Robot Rock (song)
Encyclopedia
"Robot Rock" is the first single from Daft Punk
's 2005 album Human After All. Whilst the single reached a moderately high chart position, many critics found the song overly repetitive. It prominently features sampled portions of "Release the Beast" performed by Breakwater
.
The song is featured on the game DJ Hero
to mixed with band Queen
's "We Will Rock You
" and is called "We Will (Robot) Rock You".
, sampled
from the Breakwater
song "Release the Beast". In addition, Daft Punk incorporated other elements of the "Release the Beast" into the production, including percussion and power chord
s on an electric guitar
. A talk box
vocal phrase featuring the title of Daft Punk's single was also added to the recording. The Breakwater sample is credited on the single's sleeve and on the liner notes of the parent Human After All album. This was not the first time Daft Punk have sampled a song to create a new recording, as "Digital Love
" would be a noted example.
The Breakwater sample is absent from the "Maximum Overdrive" remix of "Robot Rock", which consists of the song's other elements for a duration of nearly six minutes. A music video for this remix has been shot and included on the Daft Punk Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005
compilation CD/DVD. "Robot Rock" was also used in the film Iron Man 2
, in a scene where James Rhodes fights Tony Stark while both wear versions of the Iron Man armour.
for "Robot Rock" consists of Thomas Bangalter
and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
of Daft Punk performing the song on a stage decorated with several televisions and lights, and filmed in a somewhat aged look. This is the first video to feature the duo as themselves exclusively. This pattern continues for the rest of the Human After All videos except for "The Prime Time of Your Life
", where they only make a cameo appearance
. Bangalter plays the double neck guitar
shown on the "Robot Rock" single cover while de Homem-Christo performs on a single set of drums
.
and U.S.
dance charts, the single encountered criticism for its general structure. A review in Stylus Magazine
expressed that the track "does nothing, means nothing and goes nowhere for an unconscionably long time." References to earlier Daft Punk singles were also mentioned, as Rolling Stone
declared "nothing builds to achieve the prior glories of 'Da Funk
' or 'One More Time
'" and Pitchfork Media
noted that the single "is a poor man's 'Aerodynamic
'." However, a Sputnikmusic review noted that "although annoying in nature, [it] is also very rewarding to listen to."
"Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)" was later titled "Robot Rock (Daft Punk Maximum Overdrive Mix)" in the album Human After All: Remixes.
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
's 2005 album Human After All. Whilst the single reached a moderately high chart position, many critics found the song overly repetitive. It prominently features sampled portions of "Release the Beast" performed by Breakwater
Breakwater (band)
Breakwater was a funk and soul American band from Philadelphia, formed in 1971. The band consisted of Gene Robinson, James Gee Jones, Linc 'Love' Gilmore, Steve Green, Vince Garnell, Greg Scott, John 'Dutch' Braddock, and Kae Williams, Jr....
.
The song is featured on the game DJ Hero
DJ Hero
DJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe...
to mixed with band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
" and is called "We Will (Robot) Rock You".
Composition
"Robot Rock" features a prominent riffRIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
, sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from the Breakwater
Breakwater (band)
Breakwater was a funk and soul American band from Philadelphia, formed in 1971. The band consisted of Gene Robinson, James Gee Jones, Linc 'Love' Gilmore, Steve Green, Vince Garnell, Greg Scott, John 'Dutch' Braddock, and Kae Williams, Jr....
song "Release the Beast". In addition, Daft Punk incorporated other elements of the "Release the Beast" into the production, including percussion and power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
s on an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. A talk box
Talk box
A talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing, or by changing the shape of the mouth...
vocal phrase featuring the title of Daft Punk's single was also added to the recording. The Breakwater sample is credited on the single's sleeve and on the liner notes of the parent Human After All album. This was not the first time Daft Punk have sampled a song to create a new recording, as "Digital Love
Digital Love
"Digital Love" is a song by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was released as the third single from the album Discovery. As part of the album, the song is featured in the film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem....
