Computer Love Songs
I thought I’ve written about this before, but I couldn’t find it in my archives. I find it amazing that there aren’t more references in popular music to computers or anything technological. Think about it, through the history of popular music songs have been written about the objects of human passion. Songs have been written about dancing, cars, trucks, love, trains, horses, but rarely is there ever a song about computers, e-mail or the internet.
The best and most comprehensive collection was Computer World by Kraftwerk. Though it is dated by references to the early days when people were fascinated by pocket calculators and when in order to operate a computer one had to always do a bit of programming; this collection is as close as it comes to the existence songs of love for technology.
Throughout the entire Techno movement in music, Kraftwerk seems to be the only shining example. How is this possible.
Free up some disk space and listen once again to Kraftwerk’s Computer World. You will wonder how the computers and the technology that we all have and love (to a point) is being totally overlooked by the music industry today.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
17 Comments:
And they say that memory is the second thing to go...good thing cause then you can't remember what the first one was.
Moose
I wrote a song once about Internet friends. I sent the wav to you by email.
Maybe there isn't more songs about computers, because the relatinship with the computer is a love/hate one, or it's too new, or too personal.....dunno....just throwing out thoughts.
loopy
Or....the computer is just a means to an end, just an instrument to use like a lawnmower?
da loop
Hey Guy... I think I have a partial answer. Or maybe answers.
o
I think technology in more recent music is used a backdrop or a mini-scene setting thing. I can't think of a specific example because it's a 8:09a and I need coffee. I will look for some later.
The other thing that occurs to me is that technology and computers are so ubiquitous that perhaps no one needs or wants to wriye about it the way we might have 20+ yrs ago.
Lastly, it occurs to me that in indie/non mas-marketed music, this subject might appear more.
Pixeleen by Steely Dan.
Ah, Kraftwerk. That brings back some fairly fuzzy memories. Heck, this is probably the first time I ever listened to their music without being....... biochemically altered... in on way or another. It sounds so different now. I think they were about 20 years ahead of their time. If you added some extra basslines here and there this stuff would fly in any techno or trance or rave place anywhere.
Guy, sometimes it feels like you're digging stuff out of the back of my mind, rather than yours.
Needs more Zappa, though he wasn't necessarily into celebrating the technology of the day.
Maybe it's because today's technology is associated with geeks, unlike someone like The Village Smithy and his tools.
LOL ROFL
Yeah, somehow Ode to Code just doesn't come off as well.
You can write a song about anything, but as long as it has cowbell it will be a smash hit
Does a poem count? How about:
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/elz1/clocktower/DrSeuss.html
Otherwise the closest thing I can get it "Power Tools" by Planet P. If you're looking for songs that tell a good story Tony Carey and Planet P are the best.
Moose, must be getting cold up there, eh?
Donna, I'll check it out after I do my chores. It's about technology, eh?
Loopy what about surf boards? They were relatively new when everybody was singing about them. And dance crazes were immortalized immediately.
Lach, but a lot of people writing today weren't even alive when we were using DOS.
Gearhead, and Fagan did one about driving around the world in a dome vehicle, but that was more of a futuristic collection rather than one about computers. He called women viruses with pumps and pearls. Sick...
Darev, getting a little paranoid?
Rich, I can never get enough Zappa, and Joe's Garage had a lot of robot stuff in it, and the new religion of Aplientology.
Bruce, OK Mississippi Queen, Time Has Come Today... What else was there?
cowbells...Stones...Honky Tonk Woman...Steve Winwood...Gimme some Lovin'...Here comes Santa Clause...ooops...sleigh bells. Now the triangle however...I once did a solo on. Timing is everything.
Moose
Moose, you going by Bruce these days?
Hey everybody, Look what Donna did.
http://donna-justme.blogspot.com/2008/11/rednecks-love-song-to-her-computer.html
Just watch how you pronounce his name, Guy.
Trying to be regionally correct, I pronounced it, "Mouse".
:-0
Thought I was going to get my butt kicked there for a minute. Almost called my uncle.
Oh, that is too funny, Gearhead. I hope he comes back to read that one. You may have to call out your uncle...on second thought, maybe not.
Yeah yeah...take a cheap shot at the Canuck! I was just trying to help you phoenetically challenged guys out. Good thing you aren't little guys going by the name of Todd spending all your time on couches. Sofa King wee Todds! LOL
Mooooooooooooooose
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