In honour of this week's featured book on the CSFF Blog Tour, I've gone to the trouble of creating a sentient music selection program, complete with genre recognition subroutines, at least 17 algorithms for defining the 'best' tunes based on various factors (such as tediousness of intro, cheesiness of lyrics and difficulty of air-guitar accompaniment), and filters for relevance and repetition, and then hacking into SETI@home in order to generate the massive processing power required to bring you this, the all time Virtual Top Ten Songs:
10. QFX: Virtual Reality
This was always going to be a list fairly heavy on electronic music, so we'll kick off proceedings with some good old 90s rave. Warning: This song contains some strobe lighting.
9. Toyah: Computer
New wave awesomeness with weirdly relevant lyrics. Plus, how much of a genius do you need to be to name an album Sheep Farming in Barnet?
8. Jean Michel Jarre: Computer Weekend
A jolly little tune from everybody's favourite French electro pioneer.
7. Kraftwerk: Computer World
Naturally, we couldn't have a computer-themed Top Ten without those happy chaps from Düsseldorf.
6. Twilight: Computer Virus
Our odyssey through electronica takes a turn for the ambient here.
5. Operation Ivy: Artificial Life
And a change of pace for some late 80s ska-punk.
4. Ides of Space: Computer World
No, not a Kraftwerk cover - in fact, this mellow indie rock track all the way from Australia is about as far from Kraftwerk as you could get with the same title.
3. Synergy: Artificial Intelligence (Friday, January 25, 1980)
We're into the properly good stuff here, Eno-esque ambient electronica, apparently all written by a computer programme. All sounds a bit science-fiction, no?
2. Sonic Youth: Computer Age
Because every Top Ten needs a weird cover version - this is an alt rock version of a Neil Young song.
1. 35007: Artificial Intelligence
They're Dutch, and their name is Loose in calculator language. And this track is six minutes of instrumental prog-rock in the Porcupine Tree style. Which, for the record, is a good thing.
And of course, for those lucky enough to be reading this in the Spotify-enabled world, here's the link.
Oh yes, the feature book, by the way, is The God Hater by Bill Myers, which, if you've visited elsewhere on the tour you will know, is at least partly about artificial intelligence, virtual worlds and other such techy goodness. You can probably find out about it at some of these blogs:
Red Bissell Thomas Clayton Booher Keanan Brand Kathy Brasby Rachel Briard Beckie Burnham Morgan L. Busse Melissa Carswell Carol Bruce Collett Valerie Comer Karri Compton CSFF Blog Tour Janey DeMeo April Erwin Amber French Andrea Graham Tori Greene Katie Hart Ryan Heart Joleen Howell Bruce Hennigan Becky Jesse Cris Jesse Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Carol Keen Emily LaVigne Shannon McDermott Matt Mikalatos Rebecca LuElla Miller Mirtika MollyBuuklvr81 John W. Otte Sarah Sawyer Chawna Schroeder Andrea Schultz Tammy Shelnut Kathleen Smith Donna Swanson Jessica Thomas Fred Warren Dona Watson Nicole White Dave Wilson
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