disco music about robots

On today's show, I gave my listeners a small glimpse into the magical world of Space Disco.

In the late '70s, people were crazy about space. Everyone became endlessly fascinated by every new automatic appliance and "computer"; Star Wars and Star Trek fueled the public demand for space operas.
So space was huge.
Almost as huge as disco.

So, the space-themed disco songs started popping up all over the radio, especially in Italy and Germany, for some very strange and inexplicable reason. Space Disco had an even shorter shelf-life than Regular Disco; its peak was in 1977 (guess which movie was released in that year). But even curiouser...

Within that sliver of a genre of Space Disco, there is a running trope of songs about robots. Being in love with robots. Being a robot. Meeting robots. Dancing with robots. Robots in space. Robots on Earth. Girl robots trapping you in space caves. Boy robots that can never love you back. All sorts of robots!

I've found almost 50 of these songs.

I can hardly believe it myself.

Check out my youtube playlist. It's a parsec fulla fun.

playlist for 9/15/09 from 4-6pm (sub)

All-genre show "Monkeys Invade the Heaven Palace" allows for wonderful eclecticism!

~ soft and strange ~
larkin grimm - blond and golden johns - parplar
the microphones - i'll not contain you - the glow pt 2
beach house - home again - devotion
headlights - cherry tulips - some racing, some stopping

~ sarah records/flying nun records(-esque!)~
the bats - claudine - thousands of tiny luminous spheres
math & physics club - weekends away - weekends away ep
the clean - in the dream life u need a rubber soul - mister pop
poppyheads - pictures you weave - sarah records singles
st. christopher - my fortune - sarah records singles

~crazy 8 piece indie rock~
los campesinos! - you! me! dancing! - hold on now youngsters
why? - january twenty something - eskimo snow
the world/inferno friendship society - addicted to bad ideas - w/ifs
mt. righteous - when the child awakes - when the music starts

~disco music about robots~
la bionda - wanna be your lover - youtube
andrew thompson - we're in business - i'm not likely to change
meco - star wars disco - youtube
the galactic force band - star trek disco - glorious youtube

~sweet sweet afro-beat~
the incredible bongo band - apache - bongo rock
the ogyatanaa show band - ageisheka - ghana soundz vol2
the sweet talks - eyi su nhaangaa - ghana soundz vol2
lord kitchener - take you meat out me rice - youtube

~winding down~
duke ellington - east st. louis toodle-oo - duke: the complete works
dent may - god loves you, michael chang - the good feeling music of...
final fantasy - i'm afraid of japan - he poos clouds
eels - bus stop boxer - eels w/ strings, live at town hall

~"these songs are so true"~
johnny cash - folsom prison blues - at folsom prison
yo la tengo - if it's true - popular songs
m. ward - vincent o'brien - transfiguration of vincent
holger czukay - photo song - der osten ist rot

playlist for 9/10/09 and possibly 9/3/09 (sub)

I've been subbing for Truffle Shuffle the past couple of weeks (Thursday mornings, 6-8am PST). This show generally plays indie rock, but I always find myself slipping weird little tunes in there. Keeps me on my toes in that early morning.

I found loads of songs listed in an e-mail draft; I think this is two shows combined. In fact, I know this is two shows combined, because there were lots of repeats. I've deleted the any redundancies, so now, here you go, 4 hours of early morning subbing condensed into 3 hours of solid music blocks.

