cool for one reason for another.

One of the first music videos I ever remember seeing was "Take On Me". (And some crazy Pink Floyd video my mother turned off because "Pink Floyd sucks"!) It was one of my favorite 80s songs, but I never looked into the band more. Even when my now-ex tried to get me to listen to their other albums, I had no interest. I don't really know why that suddenly changed, but a few years ago I developed a little obsession, as anybody who's read more a few entries here should know.

While most people know of a-ha, or at the least know "Take On Me", fewer know who the individual members are. And while most people who know me would expect this to be a drool-fest over Morten Harket, I actually have positive things to say about the other two band members! Specifically, right now, Magne Furuholmen.

Who he is: Keyboardist for a-ha; singer; song-writer; artist. And hottie, but that's secondary.

What he's done: Written a lot of awesome songs, for one, both for a-ha and his own albums. He's put out two albums of his own, Past Perfect Future Tense and A Dot Of Black In The Blue Of Your Bliss; his voice is really unique and sort of scratchy, and both albums have a lot of beautiful acoustic guitar. He's also done music for soundtracks. He also does some cool, quirky art, some of which can be seen here--one of his projects was to design an official postage stamp for Norway.

Why I love him: All of that! He's written some of my favorite a-ha songs, like "A Fine Blue Line" (which somebody has randomly put to dolphins, there); and I love all his solo songs, especially "Kryptonite" (video below). He also seems genuinely funny and charming, from the two concerts I've been to and from watching him talk to crazy fans (who got to the crowd barrier before me in New York, dammit!).