I was going through my iTunes list the other day, and I was left wondering: what are some good songs…for robots?*
That is, songs that are either about robots; about robot-like subjects; or sound like they’re being sung or played by robots. (The latter could range anywhere from having an unusual, almost mechanical style or cadence to the singing, or that the vocals are done through a vocoder.)
Androids, A.I.s, and/or full cyborgs would qualify, too.
My picks, so far?
-“Coin Operated Boy”—Dresden Dolls
-“Kill All the Humans”—Rob Crow
-“Fast As You Can”—Fiona Apple
-The version of “Ode to Joy” from A Clockwork Orange
So…anyone else have any suggestions?
*I have an active imagination, and a very weird music collection.
Well, just a quick check of my collection brings up:
Spontaneous Human Combustion - The Bobs Answering Machine - Common Rotation O Superman (for Massenet) - Laurie Anderson I Sing the Body Electric - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (cover) One Tin Soldier - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (cover) Gigantor - Helmet (cover) Metal Machine Music - Lou Reed
Not exactly robots, but since you asked for robotic voice, and some robotic-type voices are used. Here’s a few you can download and listen to, or stream. (I have permission from the artist to share her music and lyrics.)
This one’s from the point of view of a sentient computer that’s been abandoned at a space station (I assume). There’s nothing for it to do, it’s starting to break down but can’t fix itself, and it wonders if anyone’s ever going to come back.
The next one’s a science fiction/horror story about an entity that’s causing the subject to go insane. I’ve always thought of it as a nice metaphor for deep depression too. The entity is sometimes represented by a robotic voice.
This next one is based on the Roy Batty character from Blade Runner. There’s some robotic things going on in parts of it.
One more, with robotic voices in the middle. I have no idea what this song is about. It’s very cool though.
You must check out the song “Robot” by Mike O’Connell!
(use the buttons above the text “Sample My Album”, press “play” then skip forward to track # 9)
Perhaps the best Robot song ever, with lyrics like:
Nobody fucks with a Robot
Mocks a Robot
Kicks a Robot in the face
If I was a Robot
A big metal Robot
The only thing I’d hear humans say
Would be . . .
10011
10011
10011110001
10011
10011
10011110001
I’d speak binary code!
And I’d never grow old
or feel cold in the winter,
Wouldn’t feel so alone
Wouldn’t feel so alone
Robots don’t feel alone
How about “Marvin, I love you”, about the miserable pile of bolts we all know and love.
On the techno side, recently I’ve been listening to Golden Shower’s “Video Computer System” and “Total Control.” TC has some vocoder voices, and VCS is stitched together from Atari beeps and boops.
Machines by Manfred Mann (or Lothar & the Hand People; not the same as the Queen song) Hey! (Rise of the Robots) by the Stranglers Humanoid Boogie by the Bonzo Dog Band
The entire The Iron Man album by Pete Townshend