socialrobot: Recent Episodes
socialrobot
Social Robot's new album "Outreach Program" dropped April Fools, check out https://SocialRobot.HearNow.com “Brooklyn band Social Robot's sophomore album "Outreach Program" brings tapedeck 80s synthwave vibes as vocalist Bayard Russell sweetly skewers the attention economy and data overload” says Nagamag Magazine. "US outfit showcase their debut album with this smooth and sweeping pop-rock delight, with hints of The 1975", said Mystic Sons of Social Robot's debut album "The Botz Sessions."
Social Robot is the musical project of Bayard Russell. Bayard grew up in the suburbs of Indiana, influenced equally by The Beatles and Ice Cube. Classically trained in piano from age four, he discovered the guitar in high school and his passion for pop music blossomed. He moved to NYC after graduating from Dartmouth College with a major in philosophy and a minor in music. He has previously written for and performed with the bands Karess, Clean Slate, Funkelstiltskin, The Very Nerve, Matt Jones Band, Negative Ken, The Botz, Mark from 3A, Blindfolds Five, and Atlantic Animals. He has a solo album "Selftitled" available on CD Baby and iTunes, about which Neufutur Magazine has said, "All that individuals need to do is stick the album in and be placed on clouds of indie rock that will float them along for the better part of an hour."
Theme song for THE AWKWARD AGENDA by Beth MortonBook launches March 1 2026, pre-order here:https://www.amazon.com/Awkward-Agenda-Beth-Morton-ebook/dp/B0FTK7BLZZVocals performed by Jess McAvoy, hear more at https://www.jessmcavoy.comMAGNIFICENTMusic by Bayard RussellLyrics by Bayard Russell and Beth Morton© Oct 2025VERSE1It's taken me so long To come out of my perfect shell, yeahI was living so far down, behind a mask and crown It's felt like it was living hell, well.. You know I’mPRE-CHORUS 1Not just prettyNot just refinedNot just the maskI hide behindYou lit the sparkNow I’m aflameI need you ZapI’m not the sameCHORUSYou are so magnificentAnd I'm so belligerentYou’re declaring war on my heartI don't care if it's awkward I'm giving you my safe word You’re plundering all of my heart POST-CHORUS RAPThe adventures of Mad and Zap Spelling bees to weak knees it'll be mad cap So whatcha think about that, but please Refrain from bad names cause we don't like thatThe adventures of Mad and ZapDirty mind to spilled wine and a xiao long baoSo whatcha think about now, I must expressWhat’s on my chest but I don’t know howVERSE2Life looked pretty perfectBut it was never ever fun, noYou made life chaotic, instead of just neuroticAnd now I’m coming all undone, hon, Come onPRECHORUS 2Let’s make some plansSome mad escapesThrow wine aroundDon’t wanna waitMy mask is offYou know my nameThe secret’s outYou’re mine to claimREPEAT CHORUSYou are so magnificentAnd I'm so belligerentYou’re declaring war on my heartI don't care if it's awkward I'm giving you my safe word You’re plundering all of my heart BRIDGE PART 1This is our awkward agenda I offer my surrender To everything we'll bee You taste to me like honey Let's pirate all the money You know me magnificentlyBRIDGE PART 2Spelling trophy in my hand I am rising up again Zap me out of misery Madness loves your company Why be so anonymous You let me be all of this Want to give you all I have Your spark's gonna drive me MadON REPEAT OF CHORUSYou are so magnificentNow I'm so belligerentI'm declaring war on your heart I don't care if it's awkward You’re giving me your safe word I'm plundering all of your heartYou are so magnificentGet ready for me
Bomb Shelter, (c) 2003 Bayard RussellMaybe the good life isn't out thereMaybe there's nothing else aroundThe times they are forever changingThe sky's forever falling downI'm gonna build a sanctuaryBecause the outside world is scaryGirls are breaking young boys' heartsBoys are breaking everythingNothing seems to matterNo one gets what they deserveClimb inside my bomb shelter and I will keep you safeClimb inside my bomb shelter and together we'll waitLike Eve and Adam we will be with no one else aroundJust our little slice of heaven over one mile undergroundThere's nothing wrong with solitaryThe prison that you build's your ownBut love can bring a transformationYou'd make this jail cell a homeWe'd call this jail cell a homeClimb inside my bomb shelter and I will keep you safeClimb inside my bomb shelter and together we'll waitLike Eve and Adam we will be with no one else aroundJust our little slice of heaven over one mile undergroundClimb inside my bomb shelter and I will keep you safeClimb inside my bomb shelter and together we'll waitHeaven is below us and Hell is up aboveClimb inside my bomb shelter and I will show youI will show youI will show you loveI will show youI will show youI will show you Love
