Mr. Roboto
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| "Mr. Roboto" | ||||
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| Single by Styx | ||||
| from the album Kilroy Was Here | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Progressive Rock, Synthpop | |||
| Length | 5:30 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Dennis DeYoung | |||
| Producer | Styx | |||
| Styx singles chronology | ||||
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"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by the band Styx on their 1983 concept album Kilroy Was Here. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band their first notable hit since "Too Much Time on My Hands" in 1981. Mr. Roboto is one of Styx's most popular songs. It was also released as a 45 RPM single, with the song Snowblind as the B-Side.
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[edit] Description and background
The song's chorus features the line, "Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto", which has become a catch phrase. Dōmo arigatō is one of several Japanese phrases that translate to English as "thank you very much".
The Japanese lyrics at the beginning of the song are as follows:
- どうもありがとうミスターロボット (dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto)
- また会う日まで (mata au hi made)
- どうもありがとうミスターロボット (dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto)
- 秘密を知りたい (himitsu wo shiritai)
The lyrics translate into English as follows:
- Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
- Until the day (we) meet again Roboto
- Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
- I want to know the secret
The song tells part of the fictitious story of Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK), in the rock opera Kilroy Was Here. The song is performed by Kilroy (as played by keyboardist Dennis DeYoung), a rock and roll performer who was placed in a futuristic prison for "rock and roll misfits" by the anti-rock-and-roll group the Majority for Musical Morality (MMM) and its founder Dr. Everett Righteous (played by guitarist James Young). The Roboto is a model of robot which does menial jobs in the prison. Kilroy escapes the prison by taking over a Roboto prison guard and hiding inside the emptied-out metal shell. When Jonathan Chance finally meets Kilroy, at the very end of the song, Kilroy says, I'm Kilroy! Kilroy!, ending the song.
This song also represents the use of technology and robots in the 1980s.
The robot-like catch phrase was created with a vocoder. The song heavily features the Oberheim OB-XA and PPG Wave synthesizers.
Stan Winston designed the Roboto costume and mask, which is displayed prominently on the cover of the album Kilroy Was Here. The track was released as the first single from the album at the last minute instead of "Don't Let It End" at the request of A&M Records.
One famous cover of the song is performed by Matt Briand.
[edit] Video
The song's video, directed by Brian Gibson, depicts Jonathan Chance (played by guitarist Tommy Shaw) walking in Rock Museum to meet Kilroy and a robot approaches. After this, it morphs into five robots moving and dancing. Shortly thereafter, the robots transform into the members of Styx and including a clean-shaven Dennis DeYoung (he shaved his trademark moustache off at the conclusion of the Paradise Theater tour in 1982 and has remained clean-shaven to this day). The video then alternates between the band playing the song on a stage and scenes from the Kilroy Was Here backdrop film. Then, the members of Styx morph back into the robots and DeYoung confronting the robots before collapsing after screaming in the ear of one of the robots. Then DeYoung awakens to see he is being experimented on and runs off. Then, we cut back to the ending of the first scene of the video and Jonathan Chance climbs on to the stage and before the robot reveals his mask to be Kilroy, another shot of the robot with lights on was used to end the clip.
[edit] Uses in media
The song appears several times in the Japanese drama Densha Otoko.
In a 1999 Volkswagen commercial, the actor Tony Hale dances to the song inside of a Volkswagen. Furthermore, this commercial is later referenced when Tony Hale plays as the character Buster in the series Arrested Development. In a flashback Buster hears this song in the stair car, starts to do the robot to this song, and lodges his hook into the dashboard of the car.[citation needed]
Earl and Randy from My Name Is Earl do the robot to this song while strobe lights illuminate them at the end of episode 5 season 2, "Van Hickey".
In the Season 2 finale of Chuck, Jeff and Lester perform this song at Ellie and Devon's wedding, where it is used to score a major gunfight that breaks out during the scene. Three versions are heard during the scene: One sung by actors Scott Krinsky (Jeff) and Vik Sahay (Lester), an orchestral version scored for the episode, and the original Styx recording.[1] A fanvid based on the original recording and clips from the entire second season are available on Youtube.[1]
The song also appears in the YouTube Video Evolution Of Dance where Judson Laipply does the robot to the song.[citation needed]
The song appears in the final scene (in the strip club) of the How I Met Your Mother episode, Belly Full of Turkey.[2][citation needed]
In the movie The Perfect Man, Holly's mother is taken on a date by Lenny to an imitation of the band STYX and the first song sung is Mr. Roboto.[citation needed]
In their song "King of Bedside Manor" off their album Gordon, the Barenaked Ladies shout "Styx!" and then sing the line "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto," and eventually just "Domo" repeatedly, at increasing speeds, until the song ends.
The song was featured in the 2002 film Eight Crazy Nights, starring Adam Sandler.[3]
In an episode from "The Simpsons", Homer, while at the bowling alley, starts a chant to cheer Otto. The chant goes "You can do it Otto, that could be our motto!". Other characters begin cheering themselves by rhyming with the chant, to which Homer finally says "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!"
The phrase "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto" is uttered to Bender in the Futurama episode, The 30% Iron Chef.
One of the villains in Austin Powers: Goldmember is a Japanese robotics mogul named Mr. Roboto. Austin greets him with "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.".
In the North American release of the video game Secret of Mana, a robotic enemy boss is named Kilroy.
Comedian Tom Green used the phrase during his visit to Japan to film the Subway Monkey Hour special episode for MTV. Green has also used the phrase frequently when making prank phone calls to Japan on his internet talk show, Tom Green's House Tonight.
The phrase "Domo arigato, Mister Roboto!" is used in the Schlock Mercenary strip for Monday, November 16, 2009. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Interview with Chris Fedak: April 27, 2009: What's Alan Watching
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_Full_of_Turkey
- ^ Eight Crazy Nights (2002) - Soundtracks
- ^ Schlock Mercenary 2009-11-16"
