From left to right: Laura, Dustin, Courtney, a phallic symbol, my sister.
When the instinctive question about a person is, What is he doing? it is felt that he will be found to be, like most of us, doing nothing in particular. There is an indefinite sense that he must be invading some region of singularity, good or bad. The devout hope is that he is doing well. The secret faith is that he is making a mess of it.
Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native
Biography nodeshells I will pay 100XP to have filled to my satisfaction: Damon Albarn, Scott Baio, Brigitte Bardot, Alan Bates, Andrea Bocelli, Les Brown, Jimmy Buffett, William Calley, Kenneth Cole, Aaron Copland, Jane Curtin, Laura Dern, Thomas Dewey, Plácido Domingo, Hilda Doolittle, Dave Foley, Corey Haim, Robert Herrick, Clint Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Spike Lee, Elmore Leonard, Michael Madsen, Barbara Mandrell, Chuck Mangione, Guglielmo Marconi, James Naismith, Byron Nelson, Judd Nelson, Rosie O'Donnell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scott Peterson, Paul Reiser, Meg Ryan, Arnold Schoenberg, Frank Stallone, Genndy Tartakovsky, Sara Teasdale, Alan Thicke, Damon Wayans
Things I Have Coded Here
achievement, AJAX chatterlight, Current User Poll, Do You C! What I C?, E2 Gift Shop, /egg, Everything AJAX, Everything Poll Creator, Favorite Noders, flag, full text search, help topics, /ignore, "I like it", Javascript Repository, My Achievements, new user mail, discrete Node Notes, Node Tracker, publish, Ragnarok!, Random nodeshells, Scratch Pads Staff Picks, Voting Data, Wheel of Surprise, writeup types lede review fiction personal essay, Your filled nodeshells, Zen Nodelet Collapser
But what can a decent man speak of with most pleasure?
Answer: Of himself.
Ok, having read the gilded frame's homenode, I've come up with an e2 musical idea all my own. Essentially what I want to do is combine the greatness of all of you writers and the talent of our many musicians and create a concept album.
About robots.
But not Yoshimi.
Yes, our story/album (tentatively entitled Lifelike) will tell the tale of a young man in 2067 who reads in the paper about a scientist looking for subjects for his new experiment: to turn humans into robots. This process has its upside (faster thought, better motor skills, no need to sleep or eat, etc) and its downside (loss of autonomy, possible rejection by society), but the boy is determined to go through with it. He does, and of course, there are consequences, complications, etc ...
Anyway! So, what I envision is this: 14 songs, split down the middle into 7 pre-transformation and 7 post-transformation. The 7 pre-transformation songs will all be organic, acoustic, and generally performed live arrangements, while the 7 post-transformation songs will be mostly electronic, robotic, and programmed arrangements.
People who have offered help: Jurph (vocal percussion), sofacoin (velvety death-metal vocal tones), Myrkabah) (DJ gear) ...
I have a basic tracklist and its general demeanor here:
- Intro. "The Youngest Man," lyrics by Courtney Hale.
- Track 1 (nocodeforparanoia) - Our anti-Pinocchio is tempted by the dystopian and urbane City. He dreams of becoming a robot to escape these temptations. Control vs. freedom, ambition vs. humility, etc.
- Track 2 (Ereneta) - A scientist reveals his new transformation project. The boy accepts the terms, and people begin asking all sorts of questions about the procedure and the boy (will he be allowed to vote? will he be property?) etc.
- 3. "Bridges Burned", lyrics by 69lovesongs. The boy's girlfriend becomes a press hound, while his estranged father reminds him that he is the last chance to pass on the family genes. The boy cuts all ties with the outside world (selling possessions, etc).
- Track 4 (Evil Catullus) - "When the future lies in your hands, there is only doom." The boy becomes an ascetic inside the doctor's secret lab, barred from the outside world. The doctor revels in his science and gen-i-us.
- Track 5 (JohnnyGoodyear)- The boy has a dream where everyone on earth has become a robot, and Christ makes his Second Coming.
- Track 6 (antikythera) - The doctor soothes the boy, reminding him of his desire to end temptation, and that we must sacrifice for the good of all.
- 7. "Seamless", lyrics by dannye. The operation.
