inner nerd » Robot

Robot Rock du Jour: LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great (2007)

beaker — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:21:32 +0000

So, I pretty much avoid big time acts and there are very few “modern” bands that make what I deem to be exceptionally rad music. LCD Soundsystem, however, is the king + queen of them all.

I created this stop-motion video as part of my graduate program thesis work. 100 hours of wood cutting and photographing. If you dig it, peep my process photos.

SCHEMATIC: Videos for Home, Daft Punk is Playing at My House…

Home

Daft Punk is Playing at My House

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock du Jour: Daft Punk – Derezzed (2010) (TRON: Legacy)

beaker — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:58:54 +0000

TRON: Legacy + Daft Punk. Full coverage of the original film and remake soon.

End of line…

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock du Jour: Tik & Tok – The Tube (1982)

beaker — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:51:54 +0000

This is probably the last robot dance outfit I’m going to post for a while.

UK’s Tik & Tok were pretty far out there, looking more like Fischerspooner predecessors than robots. Luckily for them, their darker, more minimal synth tracks were way, WAY better than their robotic dance routines. The only place I’ve ever seen The Tube is on a 2004 Rephlex pressing that has all of Tik & Tok’s better (i.e. more minimal) tracks and sells for under $10!

SCHEMATIC: A couple more videos and some album artwork…

Crisis (1982)

Soulless Synthetic Heart-Steps Of Unconcerned Androids (1983)

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock du Jour: Fotostat – Fotostat (1983)

beaker — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:56:44 +0000

Machines that think they’re human pretending to be robots. I-R-O-N-Y. Love it. The track is decent, but nothing mind-bending.

SCHEMATIC: Fotostat strut their circuits to Kraftwerk, more vids, technics ad, 7″ tracks, album artwork and label scans…

Pssst...pass it on!

Snort: Robot Dance Competition (1983)

beaker — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:42:11 +0000

Metal Mickey calling the shots in this UK dance competition from 1983. Peep those costumes! The red heads get my vote…

end of line…

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock Du Jour: ‘Lectric Workers – Robot is Systematic (1982)

beaker — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:35:26 +0000

I assure you, my friend, that this robot is indeed systematic.

Nearly 30 human years ago, this track was putting hairy-chested robots into full-frame meltdown on space disco floors all over Planet Italy. ’Lectric Workers members Franco Rago and Gigi Farina were also responsible for Decadance’s considerably darker, yet ultimately synthulescent On and On (Fears Keep On).

SCHEMATIC: Instrumental version, album cover art and record label scans…

Pssst...pass it on!

Dans La Rue: Bay Area Maker Faire 2010

beaker — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:05:29 +0000

The Maker Faire is like an engineer’s craft show on acid. There’s dudes riding around in go-carts that look like cupcakes, sixty-year-olds playing Jules Verne in the Steam Punk pavilion and lots of fire. This first video features Mark Galt’s intoxicating “Quadruped” kinetic sculpture at the Bay Area Maker Faire in May 2010.

SCHEMATIC: More videos and photos from Maker Faire 2010…

Mark Galt – Electric Motor Man

Atoms & Electrons – Apple IIe + Twitter

So this fellow bought an Apple IIe for $15 and rigged it up to turn twitter avatars and feeds into 8-bit artwork. Wicked!

Life-Sized Mousetrap

Remember that game mousetrap? How about a life-sized version for your backyard?

Purincess Labs – Deathwheel 3000dx

With a perverse sense of humor and penchant for fun, classmate Purin’s Deathwheel 3000dx was a huge hit at Maker Faire.

Goligorsky Laboratory – Super Relax Concept Electric Research Vehicle (Tandem Bicycle)

David Goligorsky, Design’s Oscar Wilde, developed this electric tandem as part of his graduate thesis project at Stanford’s Design Program. Also shown is a road bike David designed and built, as well as “Hyper-Lincoln” whose red LED eyes signal out The Gettysburg Address in Morse code. This guys is off the chain. Sorry, bad joke.

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock du Jour: Neil Young – Trans LP (1982)

beaker — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:55:17 +0000

In 1982, Neil Young was abducted by robot aliens who grafted an organic neural-net processor onto his existing human brain and sent him back to Earth to make vocoder-infused, heavily distorted guitar rock. Five of the nine tracks on Trans were recorded by this Neil Young Beta Unit, who also remixed Mr. Soul as the b-side on the Sample and Hold 12″ single.

SCHEMATIC: Other Neil Young Beta Unit videos and cover art…

So, the actual story here, according to Wikipedia, is that Neil Young’s son was born with cerebral palsy. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Young found that he was able to elicit a better response from his son when using the Moog vocoder. Pretty awesome. Not sure if this album is a result of Mr. Young pushing the creative envelope or just ruminations on technology and communication. Either way, this album was a really, really pleasant surprise.

Sample and Hold (LP Version)

We R In Control

Computer Age

Transformer Man

Computer Cowboy

Mr. Soul (Dance Remix)

Trans LP Cover Art

Pssst...pass it on!

Robot Rock du Jour: The Droids – (Do You Feel) The Force (1977)

beaker — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:01:06 +0000

Silver droids + wall of speakers + dancing space chick = hot video. Leave it to a Frenchman (Barclay manager Fabrice Cuitad) to put out a super-cool concept 7″, 12″ and LP based on the iconic film Star Wars. This video covers Part I. Part II has a funkier vibe.

SCHEMATIC: HQ vinyl rips of Part I and Part II, sources, cover art…

This is a very affordable, and relatively available record as a 7″. I totally recommend picking it up from discogs or ebay.

(Do You Feel) The Force Part I

(Do You Feel) The Force Part II

Pssst...pass it on!

Party Time: Saturday Robot Party @ The Idle Hour (Baltimore, MD)

beaker — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:52:53 +0000

VIGR is in the house. 4+ hour rare vinyl set. Need I say more? Hope to see you there! I’ll try to keep track of the setlist…

Pssst...pass it on!