A simple and sparse tune which began as a drum micing test. The howling low vocal is my attempt at making things uncomfortable.

This was my first Robot song, and it is really only a robot song because of all the hard work that Jonathan put in to it. I wrote this after reading the article When Robots Weep: Emotional Memories and Decision-Making by Juan D. Velásquez which I came across completely by accident.

I was probably nine years old when when I got all sulky, and most likely, indignant about not getting what I wanted for Christmas. My mother then told me the story of her 1947 “Un-Christmas”. My Grandmother was the only one working (Granddad was out on disability) and so the family didn’t get presents under the tree that Christmas. Seven years old and no toys for Christmas. Believe it or not I actually listened to my mother, and the story always stuck with me. So I wrote her this song because that seven-year-old girl would have probably been just fine with getting a rag-doll. Also, I can’t sew.

I don’t know what I was thinking about… three little pigs and the festival of Yalda… strange stuff. It’s not even a song. Sadly, when voicing the “Little” Joey Campbell part, I was actually trying to sound like James Earl Jones.