Michael Weintraub asks:
What are your favorite songs about technology? In my own thinking I have limited the universe of cases to those whose lyrics deal explicitly with technological innovations and their cultural effects, along the lines of Paul Simon's "Boy in the Bubble" or the Talking Heads' "(Nothing But) Flowers."
Those are good picks. For me, what comes to mind immediately is XTC's "Factory Brides," "Roads Girdle the Globe" (there should be more songs about infrastructure, no?), Kraftwerk's "Computer World" (and many others), and a number of Byrds songs, including "CTA-102" and "Space Odyssey." What do you choose?
Yoshimi Battles Pink Robots – Flaming Lips
The hymn to creative destruction: “Video killed the radio star.”
The Byrds stuff, definitely … but also the Stones “tech”/”psychedelic” era of Satanic Majesties – 2000 Light Years From Home’s my favorite, followed by 2000 Man … with its deliciously retro (for techies) couplet: “Though my wife still respects me, I really misuse her/I am having an affair with a random computer.”
Polecats: Make a Circuit With Me.
David Bowie’s TVC15
I am more optimistic about development and commerce than Joni Mitchell appears to be, but boy, sometimes I can’t stop humming her song Big Yellow Taxi, which deals with the effects of modernity.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,
With a pink hotel, a boutique,
And a swinging hot spot.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum.
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half just to see ‘em.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Hey, farmer, farmer, put away that D.D.T., now!
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees, please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Late last night I heard the screen door slam.
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Joseph Wecker – Descramble
You should be able to find a copy by googling, but fair warning, possession of this song violates the DMCA.
Rocket Man by Elton John?
311 – Electricity. bonus points for not only using the term “exponential” but clarifying what it means.
Excerpts only.
Evolution has exponential timing
it’ll be half as long
til the next breakthrough that blows our mind
its up to the people to brave on with experimentation
move forth the species
by using our imagination
But can we handle it
could we dismantle it
or should we fear the void
and just be para-paranoid?
if it’s understood
it could be used for good, and would
if you will believe in
all we can conceive
On the periodic table they got it all wrong
let me lay it down for you in this song
people want PT, they want AU
but lemme tell you what you really ought to do
figure out ways to master silicon
fiber-optic connectors, whatever’s beyond
so many people don’t even attempt to understand
the limitless possibilities of man
I feel trapped, i gotta adapt,
remain calm, collected before I get zapped
my computer is a rebel, acting all fine and
just like that payin me no mind
so what’s up, is this program overcome by a glitch
is it becoming conscious
and if so, ain’t that a bitch?
i paid too much for this piece
i’ll be damned if it tries any funny business
it’ll be the one that pays the price
“Talking Columbia” by Woody Guthrie from the Columbia River Collection.
a line: “good river, just needs a couple of more dozen big power dams scattered along it, keepin’ folks busy”.
This isn’t my favorite song, but I think maybe you’re looking for pedagogical examples, so here’s mine:
John Henry!
It was standard fare in elementary music classes when I was 10 or so. Is this still taught? He “died with a hammer in his hands”. It’s a perfect metaphor for technology displacement.
I think I need to get a pair of white pants, move to Miami and start criticizing the government full-time. I’m not sure when I became “that guy”, but I’m guessing that Don Boudreaux would also like this as an example of job losses that indicate improving living standards.
Best regards,
Jim
Weird Al’s “All About the Pentiums.” Its even aged well, except for the bit about installing a T1 line to your house.
Evolution – 311
I have written a number of mildly amusing songs about technology. These include The SEO Song (Edit your title tag), The Twitter Song (Anthem for Social Media Gurus), the Spam Song (Cheap Gucci Watches) and Swimming in Information, featuring a pitch-shifted hippo sample that sounds remarkably like a dolphin.
Thomas Dolby, “She Blinded Me With Science”
Warren Zevon’s “Run Straight Down,” from the album Traverse City. Here’s a link to a sample:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000THE5X2/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk2
It’s an ecological nightmare song.