Italicized tracks are new releases!


sneaky feelings - husband house - positively george street
honeydrips - wait for the grief to come - here comes the future
gillian welch - everything is free - time
edson - friends - unwind with edson

robby benson - blue balloon (the hourglass song) - the soundtrack from the hit film "jeremy" (1973)
eels - the longing - hombre lobo (12 songs of desire)
dark dark dark - benefit of the doubt - love you, bye [ep]
the numbers - golden arm + black hand - don't throw me away

micah blue smaldone - springtime blues - some sweet day
Nagisa Ni Te - Me, On the Beach - on the love beach
final fantasy - song song song - he poos clouds
fool's gold - nadine - fool's gold

devendra banhart - lover - smokey rolls down thunder
the belles - melvin (gloria) - riot city!
the sorrows - take a heart - take a heart
harry nilsson - jump into the fire - nilsson schmilsson

tyrone davis - a woman needs to be loved - the ultimate tyrone davis
ruby andrews - just lovin you - the zodiac sessions 1967-73
fats waller - your feets too big - the joint is jumpin'
wendy rene - after the laughter (comes tears) - shaolin soul episode 1
cat anderson - don't get around much anymore - cat anderson and the ellington all stars

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public service announcement music: stelios "efige" requested by khalil.
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fool's gold - the world is all there is - fool's gold
old time relijun - garden of pomegrantes - catharsis in crisis
amadou & miriam - compagnon de lavie - welcome to mali
the phenomenal handclap band - baby - self-titled

taken by trees - greyest love of all - east of eden
samra lubelski - future slip - future hold
dark dark dark - the benefit of the doubt - the snow magic
camera obscura - before you cry - underachievers please try harder

yo la tengo - if it's true - popular songs
saturday looks good to me - lift me up - every night
pants yell! - two french sisters - alison statton
lucksmiths - the chapter in your life entitled san francisco - warmer corners
the thrills - one horse town - so much for the city

the lodger - the good old days - life is sweet
yo la tengo - all your secrets - popular songs
magnetic fields - i wish i had an evil twin - i

dent may - meet me in the garden - the good feeling music of dent may and his magnificent ukulele
okkervil river - unless it's kicks - the stage names
clap your hands say yeah - upong this tidal wave of young blood
jesus and mary chain - head on - live in oslo 2007
the clean - anything could happen - the anthology

playlist for 6-18-09

All right, gang! This was my last radio show until the fall.

Send a comment my way if you'd like mp3s of any of the shows (I recorded a lot of them), or if you'd like more info / recommendations.

the blow - parentheses (rory phillips remix) - [kyle olson's party mix]
nouvelle vague - just can't get enough - nouvelle vague
coco rosie - rainbowarriors - the adventures of ghosthorse and stillborn
tiny tim - ever since you told me that you love me (i'm a nut)
harry nilsson - daybreak - nilsson schmilsson

forever amber- all the colours of my book - the love cycle
the cramps - garbageman - off the bone
the make up! - i am pentagon - save yourself
six twilights - tonight i'm letting you drive - six twilights

dengue fever - hummingbird - "sleepwalking through the mekong"
sneaky feelings - husband house - sentimental education
crowded house - not the girl you think you are - recurring dream
the 6ths- you you you you you - hyacinths and thistles

jeffery lewis & the junkyard - slogan - 'em are i
heavenly - PUNK girl - the rise and fall of...
shonen knife - catnip dream - rock animals
the aquabats - my skateboard - the fury of...!

dori grayson - try love - shreveport northern soul
camera obscura - teenager - underachievers please try harder
sam prekop - c+f - who's your new professor
it hugs back - now + again - inside your guitar

the field mice - i thought wrong - skywriting + other singles
brighter - poppy day - half hearted (ep)
poppyheads - pictures you weave - cremation town
the bats - claudine - thousands of luminous spheres

frank black - sunday sunny mill valley groove day - honeycomb
camera obscura - the sweetest thing - my maudlin career
saturday looks good to me - lift me up - slgtm
magnetic fields - if there's such a thing as love - i

the clean - anything could happen - anthology


background music: dengue fever, i am robot and proud, hercules and love affair, yann tiersen

playlist for 6-11-09

new albums (few and far between) marked with asterisks.
i will link youtubes to half of the tracks i played. you are welcome!!

