Mr. Roboto

"Mr. Roboto"
Song

For other uses, see Mr. Roboto (disambiguation).

"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by the band Styx on their 1983 concept album Kilroy Was Here. It is considered the most well-known Styx song among Generation Y, with the complicated concept of Kilroy Was Here offering comedic value to many.

Description and background

The song's chorus features the line, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto", which has become an unlikely catch phrase. Domo arigato is one of several Japanese phrases that translate to English as "thank you very much".

The song tells part of the fictitious story of Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK), in the rock opera Kilroy Was Here. The song is sung 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). He escapes the prison by overtaking a Roboto prison guard and hiding inside the emptied-out metal shell. The Roboto is a model robot which does menial jobs in the prison. The song may be understood as Kilroy's dedication to the robot that, through being sacrificed in such a way, allowed Kilroy to escape the prison.

Stan Winston designed the Roboto costume and mask, which is displayed prominently on the cover of Kilroy Was Here.

In popular culture

The line "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto"

• The Barenaked Ladies song "The King of Bedside Manor" on their 1992 CD, Gordon. The line is preceded by a shout of "Styx" from the band.
• "The Ballade of MC Sucka DJ" by Electric Six (also on their live album Don't Be Afraid of the Robot)
• In the 2002 Futurama episode "The 30% Iron Chef", when Bender wins the cooking competition, Chairman Koji says to him, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."
• In the 2002 Scrubs episode "My New Coat," J.D. walks up to another doctor and says, "Domo arigato, Dr. Amato."
• In the 1996 The Simpsons episode "Team Homer," Homer used the line in a chant to cheer on fellow bowling league member Otto.
• In General Protection Fault's "Sashimi and Teriyaki Steak" series in early Year 5, Nick and Ki go to a Japanese restaurant, and when Ki says "Domo Arigato," Nick chimes in with "Mr. Roboto," something that, according to a waitress, happens quite often.
• In a Matrix Reloaded spoof created for the 2003 MTV Music Awards, featuring Justin Timberlake and Seann William Scott (Stiffler in American Pie), the Oracle uses the line "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" whilst Justin does the Robot dance.
• In Austin Powers in Goldmember, the Japanese industrial CEO that supports Dr. Evil—based on Mr. Osato from You Only Live Twice—is known as Mr. Roboto, and the entire phrase is repeated from time to time by various characters.
• In the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, when the Japanese team are being eliminated from the dodgeball tournament, Cotton McKnight, one of the commentators says it.
• In the movie Eight Crazy Nights, after the Jewish basketball team wins, Whitey does a robot dance set to the song.
• In the animated series My Life as a Teenage Robot, the Cluster Ambassador describes "Cluster Prime", a world ruled entirely by robots, and closes with "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto, Domo Arigato." (Episode 3B, "Doom with a View")
• In the third series of Arrested Development, Buster Bluth gets his prosthetic hand stuck in a car dashboard while dancing to "domo arigato Mr. Roboto".
• In the animated movie Shrek 2, Pinocchio sings this line during Far Far Away Idol.

Song played

• In an episode of King of Queens, the song was heard over the radio in a car ride. The three characters bobbed their heads as the repetitious "Domo Arigato..." lyrics began.
• A 1999 Volkswagen commercial starring Tony Hale. As Buster in the Arrested Development episode "The Ocean Walker", Hale dances and mimes to the song, in a reference to his prior role in the Volkswagen commercial.
• The start of the first episode of the 2005 Japanese TV series Densha Otoko.
• The 2005 Jim Carrey film Fun with Dick and Jane when Dick performs the song during a hold-up.
• Internet phenom Fredryk Phox mimes a section of the song on one of his videos. The song is a cover version sung in Japanese.
• The song was background music for one of the awards in the FIRST robotics competition.
• At the end of the October 19, 2006 episode of My Name Is Earl ("Van Hickey"), Earl and Randy robot dance to the song with a strobe light flashing.
• In Episode 9 of How I Met Your Mother ("Belly Full of Turkey"), the song is played in a strip club.
• On YouTube.com, actor/director Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds) dances and sings to it in "Beetletown Jamboree".

Other

• In his film Big Daddy, Adam Sandler lies to Joey Lauren Adams about once being invited up on stage to perform the voice of the robot at a concert.
• In the Chappelle's Show sketches "Player Hater's Ball" and "The Time Haters", one of the featured haters is named Mr. Roboto, but is Korean, not Japanese.
• The German group Maschinenmensch did a Techno-Pop remix with the title "Domo Origato" in 2000. This was the only title the group ever released under their name.
• A parody of the song, "Bender Roboto", was recorded by Luke Ski in 2002 for his album Uber Geek. The song is sung from the point of view of Futurama's Bender.
• In a Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" comic book, when the Simpsons and Ned Flanders go to Hell to save Ned's sons Rod and Todd, they cross the River Styx. While they do so, some of the lyrics of "Mr. Roboto" float around their heads.
• The song was the opening theme music to the live-drama version of Densha Otoko, a story about an otaku falling in love with a beautiful girl out of his league.
• Japanese electropunk band Polysics covered the song for their EP Lo-Bits. The song uses the chorus and the same chords, but it has different verses and form.
• In the movie The Perfect Man (starring Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear), "Mr. Roboto" is performed by a Styx cover band.

Trivia

• "Mr. Roboto" is Styx's second million selling single, following "Babe".
• "Mr. Roboto" was #3 in the US and #1 in Canada.
• "Mr. Roboto" was ranked #61 on the "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's", according to viewers of VH1.
• "Mr. Roboto" was released as the Kilroy Was Here album's first single at the last minute instead of "Don't Let It End".
• Lastly, according to some Styx fans, "Mr. Roboto" was the song that brought about the demise of the band.

See also

• Robot (dance)
• Article about Domo Robot

External links

• Music Video of Mister Roboto at youtube.com
• Lyrics at Styx's official site
• StyxCollector.com: Center For Roboto Research And Preservation