B-side "Snowblind" Recorded 1982 | Released February 11, 1983 Label A&M | |
Genre Synthrock, new wave, synthpop Length 5:30 (album)
4:44 (single) | ||
"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung of the band Styx, and recorded on the Styx album Kilroy Was Here. It was also released as a 45 RPM single in a 4:44 radio edit, which has the synthesizer intro removed (available on "Greatest Hits" released by PolyTel in Canada in 1992), with the song "Snowblind" (from their previous album Paradise Theatre) as the B-side. In Canada, where they were generally more popular than in their native U.S., it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart, becoming their third single to top the charts in that country (following "Babe" in 1979–80 and "The Best of Times" in 1981). In the U.S., it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Contents
Description and background
The song's chorus features the line, "Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto", which has become a catchphrase.
The Japanese lyrics at the beginning of the song are as follows:
The lyrics translate into English as follows:
The song tells part of the 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 overpowering a Roboto prison guard and hiding inside its emptied-out metal shell. When Jonathan Chance (played by guitarist Tommy Shaw) finally meets Kilroy, at the very end of the song, Kilroy unmasks and says "I'm Kilroy! Kilroy!", ending the song.
The robot-like catchphrase was created with a vocoder. The song heavily features the Oberheim OB-Xa and PPG Wave synthesizers.
Stan Winston, who would become well-known through his work on Jurassic Park, 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. As a result of this song, the Japanese phrase "domou arigatou" entered popular American vernacular. In addition, many have cited this song and the album as potentially having alienated older fans, some calling it "jumping the shark" for the band. Though the song and album may not have resonated with older fans at the time, it remained relevant for younger generations and James Young has said that due to the song, "we're a part of pop culture."
Composition
The song is not in any one key and is instead in a related set of modes. The intro begins in A-flat Mixolydian mode, ending in an F (dominant to B-flat). The singing begins, the chords alternating between a second-inversion B-flat (4–3 suspension resolution) and G-flat Lydian mode. Out of the "Domo" part, the song bursts into G-flat Lydian. It changes to E-flat minor Aeolian mode at "I am the Modren Man", [sic] and this is the dominant key for the remainder of the song. Some portions of the song transition to E-flat major (similar to a Picardy third) as a transition point (to the "secret, secret" part as a pivot chord (see modulation) and to A-flat Mixolydian, a modal change from the G-flat Lydian that the same part took in the beginning of the song). It transitions back to the familiar G-flat Lydian and then E-flat minor as the singer introduces himself as Kilroy.
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 confronts the robots, screaming in the ear of one of the robots before collapsing. DeYoung awakens to see he is being experimented on and runs off. The video cuts back to the ending of the first scene and Jonathan Chance climbs on to the stage. Before the robot removes his mask to reveal Kilroy, another shot of the robot with lights on is used to end the clip.
Covers
Other
The song "Mr. Roboto" is featured as a playable track in the 2009 music game Band Hero.
In March 2011, a Japanese restaurant, Mr. Robata, opened in New York City, citing that the name was chosen to reflect the style of Japanese cooking, robata, as well as the Styx song.
Mr. Robot was the name given to an American drama–thriller television series, created by Sam Esmail.