" would be a noted example.
The Breakwater sample is absent from the "Maximum Overdrive" remix of "Robot Rock", which consists of the song's other elements for a duration of nearly six minutes. A music video for this remix has been shot and included on the Daft Punk Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005
Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005
Musique Vol. 1 1993–2005 is an anthology by Daft Punk released in Japan on 29 March 2006, in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2006, and in the United States on 4 April 2006. A special edition includes a bonus DVD with 12 music videos—two of which are new, "The Prime Time of Your Life" and "Robot Rock "...
compilation CD/DVD. "Robot Rock" was also used in the film Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy and is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon...
, in a scene where James Rhodes fights Tony Stark while both wear versions of the Iron Man armour.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Robot Rock" consists of Thomas Bangalter
Thomas Bangalter
Thomas Bangalter is a French electronic musician best known as a member of the French house music duo Daft Punk. He has also recorded and released music as a member of the trio Stardust, the duo Together, and as a solo artist including compositions for the film Irréversible.Thomas Bangalter owns a...
and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo; is a founding member of the French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has also produced several works from his record label Crydamoure with label co-owner Éric Chedeville. He and Chedeville formed the musical duo Le Knight...
of Daft Punk performing the song on a stage decorated with several televisions and lights, and filmed in a somewhat aged look. This is the first video to feature the duo as themselves exclusively. This pattern continues for the rest of the Human After All videos except for "The Prime Time of Your Life
The Prime Time of Your Life
"The Prime Time of Your Life" is Daft Punk's fourth and final single from their third studio album, Human After All. On the album Alive 2007, "The Prime Time of Your Life" is put together with "The Brainwasher" from Human After All, as well as with the tracks "Rollin' & Scratchin'" and "Alive" from...
", where they only make a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
. Bangalter plays the double neck guitar
Double neck guitar
A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric and acoustic versions. Although multi-neck guitars are quite common today, they are not by any means a modern invention...
shown on the "Robot Rock" single cover while de Homem-Christo performs on a single set of drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Reception
Though it reached moderate positions in UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dance charts, the single encountered criticism for its general structure. A review in Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
expressed that the track "does nothing, means nothing and goes nowhere for an unconscionably long time." References to earlier Daft Punk singles were also mentioned, as Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
declared "nothing builds to achieve the prior glories of 'Da Funk
Da Funk
"Da Funk" is an instrumental track by Daft Punk initially released as a single in 1995 and later included on their debut album Homework. "Da Funk" and its accompanying video directed by Spike Jonze are considered classics of 1990s house music.-Background:...
' or 'One More Time
One More Time (Daft Punk song)
"One More Time" is a song by Daft Punk first released as a single on 13 November 2000 and later included in the 2001 album Discovery. The song's vocal performance by Romanthony is heavily auto-tuned and compressed. As part of the album, the track is featured in the introduction to the film...
'" and Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
noted that the single "is a poor man's 'Aerodynamic
Aerodynamic (song)
"Aerodynamic" is an instrumental track by Daft Punk featuring a prominent guitar solo. The track was released on March 28, 2001 as the second single from the Discovery album.-Composition:...
'." However, a Sputnikmusic review noted that "although annoying in nature, [it] is also very rewarding to listen to."
Single track listing
- CD VSCDX1897
- "Robot Rock" (Radio Edit)
- "Robot Rock" (SoulwaxSoulwaxSoulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
Remix) - "Robot Rock" (Maximum Overdrive)
- "Robot Rock"
- 12" VST1897
- "Robot Rock"
- "Robot Rock" (Soulwax Remix)
- "Robot Rock" (Maximum Overdrive)
- "Rockapella"
"Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)" was later titled "Robot Rock (Daft Punk Maximum Overdrive Mix)" in the album Human After All: Remixes.
Chart positions
| Charts (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Singles Chart | 12 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 79 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 17 |
| UK Dance Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
15 |