Dan always mentions the lo-fi limitations he had recording this song, and I suppose yes - it's true, but regardless of that - this is still probably my most favorite out of all of his songs. It always boggles my mind that Dan recorded this whole thing by himself in his bedroom on a beat-up Fostex 4-Track recorder. It's an ambitious piece - layers upon layers of sound - sort of reminds me a little of early Bowie... and even though Dan is not the type of guy who ever explained what his songs were about - this one is perhaps the most self explained...
Dan created an android and taught it to play guitar... "the rockin' man was built to make you swoon and sway... he's a rockin' little robot, you know - I taught him how to play..." My favorite part of the song is when Dan leads his friend into the guitar solo when he goes "Play your metallic piece!" Then there's that sound... how did he make that sound? It's a guitar, I know, but it's different somehow - sort of like an orchestra at half-speed. I've listened to this song many times and I still don't know what he did there. It's a secret we may never know.
Anyway, give the song a good hard listen and tell me what you think... oh, and thanks, Dan!!
