Originally published at: Music video: The Styx' 1983 hit 'Mr. Roboto' | Boing Boing
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I’m guessing this video “influenced” Daft Punk somewhat.
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I know the whole Kilroy Was Here bit was and still appears to be a sore spot between DeYoung and the other members but…
We saw that tour in Detroit and the stage show was quite impressive, they recreated that video live on stage and acted out most of the album.
It was either the Kilroy tour or Paradise Theater tour where we saw Tommy Shaw leave the stage and end up in the lower bowl in Joe Louis Arena playing guitar.
Some great songs on both records.
I miss my youth.
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Styx really raised the bar when it comes to stage production, but I feel that the concept itself is sufficiently racially cringey/culturally appropriative to stand some review.
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Wait, I’m confused - is he composed of parts “made in Japan,” or does he have a brain from IBM? Is he a robot pretending to be a human, or a human pretending to be a robot? A robot with a human heart? Or, based on that end reveal, a robot pretending to be another robot? Does the song have two POVs? (The narrator seems to be Mr. Roboto, come to help, but also thanks him for helping.) So is one a robot pretending to be a man, and the other a robot pretending to be another robot?
Sheesh, the world-building in this song sure sucks (which is, of course, the only thing that matters in pop music).
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The song itself is part of a larger story about a dystopian future where rock music is outlawed. One rocker, Kilroy is imprisoned and Roboto robots have replaced humans in many menial tasks. Kilroy overtakes a Roboto and disguises himself as the robot to escape from prison.
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As soon as the video was over, I started singing “Cold War…”
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As much as I like this song, I think its sad that it is the only song people associatewith Styx. I’d rate Renegade or Come Sail Away much higher.
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I would too. Heck, their new album, Crash of the Crown is amazing.
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I’m not sure how one is supposed to get that out from either the video or the lyrics. Is Kilroy then actually a robot, as per the final reveal?
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I loved that song a s kid. You had me a vocoder.
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No, he’s taking off his Roboto mask to reveal to the world that he’s the rock star, Kilroy. Basically in the song he’s praising the Robotos for helping him escape the prison while dropping hints that he’s not as he seems, ending with his unmasking. I agree, it’s hard to get all that from the song alone. It was originally part of a short film that showed prior to the concert. The Roboto design was done by Stan Winston.
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Did somebody say Come Sail Away? I think Cartman did for Come Sail Away what Wayne’s World did for Bohemian Rhapsody.
And, I just noticed the title of the article. When did Styx become The Styx?
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Ticketmaster. It’s the new version of paying Charon.
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Are we not going to talk about how problematic the Mr. Roboto masks are? Ouch.
This post has a pretty clear depiction of what i mean.
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Americans don’t do Prog Rock very well.
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Todd Rundgren might want a word with you…
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Underneath the robot mask he has another robot face, though. If he has a human heart and blood, but a robot brain, I guess that makes him a terminator. Based on the music video, this specifically appears to be a foreshadowing of the plot of “Terminator Salvation” (or maybe the one after that), only the terminator pretending to be the savior of the humans is secretly a robot pretending to be human pretending to be a different robot. Also, it seems like he escapes the prison by punching the “robots” in the stomach, which implies the robots are actually humans pretending to be robots. They really should have kept that bit for the Terminator movie, it really adds a whole new layer.
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