Sun, August 3, 2014

Flopcast 117: Taco Is Not a Robot

As requested by absolutely no one, it's time for our third annual robot-themed Top 4 ½ List! This year the subject is robot songs — songs about robots, and yes, songs BY robots. (Since robots are superior to humans in every way, their music tends to be way better than ours.) The list includes lots of synthpop, lots of Styx, and (because Kornflake is involved) lots of sock puppets. Also: Our Boston Comic Con preview, and a heated debate over whether or not one should wiggle.

Show Notes

August 6 is National Wiggle Your Toes Day, but Kevin is having none of it. Wiggling is a luxury we can't afford!

This episode ends with a discussion of the upcoming Boston Comic Con. Note that last-minute changes to the lineup may have occured. Felicity wants to point out that the charming John Barrowman is best known in geekdom for playing Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and the spin-off Torchwood, and that Jason Momoa played Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones.

Top 4 ½ Robot Songs:

Following our lists of cartoon robots and live action robots, Kornflake kicks off our annual tradition with "Giant Robot Birdhead" by The Aquabats. Like all the best robots, this one has its own action figure!

Remy duets with Drumbot in a live performance of "Tonight's the Night We Interface" by Consortium of Genius. Man, it's hard when members of a band become romantically involved...

Robotman has a history more complicated than we ever imagined. Adding to the confusion, Robotman and Friends was the creation of pop singer Peter Shelley, not Pete Shelley from the Buzzcocks. Nevertheless, "I Want to Be Your Robotman" is #3 on Kornflake's list.

Kevin gets another opportunity to talk about the Pac-Man Fever album, selecting Buckner & Garcia's "Goin' Berzerk" as his #3.

The great Luke Ski performing "Bender Roboto" (photo courtesy of Tim Winslow):

Never one to miss a chance to plug Freezepop, Kevin places "Robotron 2000" at #2. Our favorite synth pop band just celebrated their 15th anniversary, but this performance is from their 10th anniversary show with the original lineup.

The Logan Awards (recently discussed in our FuMPFest episode) are named for the late Logan Whitehurst, and the physical award is inspired by his song "Robot Cat".

Kevin often sings the praises of The Buggles' album The Age of Plastic, and does so again when discussing "I Love You Miss Robot".

A robotic cover of "I Know What Boys Like" From Kornflake's beloved Sifl and Olly Show tops her list.

Already on the list in parody form, "Mr. Roboto" was part of a bizarre concept album by Styx entitled Kilroy Was Here. It fascinated and confused young Kevin, and though Styx now performs without Dennis DeYoung, they still sneak in the occasional musical reference.

Felicity wants to highlight a glaring omission from Kevin's list: "Robot Penguin" by Steve Foster, formerly of The Luxury and the genius behind our favorite chicken-themed Christmas album.

Felicity can also confirm that Enya is not a robot, since she has a human sister, Moya Brennan of the band Clannad.