I’ll second OK Computer. Several tracks have technological themes.
Hello??? Mr. Roboto?
Space Oddity, David Bowie – “Can you hear me, Major Tom?”
Iggy Pop, Search and Destroy – “Look out, Honey, cause I’m using technology…”
Vengaboys – Cheekah Bow Bow (That Computer Song)
I saw you in the disco
Last night in San Francisco
The way you used your joystick
It really makes my mouse click
Come sit down on my laptop
Lets do a little hiphop
Let’s go into a chatroom
And do a little boom boom
I saw you in the disco
Last week in San Francisco
The way you used your joystick
Has really made me feel sick
The doctor checked my harddrive
A virus in my archive
My disc was not protected
And now I am infected
Hi-Tech Redneck- George Jones
21st Century (Digital Boy) by Bad Religion
One of my most favorite songs, which easily files under this subject, is Jed the Humanoid by Grandaddy.
Here are some lyrics:
Last night something pretty bad happened.
We lost a friend,
All shocked and broken,
Shut down, exploded.
JED-E3 is what we first called him.
Then it was “Jed,”
But Jed’s system’s dead.
Therefore, so’s Jed.
We assembled him in the Kitchen,
Made out of this and
Made out of that and
Whatever was at hand.
When we finished Jed we were so proud.
We celebrated,
We congratulated,
At what we’d created.
Jed could run or walk, sing or talk, and
Compile thoughts, and
Solve lots of problems.
We learned so much from him.
A couple years went by and something happened.
We gave Jed less attention.
We had new inventions.
We left for a convention.
Jed had found our booze and drank every drop.
He fizzled and popped,
He rattled and knocked,
Finally he just stopped.
Bow Wow Wow’s “C30 C60 C90 Go!”, about the rise of home taping in the early 80s.
The Streets’ “A Grand Don’t Come For Free” is a concept album largely about failing technology leading to miscommunication – broken TVs and cellphones that get poor service give way to misunderstandings in a variety of social situations.
I nominate the following songs about trains:
“Midnight Special”
“The Wreck of the No. 9″
Gary Numan’s Cars.
Most so-called “surf music” of the ’60s was really about cars (The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, etc.) and contain more technical specifics than just about any other song listed here. They are also some of the best songs about technology’s impact on society.
What about Meredith Wilson’s “Rock Island” from The Music Man. The early section of the song is a debate about the causes of changing economic conditions based on innovation.
Bach’s Organ works.
Notice that every time there is a major technologic revolution in music production ( the piano, the guitar, the MOOG synthesizer), Bach transcriptions lead the way….
“Deeper Understanding” by Kate Buah
An awful lot of Gary Numan, naturally.
“Just a Song Before I Go” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash (although I don’t think they were being intentionally science-fictional with their Mach 2 passenger plane).
I second the nomination of “TVC15″.
And I’m tempted to add “Call Me” by Blondie.
Joe Student’s “Fax You My Love”
Take the A Train
The Gathering, “Kevin’s Telescope”
While he walks home
His head’s up in a cloud
He feels his pores fill up with fresh air
And there’s no doubt
That one day he will be
Where the eye of his telescope has already been
Weird Al – Hardware Store
Lot’s of fine stuff; some I don’t know above to check out. I can’t believe nobody mentioned OMD’s A-Bomb song:
Enola Gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday
Aha words can’t describe the feeling and the way you lied
These games you play, they’re gonna end in more than tears someday
Aha enola gay, it shouldn’t ever have to end this way
It’s 8:15, and that’s the time that it’s always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you’re coming home
Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, it’s never ever gonna fade away
Enola gay, it shouldn’t ever have to end this way
Aha enola gay, it shouldn’t fade in our dreams away
It’s 8:15, and that’s the time that it’s always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you’re coming home
Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, it’s never ever gonna fade away
Tyler, I think you mean XTC’s “Battery Brides”
Cake, “No Phone”. Nowadays you can’t be alone even when you’re alone.
