Everyone has heard this week’s song, but do you know the full story behind it?
The Song: “Mr. Roboto” by Styx
The Lyrics:
Click here to download the album and learn the full story!
Dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto
Mata au hi made
Dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto
Himitsu wo shiritai
You’re wondering who I am – machine or mannequin
With parts made in Japan, I am the modern man
I’ve got a secret I’ve been hiding under my skin
My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain IBM
So if you see me acting strangely, don’t be surprised
I’m just a man who needed someone, and somewhere to hide
To keep me alive-just keep me alive
Somewhere to hide to keep me alive
The Artist: Styx was an American rock band from the late 70s and 80s. Their music was quite popular, and they had numerous platinum albums. The group was accused of backmasking Satanic messages into their song Snowblind. In 1983, the group wrote a rock opera called Kilroy Was Here (if you aren’t familiar with the use of that phrase throughout the 20th century, read about it
here). The album is set in a dystopian future in which rock music is banned thanks to the efforts of a mad religious leader and his Majority for Musical Morality, and Robert Orin Charles Kilroy is an imprisoned rock star. Kilroy and younger rocker Jonathan Chance fight to have the ban on rock lifted, and try to regain Kilroy’s freedom. In this world, humans are served by robots called robotos, who do all kinds of jobs humans don’t want to do- including guarding prisons. This particular song tells of how Kilroy escaped the prison by overpowering and hiding inside one of his Roboto prison guards. The “I’m Kilroy!” declarations at the end of the song are when Kilroy (still hidden within the roboto) meets up once again with Chance.
Hilariously, this album was inspired by the religious group that accused Styx of backmasking Satanic messages within their music. The group actually opted to backmask phrases from the reverse side of the Great Seal of the US within the song Heavy Metal Poisoning on this album (those phrases being “God favours our undertakings” and “A new order of the ages”). Well played, Styx!
Rate your opinion of this song with the stars at the bottom of this post!
You can suggest geek songs to us via the comments below, or go check out Melvin’s Grooveshark profile for more songs.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: daily music, daily song, geek song of the day, geek songs, jams of the day, mr roboto, music of the day, songs, styx, tunes of the day