- 8. "On/Off", lyrics and music by FeltTips. As if this idea wasn't pretentious enough, here we have the "resurrection" song, replete with Jesus/Frankenstein/baptismal references. Remember, we're into the electronic age now.
- Track 9 (Jurph) - The boy learns to master all of his functions, and the doctor methodically tunes and tweaks him for max performance.
- Track 10 (Wiccanpiper) - Finally, the day he is announced to the press! Everyone is charmed, except his father, who weeps openly for the boy, who remains stoic in his electronic suit.
- 11. "When I Was Sensitive To Such", lyrics by ac_hyper. Is there any human left in the robot? A few remnants of memories in his brain flutter about, trying vainly not to die.
- Track 12 (dichotomyboi) - Others begin trying out the procedure, but their rush jobs lead to disaster for many.
- Track 13 (sofacoin)- A riot breaks out in the city when one robot walks in front of a bus, killing several people. The doctor is killed, and many of the robots are dismantled entirely. Murder implications, etc?
- Track 14 (etouffee) - The robot boy hides out in the lab and finally, seeing a picture of himself as the man he once was, a final neuron fires and he deactivates himself for all time.
Ok, so ... the plot isn't spectacular, but that's where you come in. I need 14 prodigious noders with a flair for poetry, songwriting, and storytelling to write lyrics for each of these tracks. Just /msg me with which track you'd like to do, and then send me the lyrics whenever you want. Please try to keep things in perspective: we're going for 2-5 minute songs here. Things like verses, choruses, and bridges would be appreciated.
Anyway, when it's all said and done, I'm going to write and record the music for your lovely songs and hopefully we will have a brilliant mess on our hands to look upon with wonder and fear. There'll be a lot of room for you to interact with the musical portion (ie lots of demos and ideas), so don't be shy to write out the whole song in your head, too, if that's your bag.
I would like to thank the following people for inspiring this project:
Henry Adams, Brian Aldiss, Hans Christian Andersen, Isaac Asimov, Roger Bacon, Joseph Barbera, Sir James M. Barrie, Ronald Barthes, L. Frank Baum, Les Baxter, Norman Bel Geddes, David Bowie, Ray Bradbury, Vannevar Bush, David Byrne, Karel Capek, Michael Crichton, Arthur C. Clarke, Carlo Collodi, Le Corbusier, Wayne Coyne, Rene Descartes, Philip Dick, Thomas M. Disch, Thomas Edison, Harlan Ellison, Ralph Ellison, Charlie Gehringer, William Gibson, Sigfried Giedion, Paul Guinan, William Hanna, Kieran Hebden, Joel Hodgson, Ted Hughes, Ralf Hütter, Keiji Inafune, Quincy Jones, Carl Jung, Franz Kafka, Soren Kierkegaard, Jack Kirby, Stanley Kubrick, Ray Kurzweil, Fritz Lang, Julien Offray de la Mettrie, Stan Lee, Stanislav Lem, Ira Levin, George Lucas, Jason Lytle, FT Marinetti, Shirow Masamune, Marshall McLuhan, Travis Morrison, Mark Mothersbaugh, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gary Numan, Ayn Rand, Bender Rodriguez, Florian Schneider, Ridley Scott, Mary Wollestonecraft Shelley, Jerry Siegel, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Osamu Tezuka, Alan Turing, Jacques de Vaucanson, James Whale, Walt Whitman, Gaby Wood, Thom Yorke
Angela halspal, what kind of tricks do I need to do to get the biscuit of your approval?
Halspal I like it when you talk dirty.
Heisenberg it will probably involve nudity.
doyle ...and they're off
Tem42 says Excellent. I love all the odd features. Now I must go and become Nate. It will be my greatest challenge yet.
