Favourite songs with robot narrators?
October 26, 2023 7:19 AM Subscribe
As I hit "replay" yet again on "Under Attack, performed by a murder robot" (previously) I realised that there are three other songs that I love which are sung by a robot/computer/android, which makes this a mini-genre!
Do you have any more that I can add to my very short playlist? Serious, comedy, kids songs are all welcome. Murderousness is a plus but not necessary.
("More inside" covers the ones I already have, and a couple that don't quite meet the brief.)
Also in the playlist: Still Alive (Jonathan Coulter, sung by Ellen Maclain as GLaDOS); Humanoid Boogie (Bonzo Dog Band); Perfect Machine (Em-One, Game Grumps remix)
(There are also the Androids theme song from Red Dwarf which does fit the bill, but sounds a little bit too human for the vibe; and I Am A Robot (They Might Be Giants) which is boring.)
Become a Robot (TMBG), and There's a Robot in my Head and When Robots Attack (Lemon Demon) aren't narrated by robots.
Also in the playlist: Still Alive (Jonathan Coulter, sung by Ellen Maclain as GLaDOS); Humanoid Boogie (Bonzo Dog Band); Perfect Machine (Em-One, Game Grumps remix)
(There are also the Androids theme song from Red Dwarf which does fit the bill, but sounds a little bit too human for the vibe; and I Am A Robot (They Might Be Giants) which is boring.)
Become a Robot (TMBG), and There's a Robot in my Head and When Robots Attack (Lemon Demon) aren't narrated by robots.
IMO there are really two categories here: songs sung by an actual computer, or songs sung by a human through a vocoder or some other processing to sound like a robot.
In the first:
Daisy Bell by the IBM 7094, programmed by John Kelly, Carol Lockbaum, and Max Mathews
Fitter Happier by Radiohead and a Macintosh computer
The second:
The Robots by Kraftwerk
O Superman by Laurie Anderson
Kelly Watch the Stars by Air
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:35 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
In the first:
Daisy Bell by the IBM 7094, programmed by John Kelly, Carol Lockbaum, and Max Mathews
Fitter Happier by Radiohead and a Macintosh computer
The second:
The Robots by Kraftwerk
O Superman by Laurie Anderson
Kelly Watch the Stars by Air
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:35 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Console - 14 Zero Zero
such an awesome song; still slaps after 23 years
posted by niicholas at 7:39 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
such an awesome song; still slaps after 23 years
posted by niicholas at 7:39 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
"VIRUS" by SacriStuff
The very Internet classic "The Terrible Secret of Space"
posted by hanov3r at 8:15 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
The very Internet classic "The Terrible Secret of Space"
posted by hanov3r at 8:15 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Robyn's Fembot
(Which in my headcanon is a response to the song she did with Röyksopp the previous year - The Girl And The Robot, although I suspect that falls into the "songs about robots" category as you mentioned.)
Polysics' DOMO ARIGATO MR ROBOTO is, I think, from the viewpoint of a robot? It's so vocoded and accented that it's not entirely clear.
posted by Kyol at 8:18 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
(Which in my headcanon is a response to the song she did with Röyksopp the previous year - The Girl And The Robot, although I suspect that falls into the "songs about robots" category as you mentioned.)
Polysics' DOMO ARIGATO MR ROBOTO is, I think, from the viewpoint of a robot? It's so vocoded and accented that it's not entirely clear.
posted by Kyol at 8:18 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
From the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Marvin I Love You
posted by Rash at 8:28 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Rash at 8:28 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, the Flaming Lips: Yoshimi and the Robots - they're not the narrator but you can hear them in the background.
posted by Rash at 8:35 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by Rash at 8:35 AM on October 26, 2023
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, "Murder of the Universe" (Han-Tyumi is a cyborg).
posted by neushoorn at 8:47 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by neushoorn at 8:47 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Sorta, kinda, metaphorical robot?