Kate Bush, “Deeper Understanding”. Not bad for having been written in 1989.
And to reveal just how bad my taste is–MC Frontalot, “First World Problem”. Mo’ unprecedentedly high standard of living, mo’ problems. (And from the same artist: “Secrets From The Future”, on the implications of Moore’s law.)
Dire Straits “Money for Nothing”!
Daft Punk’s Technologic; the digital revolution. The lyrics:
Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,
Trash it, change it, mail – upgrade it,
Charge it, pawn it, zoom it, press it,
Snap it, work it, quick – erase it,
Write it, cut it, paste it, save it,
Load it, check it, quick – rewrite it,
Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it,
Drag and drop it, zip – unzip it,
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it,
View it, code it, jam – unlock it,
Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it,
Cross it, crack it, switch – update it,
Name it, rate it, tune it, print it,
Scan it, send it, fax – rename it,
Touch it, bring it, Pay it, watch it,
Turn it, leave it, start – format it.
From the same artist, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger also deserves a mention. Also, Beyonce’s ‘Video Phone’ and for that matter the intro to the Streets’ ‘When You Wasn’t Famous’ (“See the thing that’s got it all fucked up now is camera phones. How am I meant to do a line in front of complete strangers when I know you’ve all got camera phones?”)
Electric Light Orchestra, Your’s Truly:
…
I drive the very latest hovercar
I don’t know where you are
But I miss you so much till then
I met someone who looks a lot like you
She does the things you do
But she is an IBM.
2095, 2095, 2095, 2095
I love you, sincerely
Yours truly, yours truly…
She’s only programmed to be very nice
But she’s as cold as ice
Whenever I get too near
She tells me that she likes me very much
But when I try to touch
She makes it all too clear.
She is the latest in technology
Almost mythology
But she has a heart stone
She has an I.Q. of 1001
She has a jumpsuit on
And she’s also a telephone.
“Southern Culture on the Skids’ ‘The Great Atomic Power’” is a (good) cover of a Louvin Brothers song, which predates the cover by 40 years or so and had much more resonance when new.
My choice is “The Wabash Cannonball.” Runner-up is “Powderfinger.” And honorable mention to the line from “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”: “Virgil, quick come see, there goes the Robert E. Lee.”
Phil Ochs, “Automation Song”:
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/automation-song.html
Wall of Voodoo’s “Longarm” is about substituting capital for labor:
Wanted:
Strong and able-bodied worker
Minimum wage
Fifty-eight hour week
An average joe from the grand design
He breaks his back for big talk
He pulls up, he pulls down
He’s the one over at the lever that puts the lids on the jars
…
Mister Simpson says this business needs a strong arm
Some new part to clear out all the deadwood
So be sure and install that new long arm by next week
‘Cause that short arm over there is through…
“Arc of Time” by Bright Eyes, which (perhaps accidentally) refers to the technological singularity:
“On a circuit board we will soon be born
again, again, again, again”
Okay, so it’s more like the Hegelian unraveling of progress in time, but the end of it’s definitely technology as rapture.
Anyway.
White Collar Holler by Stan Rogers
Well, I rise up every morning at a quarter to eight
Some woman who’s my wife tells me not to be late
I kiss the kids goodbye, I can’t remember their names
And week after week, it’s always the same
And it’s Ho, boys, can’t you code it, and program it right
Nothing ever happens in the life of mine
I’m hauling up the data on the Xerox line
‘Welcome my son…
to the machine”
I have to second ‘Rocket Man’. The line ‘And all the science, I don’t understand; It’s just my job 5 days a week’ always got a cheer when I was at MIT.
Jonathon Coulton’s stuff is 100% perfect for this. The Future Soon comes to mind, as does We’re Making Us a Baby.
It’s not Simon’s first one, either. How about The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine?
Rush has a few entries: Countdown (Columbia’s maiden voyage), Manhattan Project, and Red Barchetta would be the most obvious.
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