![\"StandAlone-Complex\"](\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/StandAlone-Complex.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAnd other’s not.\u00a0 But there is this one album that kept popping up whenever I searched for the term “robot woman”.\u00a0 Since I’m a music fan too, I tried to find out about it and maybe even sample some of it, but this proved to be damn near impossible – until now.<\/p>\n Someone had finally uploaded the entire album to YouTube, and some more information about both the band and the album has been filled in on Wikipedia and ProgArchives.com.<\/p>\n First, the band.\u00a0 Mother Gong is an offshoot of a prog rock band called Gong<\/a>, and I actually have some of Gong’s material.\u00a0 It’s good.\u00a0 Progressive rock is right up my alley, and I enjoy improvisation too.\u00a0 The music of Mother Gong – from what I can tell – is similar in experimentation and adventurousness.\u00a0 The driving ideology behind the lyrical themes, however, seems to be the kind of crazy radical feminism that only serves to cause damage and stir up hatred.<\/p>\n I’m only judging this by these first two “Robot Woman” albums I’ve listened to.\u00a0 They’re part of a trilogy.\u00a0 I haven’t found the third album anywhere, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll look any further for it.<\/p>\n Before I had heard these albums, I had wondered what they might be like.\u00a0 Now, I consider myself a supporter of feminist causes, like equal rights for women, equal pay for equal work, and all that good stuff.\u00a0 But I have a real problem with the type of “feminism” that considers all men rapists.\u00a0 Anybody who seriously spouts that kind of nonsense is letting their anger run faster than their IQ, and they need to shut their fucking mouth and do some thinking.<\/p>\n But let’s focus on the content of the albums, and how they fit into the world of technosexuality.\u00a0 (Spoiler: they don’t)<\/p>\n Robot Woman (1981)<\/span><\/p>\n Track listing:<\/p>\n Musically speaking, this album has 4 very strong songs on it.\u00a0 Those are “Disco at the End of the World”, “Machine Song”, “Billi Bunker’s Blues”, and “Australia”.\u00a0 The musicians are actually outstanding, and more often than not they are playing something interesting if not enjoyable.<\/p>\n The highlight of the music, for me at least, is the presence of the incomparable Guy Evans on drums.\u00a0 He’s one of my favourite drummers, and I’ve never heard him put in a disappointing performance.\u00a0 The drums on this album are fantastic.\u00a0 Steve Hilliage<\/a> is here too, playing guitar on a few songs.<\/p>\n But then there are the lyrics.\u00a0 Oh god, the lyrics.\u00a0 They actually start out kind of clever, and when Gilli Smyth (Mother Gong’s resident feminist and “poet”) isn’t singing, they almost stay that way.\u00a0 Things devolve into a childish, angry feminist screed right fast; halfway through “Machine Song” is where it starts to turn.<\/p>\n Since this is a concept album, allow me to explain the concept.\u00a0 Beta is a robot woman who (surprise surprise) wants to be a real woman.\u00a0 No explanation is given for this thing that would never actually happen, and pretty soon it is just accepted that none is needed.\u00a0 In fact the whole robot woman thing goes from character to allegorical premise before side 1 is over.\u00a0 It’s basically a setup to let us all know that:<\/p>\n Got that?\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 I hope you’re feeling guilty, you despicable man.<\/p>\n So Beta is a robot woman owned by a man, and she malfunctions by having thoughts of her own.\u00a0 The man calls a repairman, who fixes her and gives her a “satellite radio phone” so she can talk to other robot women for some reason.\u00a0 Instead she ends up talking to a government agent (a man) who reports her to the authorities – “The Customs Man”.\u00a0 Then she sees a military parade and asks some very thought provoking questions that weren’t written by a 12-year-old, I swear.\u00a0 The Customs Man then rapes her, because that’s just what he does.\u00a0 He’s a man, remember?\u00a0 Then “Poetry” happens.\u00a0 Then nuclear war kills everyone, and Alien Feminists from Another Planet\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 contact her on her satellite radio phone, and she is “free”.\u00a0 The last song is kind of tacked on and I’m glad it is.\u00a0 It’s one of the only cringe-less songs on the album.<\/p>\n Now, I’m a huge fan of this kind of music.\u00a0 And this album features one of my favourite musicians.\u00a0 But I’ll be damned if I ever subject myself to this idiotic morality play dressed up like a rock opera again.\u00a0 Piss off, Gilli Smyth.\u00a0 I’m not a rapist.<\/p>\n The only two songs that are even remotely worth listening to for the sake of ASFR content are “Disco at the End of the World<\/a>” and “Machine Song<\/a>“.\u00a0 I’ve done some audio restoration on the vinyl rips uploaded to YouTube, so download them and give them a listen.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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