My Robot Friend - Robot Highschool
posted by Thorzdad at 8:49 AM on October 26, 2023
My Robot Friend - Robot Highschool
posted by Thorzdad at 8:49 AM on October 26, 2023
Arling & Cameron's Dirty Robot is top of mind, but I asked a related question a while back which may have some tracks that hit you in that robot spot.
posted by mumkin at 8:51 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by mumkin at 8:51 AM on October 26, 2023
Best answer: Artificial Intelligence, Tom Cardy
posted by Ballad of Peckham Rye at 9:17 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by Ballad of Peckham Rye at 9:17 AM on October 26, 2023
Mechanical Man by Devo
Zappa's "Joe's Garage" has some robot-human um, interaction but I don't know if there's any singing...
posted by credulous at 9:38 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Zappa's "Joe's Garage" has some robot-human um, interaction but I don't know if there's any singing...
posted by credulous at 9:38 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Janelle Monáe's Metropolis: The Chase Suite and The Archandroid songs are mostly (all? I can't go look it up right now) from the POV of Cindi Mayweather, an android.
posted by wintersweet at 9:40 AM on October 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 9:40 AM on October 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
oh, I don't know if cyborgs count, but there's Cyborg Oretachi (We Cyborgs) by HALCALI. Lots of sweet boops and beeps. (Translation that I wouldn't swear by here.)
posted by wintersweet at 9:44 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wintersweet at 9:44 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's not the whole song, but Warlords of Pez - Monster Voice has a robot voice segment
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:46 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:46 AM on October 26, 2023
The band Rock Plaza Central has an entire album narrated from the point of view of robotic horses: Are We Not Horses.
posted by otolith at 11:49 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by otolith at 11:49 AM on October 26, 2023
The Best Of '386 DX' album. April Winchell used to have a page of unusual songs/artists and 386 DX's cover of Nirvana (included above) caught my attention.
posted by zaixfeep at 12:48 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by zaixfeep at 12:48 PM on October 26, 2023
Response by poster: Awesome, thank you everybody! The couple marked as best answer are ones that I can't believe I forgot about, but truly this is one of the questions where all the answers are best answer. So many metal friends and enemies to listen to.
posted by Shark Hat at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by Shark Hat at 12:54 PM on October 26, 2023
This is very dark but El-P’s Stepfather Factory.
posted by earthstarvoyager at 1:00 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by earthstarvoyager at 1:00 PM on October 26, 2023
ELO’s combination of Prelude and Twilight is a great example of a vocoder voice specifically meant to sound like a robot.
posted by rongorongo at 3:46 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 3:46 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Futureheads - Robot
Bruce Haack - School for Robots
Not a robot narrator, but surely Captured! By Robots deserves a mention.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:11 PM on October 26, 2023
Bruce Haack - School for Robots
Not a robot narrator, but surely Captured! By Robots deserves a mention.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:11 PM on October 26, 2023
Oh wait! Here's an earlier set where Guitar Bot sings.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:20 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by hydrophonic at 9:20 PM on October 26, 2023
You'd need to expand your definition of robot to include pre-programmed humanoids, but I think 905 by The Who is in the spirit of what your looking for.
posted by brachiopod at 9:44 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by brachiopod at 9:44 PM on October 26, 2023
Jack Wild belting his android heart out on H.R. Pufnstuf - The Mechanical Boy Song.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:29 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:29 PM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Roy Wood - Miss Clarke and the Computer. The opposite of your original request, since it's kind of a love song by HAL-9000 from 2001.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 10:45 PM on October 26, 2023
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 10:45 PM on October 26, 2023
For the sake of completeness, Portal 2's Want You Gone, also written by Jonathan Coulton and sung by Ellen Maclain as GlaDOS.
posted by mersen at 4:11 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mersen at 4:11 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Songs sung by BMO on adventure time: Rises the Moon, and the saddest song ever you and I will always be back then
posted by umbú at 12:50 PM on October 28, 2023
posted by umbú at 12:50 PM on October 28, 2023
Together in Electric Dreams from the movie Elsctric Dreams
posted by umbú at 1:00 PM on October 28, 2023
posted by umbú at 1:00 PM on October 28, 2023
Vienna Teng's "Hymn of Acxiom", sung from the perspective of a big data broker system, is beautiful and haunting.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:25 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Rhaomi at 12:25 PM on October 29, 2023
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posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 7:24 AM on October 26, 2023 [8 favorites]