In the fall of 1985, Norway’s a-ha enjoyed a #1 Billboard hit with “Take On Me.” That success was no doubt due partly to the song’s innovative pencil-sketch video, an MTV favorite which won six Video Music Awards. But the band’s next single, “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.,” barely breached the Top 20 here (though the follow-up fared miles better in the UK, where it reached the top spot).

“Sun” was definitely darker that “Take On Me” (“I’m drifting gloomily through time” goes one lyric), but I loved a-ha’s second single more. I was particularly fond of the sequel approach taken in the video’s opening scene:

I can only guess why “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.” was in my head this morning. It’s been years since I’ve heard the song, so it might be connected to the band’s use of the Warner Bros. end title card in the “Sun” video. See, this week PBS’ American Masters aired “You Must Remember This,” a three-part miniseries about the 85-year history of the Warner Bros. studio empire, which I TiVo’d for future viewing. (A small window into how my brain may be wired.)

For any former a-ha fans lurking out there, it was announced on Monday that Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, and Magne Furuholmen are headed into the studio to record a new album, tentatively scheduled for a spring 2009 release.