~~ tasty doo-wop block! ~~
barrance whitfield and the savages - juicy fruit - dig yourself
the bop chords - so why - youtube
wendy rene - bar b q - youtube
the marquis - bohemian daddy - youtube
young jessie - shuffle in the gravel - youtube
the du droppers - i wanna love you - youtube

~~ funky and cute world/portuguese music ~~
mickey moonlight - interplanetary music - youtube
* amadou and mariam - ce n'est pas bon - welcome to mali
chico buarque - chega de suadade - youtube
lo burges - homem de rua - youtube
Elis Regina and Antonio Jobim - Águas de Março

~~ even funkier stuff + fresh beats ~~
* amadou and mariam - welcome to mali - welcome to mali
fettes brot - emanuela - youtube
wale - w.a.l.e.d.a.n.c.e. (justice remixed and rap'd) - youtube
disco. - love will freak us (missy eliot / joy division mash-up)

~~ moody and adorable 80s twee indie-rock ~~
echo and the bunnymen - silver - live at the royal albert hall 1983
the sea urchins - solace - stardust
the bodines - slip slide - played
the brilliant corners - with a kiss - somebody up there likes me
the bats - block of wood - daddy's highway
the steppes - i think i'll go - the steppes

~~ love that 60s garage rock sound ~~
the clean - beatnik - anthology
the standells - try it - the best of the standells
the pretty things - you don't believe me - get the picture
the yardbirds - i'm not talking - for your love

~~ dreamier and more lo-fi 60s garage rock ~~
davila 666 - bla bla bla - youtube
ariel pink's haunted graffiti - among dreams - the doldrums
the standells - dirty water - the best of the standells
small faces - hey girl - the autumn stone
the move - blackberry way - the move

~~ new releases mixed in with old favorites ~~
* king khan and the shrines - outta harm's way - what is?!
* the eels - lilac breeze - hombre lobo (12 songs of desire)
sneaky feelings - husband house - heavenly pop hits
the sea urchins - pristine christine - stardust
the bats - claudine - thousands of tiny luminous spheres

* jeffery lewis& the junkyard - broken broken broken heart - 'em are i
magnetic fields - crazy for you but not that crazy - 69 love songs

playlist for 6-4-09

If you like the background music that I use, you might want to look into Oscar Sulley, or the compilation album Si, Para Usted. John Williams' classical guitar picking is also nice; Herbie Hancock's "Sunlight" is my default.

freezepop - summer boy - freezepop forever

dan deacon - building voices - bromst

dirty projectors - stillness is the move (jimmy douglass mix) - stillness is the move

i am robot and proud - when i get my ears - the electricity in your house wants to sing

coconut records - summer day - nighttiming

jeffery lewis - tell it to your heart - cross pollination: the mixtape

akron family - river - set 'em wild, set 'em free

claira's daze - october - claira's daze (debut ep)

martha wainwright - the george song - i know you're married but i have feelings too

the anniversary - anais - superdrag/anniversary (split ep)

saturday looks good to me - lift me up - slgtm

pas/cal - what happened to the sands - oh honey, we're ridiculous

the thrills - don't steal our sun - so much for the city

cornelius - seashore and horizon - fantasma

aztec camera - dreams sweet dreams - dreamland

clap your hands say yeah - upon this tidal wave of young blood - cyhsy

the clean - beatnik - anthology

the nerves - give me some time - one way ticket

the clean - anything could happen - anthology

wolf parade - i'll believe in anything - wolf parade

grizzly bear - two weeks - veckatimest

why? - speech bubbles - elephant eyelash

pavement - spit on a stranger - terror twilight

magnetic fields - i don't want to get over you - 69 love songs

magnetic fields - i don't love you anymore - I

the bats - north by north - daddy's highway

the go-betweens - that way - metal and shells

the field mice - if you need someone - the field mice

st. christopher - you deserve more than a maybe - (sarah records)

camera obscura - the sweetest thing - my maudlin career