Friday 10 October 2008

So, They Thought I was a Robot..

Well, this week has been certainly rather frustrating. I have grown quite attached to posting on my virtual notepad and was happily planning on writing more posts until I found that my blog had been flagged up as a spam blog.

Needless to say, I wasn't a happy bunny.

But then, have you ever actually seen a bunny that is truly happy? They can't smile so how will we ever know?

It had said on the e-mail they sent me about it that, as I'm reading the e-mail, I'm probably not a robot.
Probably.
Well, thanks a lot.

Now, I don't really mind that much, except it meant that I couldn't publish my last post for a few days, but it got me thinking about robots, you know, as you do.

So, in that case I decided to compile a list of some bands/artists that are somewhat robot related.
Plus it gave me an excuse to find bands with funny names/songs.

1. The Robot Ate Me




Taken from their album of the same name, The Robot Ate Me is a rather obscure band. Lasting only 5 years, the band hailing from San Diego made a fairly pleasant sound with their lo-fi indie warblings. Although not necessarily robot-like, this band seem to play music perfect for a particularly poignant moment on Skins.

2. IMA Robot



Ok, I think I love this band.
This electronica/vaguely pop punk(ish) band formed in the late 1990's and have made many an upbeat, shouty song, drawing influences from what sounds like David Bowie and/or FOB. Whatever they're doing, they seem to be doing it well, as they've performed on tour with the likes of The Von Bondies and Hoobastank. Arrg, this band remind me of another band but I can't quite place which one, if you think you can tell me please leave me a comment, else it shall be encircling my head forever more, and that won't end well.

3. Pirate Robot Midget
I had to include them, just for the name.

http://www.last.fm/music/Pirate+Robot+Midget

To be honest I'm not that big a fan of some of their stuff, but see if you can dig out Riva Starr's remix of It's My Beat Now. Most certainly following its robot credentials, this band are very much Electro, but may possibly rely too much on looping. (Then again, I guess you could argue the same about most Electro). This song reminds me a bit of Peaches, exuding a rather flamboyant attitude.


4. My Robot Friend




I remember stumbling drearily across this band in the wee hours of the morning during my summer break, and from the moment I first heard this track and another, titled Problems, I became hooked.
Oh, and while I'm gushing about this band, if you like them also try and check out their song 23 Minutes in Brussels, there's a Xylophone! Now I don't know about you but I don't half love a Xylophone every now and then, makes it seem more playful and pretty. And, let's face it, anyone who can play the Xylophone must be pretty darn cool.
Xylophones aside, I really love this band, they're a fine example of what good electronica music should be, and I encourage everyone to listen to their 2006 album Dial 0 whilst we all wait for the highly anticipated (well, by me at least) 2009 album Robot High School.

5. Robots in Disguise



How could I write a post about robots without mentioning this quirky duo?

I was introduced to the slightly chaotic, yet sophisticated electro that is Robots in Disguise through a friend about a year ago, and I have yet to grow tired of them. Although most would write them off as being 'that band with Noel Fielding's girlfriend in,' this band create 3 minute wonders and have become a staple of the Berlin electro scene. Without a doubt you should also check out their Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/robotsindisguise and see if you can buy their newest album. Titled We're in the Music Biz and written with tongue firmly placed in cheek, it was released in February 2008 and, although doing well, this band deserve much more recognition.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, an amazing post this. I thought the best track here is the Robots in Disguise one. Don't know what other band the band in #2 reminds you of (lol)

    Sorry to hear you got flagged as robotic, hope you got it sorted. It happens a lot, I'm told. Blogger have got there robot guards turned up too high, giving false +ve results. It seems Sites like Blogger would be in real danger of spam takeovers. you do see what an oportunity it is though, getting flagged I mean? (for a post)

    I mean - a robot flags you as potentialy a robot, an only by following a certain set of instructions you prove your humanity. This brings up an entire list of questions about appearance/reality, behaviorism, AI, you name it. I take it you know about Searle's Chinese Room? (I just did a post on China thinking.) You can do a test on a machine or a "human" that you meet, but how can anyone know if it's real or it's a robot responding from a sophisticated instruction protocol, and all that David Hume stuff.

    I definitely feel another post coming on lol!

    Soz bwt da ova lng comment. x

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  2. Thanks for the lovely comment. :)

    Yeah, RID are definitely my favourite of the bunch, they sound even better live too, they go a bit crazy :P Damn it! Hmm the band will probably come to me when I've forgotten all about it, usually does. Yeah I can imagine that sites like Blogger would get tonnes of Spam blogs.

    Wow, I hadn't heard that theory before, and it reminds me a bit of Descarte's illusion or reality theory. Is David Hume worth reading?

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  3. Now that you mention it, didn't you say that you were an android? Thinking you're all high and mighty. Ha, this is a great blog, keep posting and I'm sure you'll get more and more visitors Maddie :)!

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