My 100 Favorite Albums:
100. Mass Romantic, The New Pornographers
99. The Who By Numbers, The Who
98. One Bedroom, The Sea and Cake
97. Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
96. Navy Blues, Sloan
95. Some Cities, Doves
94. Odessey and Oracle, The Zombies
93. Beggar's Banquet, The Rolling Stones
92. Vs., Pearl Jam
91. Letting Off The Happiness, Bright Eyes
90. Twin Cinema, The New Pornographers
89. El Dorado, Electric Light Orchestra
88. Bookends, Simon & Garfunkel
87. Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder
86. Loaded, The Velvet Underground
85. The Clash UK, The Clash
84. Meddle, Pink Floyd
83. Music has the Right to Children, Boards of Canada
82. Daisies of the Galaxy, Eels
81. The Bends, Radiohead
80. Soft Bulletin, The Flaming Lips
79. Help!, The Beatles
78. Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles
77. Face to Face, The Kinks
76. More Songs about Buildings and Food, The Talking Heads
75. The Ugly Organ, Cursive
74. Doolittle, The Pixies
73. Entertainment!, Gang of Four
72. Once We Were Trees, Beachwood Sparks
71. Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
70. Geogaddi, Boards of Canada
69. Rounds, Four Tet
68. Thriller, Lambchop
67. Alien Lanes, Guided By Voices
66. Hawaii, The High Llamas
65. Fire in the City of Automatons, No Knife
64. Tigermilk, Belle & Sebastian
63. The Futureheads, The Futureheads
62. The Execution of All Things, Rilo Kiley
61. And Night Turned Itself Inside-Out, Yo La Tengo
60. Knife Play, Xiu Xiu
59. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo, Devo
58. Five Leaves Left, Nick Drake
57. Where the Action Is, The Yardbirds
56. Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
55. Oh, Inverted World, The Shins
54. Odelay, Beck
53. The Sophtware Slump, Grandaddy
52. XO, Elliott Smith
51. The White Album, The Beatles
50. The River, Bruce Springsteen
49. The Notorious Byrd Brothers, The Byrds
48. Hunky Dory, David Bowie
47. Phantom Planet, Phantom Planet
46. Zenyatta Mondatta, The Police
45. Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin
44. Their Satanic Majesties Request, The Rolling Stones
43. Internal Wrangler, Clinic
42. Menos el Oso, Minus the Bear
41. Substance, Joy Division
40. A Gift From A Flower To A Garden, Donovan
39. Nevermind Nirvana
38. Danse Macabre, The Faint
37. In Case We Die, Architecture in Helsinki
36. Guitar Romantic, The Exploding Hearts
35. The Moon and Antarctica, Modest Mouse
34. Homework, Daft Punk
33. Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin
32. Learning About Your Scale, Half-Handed Cloud
31. Breakfast with Girls, Self
30. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, Spiritualized
29. Village Green Preservation Society, The Kinks
28. Girls Can Tell, Spoon
27. Oui, The Sea and Cake
26. Feels, Animal Collective
25. Margarine Eclipse, Stereolab
24. Up, REM
23. Discovery of a World Inside The Moone, Apples In Stereo
22. Radiation Vibe, Fountains of Wayne
21. Kill the Moonlight Spoon
20. 1977, Ash
19. Zaireeka, The Flaming Lips
18. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
17. Is This It?, The Strokes
16. Revolver, The Beatles
15. Ghost of Fashion, Clem Snide
14. Together We're Heavy, The Polyphonic Spree
13. Sumday, Grandaddy
12. Trial of the Century, The French Kicks
11. The Blue Album, Weezer
10. Abbey Road, The Beatles
9. The Coast is Never Clear, Beulah
8. Illinois, Sufjan Stevens
7. The Sunlandic Twins, Of Montreal
6. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
5. Electric Version, The New Pornographers
4. OK Computer, Radiohead
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
2. Rubber Soul, The Beatles
1. Pinkerton, Weezer
Honorable Mention:
Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins; What's Going On, Marvin Gaye; Master and Everyone, Will Oldham; Space Heater, Reverend Horton Heat; Surfer Rosa, The Pixies; More Songs About Buildings and Food, The Talking Heads; 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields; Paul's Boutique, The Beastie Boys; Since I Left You, The Avalanches; Isolation Drills, Guided By Voices; All Hands on the Bad One, Sleater-Kinney
Artists I Think Are Overrated
Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, My Bloody Valentine, New York Dolls, Pavement, Phish, Sonic Youth, your favorite band (not really)
Postcards welcome (no nudes). Also homemade bombs.
Kyle Hale
12728 Wedding Drive
Manor Tx 78653
Email: kthejoker at gmail
AIM: kthejoker
Birthing day: September 1
Simulacron3: How many dicks do you know?
knifegirl: How much time have you got?
Movies Watched in 2008 (Most recent in bold) (Recommended in italics) (Distinctly NOT recommended in strikethrough)
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