Music Review // The Dream Eaters "program me, I'm a machine"

 

While the ideas of this song by The Dream Eaters might seem like something out of a movie (and I did watch that movie recently, called "Companion") there are very real elements to these lyrical thoughts as well.   With the drum machines and synth tones, The Dream Eaters have created a song which can very much feel like a modern synthpop type of artist but can also channel that retro vibe of someone like Debbie Gibson and just that mall pop era of music.  (I would actually love to see The Dream Eaters perform in a mall)

This entire music video looks like an infomercial, which helps to set the tone for what this song is about lyrically and there is a lot to unpack here.   Let's jump right into the lines: "tell me your wishes / like it's 1961 / you can make me have the baby / like I don't have a mind of my own".  Some people will hear this song and think having a robot like this would be nice to do the dishes and clean, a sort of Rosie from "The Jetsons" if you will, but this message runs much deeper than that.

Even in the year 2025, there are still people out there who believe that men and women are not equal.  And what's worse is that these men also would believe that this song would make a great truth, turning science fiction into science fact.   It's not so much that these men want an actual robot so that they can "put in the code and I will do whatever I am told", but rather they just want actual, human women to behave that way in the 21st Century.  It's deplorable.

There is also this grand overall message within this song you have to consider where people who take this in a literal sense (men) are just showing that they would much rather take the time and effort into building a submissive robot than be able to accept a woman for who she is and let her have her own thoughts, feelings, opinions and rights.  Not only have The Dream Eaters created a song with an important message about equal rights, but they've done so under the guise where people might hear this and go "Bro, I wish I had a woman robot like that", which in turn can tell you everything you need to know about them right away.