X-List: Songs about gadgets and tech
9 January 2020, 21:07 | Updated: 9 January 2020, 21:11
On 9 January 2007, Steve Jobs changed the world when he announced a new Apple product - the iPhone. Radio X looks at the best songs about gadgets and the technology that changed our lives.
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Arctic Monkeys - The World's First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip
Alex Turner writes about the kind of headline that grabs your eye as you're scrolling through YouTube vides. "It’s just remarkable really," he said of the clip.
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Muse - Algorithm
"We are caged in simulations / Algorithms evolve." Matt Bellamy had got wind of Twitter and Facebook's tricks to get you to see more of what they think you want to see and was proper against it.
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Kasabian - Eez-eh
"Everyone's on bugle / Now we're being watched by Google." Tom and Serge hit the nail on the head as anxieties about tech giants and privacy increased in the 21st Century.
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Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
Once upon a time, robots would replace us and we'd all be out of work; now they're just doing the vacuuming and finding something for you to watch on Netflix.
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The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
"Now I know how Joan Of Arc felt… as the flames rose to her Roman nose and her Walkman started to melt." Morrissey was at the cutting edge of gadget culture in 1986 - shame he didn't mention the ZX Spectrum too.
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The xx - VCR
Putney's finest keep it analogue by watching all their movies on tape. Be kind - rewind!
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Alt-J - Tessellate
Alt-J makes the symbol ∆ if you press the two keys on an Apple Mac keyboard. TRUE STORY.
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Radiohead - Paranoid Android
You can have either the phone or the humanoid robot. The original "Paranoid Android" was, of course, Marvin - the permanently depressed robot from The Hitch Hikers' Guide To The Galaxy.
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Blur - Coffee And TV
Without TV, you wouldn't have this hilariously cute video of the dancing milk carton, would you? Thank you, John Logie Baird!
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Stereophonics - I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio
Why wouldn't you believe the radio!? Everything we say is true. Except, maybe, the last bit. Anyway, where would we be without radio? You certainly wouldn't be here now, reading this article.