Personal tools
The TMBG Knowledge Base

Interpretations:Become A Robot

From This Might Be A Wiki

I see this as an anti-conformity song, sort of like The Bells Are Ringing. The Johns are hoping that people don't become "robots," blindly doing what they're told, but they realize it's "too late" for many people. "Number Eight" strikes me as being some kind of social caste to which the narrator of that line belongs, and he's sticking with other Number Eights, simply because they're Number Eights. That's a pretty common science fiction theme. I seem to recall there being something similar in Brave New World, but with Alphas and Betas and such, but I can't quite remember. -VoVat

This song sounds to me like it's satirizing sci-fi in general. In all of those robot movies, none of the humans want to become robots, or become ruled by robots, or the like. And yet, oddly enough, no one ever seems to think of taking precautionary measures until the robots are already invading. The song's kinda saying. "Hey, I sure hope all those robots don't rebel against us and wipe out mankind! Oh, darn, would you look at that? That's EXACTLY what they're doing.... So.... wanna go and get some coffee?"

-Mushroom Pie 'n stuff

This doesn't exactly fit in the interp. page, but it sounds to me that Flansburgh is actually singing "Harbor a dolphin." I'll think of an alternate interpretation based on that in a bit. -Larry Cimora

I personally think the song is about suicide. -Bootler

Retrieved from "http://tmbw.net/wiki/Interpretations:Become_A_Robot"