When the Machines Rock
Tracy Howse
When the Machines Rock , by Gary Numan, is the 9th track on his CD Replicas. This song features synthesizer and many of the robotic esthetics. Through a song composed of many unnatural sounds and contrasting melodies.
The
beginning of When the Machines Rock is unnatural; rather than an introduction
or smooth transition into the song, the noise automatically starts. There is a
basic drum patter or 2 weak hits and one strong beat. There is also a funky
bass compiled of different skips and repetition. The melody overtop is a
combination of choppy skips. These aspects starting at the exact same time in
the beginning makes the song seem as if it had been going like this long before
the audience started listening. This “Section A” is then contrasted by “Section
B,” which is different in style. The melody, as opposed to the beginning
melody, is smooth and has various rises and falls. Section B also starts with a
glissando down by a synthesizer, which then sustains as a droning noise
throughout. This synth sound changes timbres and pitches throughout this
section. As the synth rises in pitch, it creates a sort of oscillating sound.
The drum varies a bit from the last section and the bass stays the same.
When
Section A comes back, it also starts with a glissando down and the droning
synth continues through this section, unlike the first time we heard this
section. Another contrast from the beginning is the fact that the funky bass
also has two sounds to it; there is the original bass, as well as a sharp noise
that continues with it. This metallic sound hits every eighth note and
increases the texture. The melody, drum variation, and overall structure are
the same, which makes these changes, namely the metallic sound and the synth
noise, stick out even more. During the second occurrence of the B section, the
components stay generally the same, however it starts with a glissando up,
which is the first time a section is started that way. Also, the synthesizer
rises and falls less while having timbre that sounds grittier. These more
biting sounds contrast with the simple components of the beginning.
As section
A comes back for the first time, it is clear that the contrast from the
beginning is still increasing. The drums in this section have heavy hits on the
beat that is the and of 3 and 4. This paired with the still biting metallic
bass line makes this section heavier than before. The melodic pattern here also
changes during this section; it sounds almost swung, which makes it sound more
unnatural. These sounds, in conjunction with the synthesizer add to the
building of this song. Right between this 3rd section A and the 3rd
section B is a sort of bridge. This bridge is a slow two chord progression in
which all of the aspects of this song come together to hit two strong beats,
both of which have little pick-ups by the drums. This section stops the flow of
the song momentarily, and then the song picks up with the 3rd round
of section B, which stays generally the same except for added robotic sounds.
This bridge creates a strong downbeat for the revamp of section B, which now
has added noises such as laser beam sounds and something that sounds like
rushing air. The synthesizer in this section also seems to be oscillating and
making an almost trill noise while it continues in the background.
The song
approaches the end, there is one last verse. This melodic pattern is increasing
the swinging idea and becomes less and less natural as the speed between the
notes increases. Also, during the third time this verse pattern repeats, the
drums drop out for four beats, which makes the song sound almost empty for that
brief time. However, the beat picks back up and resolves the tension. There is
another type of bridge, which is basically a repetition of the previous
section. This then brings the song to the outro, which has no drums and no
bass. The melodic pattern is the same as the one in the chorus, but only occurs
once. The synthesizer and the melody then fall in pitch and volume until they
fade out.
“When the
Machines Rock” exemplifies many of the elements of the robot esthetics. One of
these is the obsession with technological progress or obsession with
perfection. During the B sections, the melody becomes more and more distorted
from the original concept. This distortion comes with a sort of swing in the
beat, however it is clearly mechanical. This mechanic swing relates to the
title by giving the image of robots and machines dancing, but in a static and
“too perfect” manner. This concept was explained by David Byrne in his essay
“Machines of Joy: I Have Seen the Future and It Is Squiggly.” “Machines of Joy: I Have Seen the Future and It Is Squiggly.” He discusses the
mechanical music as something that resembles humans. “They have learned to
think like machines and reflexively have developed machines that mimic the
seeming quirky randomness of the human mind” (Byrne 7). This discusses that,
although these mechanical sounds do not seem human, they actually represent us.
Another
robot esthetic is the idea of stark contrast. The melody compared to the harsh
background sounds, specifically the bass later in the song and the synth as it
has a grittier timbre. There is also obvious contrast between the beginning of
the song and the end of the song, due to the layering of the sounds as the song
progresses. This contrast is also discussed in Byrne’s essay. “I would further
propose that the Northern Europeans are in fact laughing at themselves, that
their own obsessions, psychological hang-ups and complexes, at the same time as
they are indulging in these obsessions” (Byrne 8). This contrast between two
seemingly opposite positions or sounds makes each one sound more specific and
interesting. It is also giving the proposition that the music is itself a
statement as well as a type of artifice. This idea of music and further meaning
is clearly a part of Numan’s musical goal.
“I
told the set designers I didn’t want any of their flashing, coloured lights, I
just wanted white light, and a lot of it, on the floor to make the presentation
stark and different. I wanted everything about the way we presented the song to
express its theme and atmosphere… The cold, alienated stare was as much nerves
as image. Whether people loved it or hated it, we did look different” (Numan,
CD insert pg 1).
Numan is exemplifying the idea of contrast and of “making
fun” in his work. He is taking his music, which is against the grain, and
trying to make it even more contrasted from what is expected by the public.
Finally, this track uses the robotic esthetic of
“The Art of Noise.” This is the idea of taking noises from daily life and
incorporating them into music (See Typewriter
). In Russolo’s 1913 futurist
manifesto, he discusses “The Art of Noise.” “To excite our sensibility, music has developed
into a search for more complex polyphony and a greater variety of instrumental
tones and colorings” (Russolo 5). Russolo later concludes that the music should
include the sounds of daily life, since they can add these new textures and
colors to the music. This esthetic is evident in this track because of Numan’s
use of sounds, such as the laser beam sound or the metallic sound which is
created in the bass line. These sounds, which are similar to things we would
hear daily, add to the idea of machines dancing, since they are machine like
sounds mixed into music. Russolo’s concept creates a wider opportunity to show
concepts like machines dancing.
Further Readings:
Citations:
Russolo, Luigi, Robert Filliou, and Francesco Balilla Pratella. The Art of Noise: Futurist Manifesto,
1913. New York: Something Else, 1967. N. pag
Byrne, David. "Machines of Joy: I Have Seen the Future and It Is Squiggly." Leonardo Music
Journal 12 (2002): 7-10. Print.
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