Jed the Humanoid

Jed the Humanoid is a song on the 2000 album The Sophtware Slump released by the Modesto, California indie-rock band Grandaddy. The song is a eulogy for an android who drinks himself to death,[1] and is taken to be central to the nature versus technology parable of the band's second album.[2] A music reviewer for The Guardian, Dorian Lynskey, called it "the saddest robot song ever written."[3]

Songwriter Jason Lytle explained that much like Modesto's famous former resident, George Lucas, growing up "he had nothing better to do than dream up robots."[1]

In the song, the inventors of the bona fide thinking, feeling robot lament leaving town and returning to find that Jed has raided the liquor cabinet and killed himself.[4]

"Jed is a mechanical martyr with a message," said Lytle. "And his message is that alcohol and electronics do not mix."[5]

The character of Jed also appears in two other songs by Grandaddy: Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) from the same album, and in the song Jeddy 3's Poem from the EP Signal to Snow Ratio.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bearded and proud". Telegraph (UK). February 2002.
  2. ↑ Moran, Charlie (2006-05-09). "Still sort of purring -- CD Review - Grandaddy: Just Like Fambly Cat". The Daily Iowan.
  3. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (2006-01-27). "Readers recommend: songs about sci-fi and space". The Guardian (UK).
  4. ↑ Harvilla, Rob (2003-11-17). "Best Band on the Planet: Sometimes, even a jaded critic gets to be a fan". East Bay Express.
  5. ↑ Athitakis, Mark (2000-06-28). "The Modesto Invasion: The San Francisco rock scene is alive and well -- 90 miles from San Francisco". SF Weekly.

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