Daft Punk started as a house band based in France, but recently it seems they've taken to exploring the contours of what can only be called the posthuman.
For one thing, they perform live as robots. In the first video, what I notice most of all is the monumentalism of their set, the pyramids, symmetrical lights, their elevation above the crowd. The monumentalism is enhanced by the frenzy of the audience, and the music itself seems like a blast to dance to. Also, listen to the tones before the set begins; I think they're from 2001 Space Odyssey. Be patient, the set isn't fully clear until about two minutes in.
It seems to me that they are parodying the spectacle of most live pop music these days. In another clip, the song continues by flashing HUMAN, HUMAN over and over. What does Human Robot, the title of the song, mean? And what becomes of the humans who see HUMAN, HUMAN flashed repeatedly in front of them as they experience the affect of the crowd? It looks and sounds like they've become part of one big machine. Where is the human, one might ask?
The second video, Technologoic, is more traditional. The lyrics hilariously spoof what we do daily on our computers and I love the look of the demon robot child.
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