Hello friends! As you all know, rock bands and romance novelists often collaborate on audio songs for print media, it's all very normal and expected, and most of all, unsurprising. In that spirit, Social Robot and Beth Morton collaborated to compose a companion song to her novel, "Phantoms, Ghosts & Other Heartbreaks."Learn more about the novel at https://www.bethmortonauthor.com/If Phantom of the Opera alternative universes are your cup of tea, you can preorder on Kindle here: https://a.co/d/2NOBLgR####"Weirdo" music by Bayard Russell, lyrics by Bayard Russell and Beth Morton© July 2024You’re too normalFor a freak like meBut I want youDesperatelyLet me know youSee behind those eyesYour electricity hasMy tongue paralyzedCause I’m weird and I’m strangeBut the world’s more derangedLove do you want to be a weirdo tooYou’re too coolFor a man on fireWould I burn youOr would I inspireWell goodbye Miss O’LearyAnd the cows of this townWant to tip over your lanternBurn this barn to the groundCause I’m weird and I’m strangeBut the world’s more derangedLove do you want to be a weirdo tooCause I'm weird and unsureWhat are you searching forLove do you want to be a weirdo tooThese fools are far worse to seeAnd only you set me freeWe’ll clear the air of all theSmoke of high societyWe would be stranger than mostExorcize this holy ghostComing together, coming to beA weirdo like meRather than losing youJust be a loser tooI could belong to youWe could belong... Cause I’m weird and I’m strangeBut the world’s more derangedLove do you want to be a weirdo tooCause I'm weird and unsureWhat are you searching forLove do you want to be a weirdo tooLove do you want to be my Weirdo tooLove can I be your weirdo…Too
Hello friends! I wrote the theme song to gaming podcast "Stupid Little Games", hosted by Jess Pardue. Where to listen:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stupid-little-games-with-jess-pardue/id1776496543Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4AY8h3SGzWFAC2XiSBxvhLYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrklrtciU2xCQXDg6KIja2LZxDX30NP_kInformation on the Podcast:Hello friends old and new! Welcome to Stupid Little Games, a podcast where we talk abut all things gaming from the inside out.Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then we’ll play a Stupid Little Game that I write especially for each guest, all with a splash of humor and whimsy.If you’re an industry veteran yearning to hear stories from fellow devs, new to the industry and looking to make your mark, or just someone who loves video games, then this is the show for you!
Here's a demo track, soon to be performed by rock group Cognitive Dissonance! See us at Connelly's NYC on Feb 28 2025!"Waiting For the Light To Change"Music and Lyrics © Bayard Russell, May 2015VERSE1GF#CBGF# CB D (x2)Stuck on the same roadHeart’s gonna explodeTrapped on the highwayNothing is going my wayBumper to bumperOne mile an hourStopped at a red lightNo Exit ramp in sight, noCHORUSCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCG/BDWaiting for the light to changeVERSE2GF#CBGF# CB D (x2)Hot air is blowing Nobody’s going Radio's blaring Nobody’s really caring Smoke in the distanceRoadside assistanceIdling in place No one escapes LACHORUSCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCG/BDWaiting for the light to changeMIDDLE8AmEm Em D DMaybe I should walk insteadCDHave a smoke and clear my headAmEm Em D DComfort drives you crazyCDThis SUV has leather and ACGUITAR SOLOCGF#(c d e f# g a g f# g– f# f#)CGF#(g a b c d c b c b– a# a#)CGF#(d c g a a# a g a g— f# f#)CGF#(ef#e ded cdc bcb aba gag f# f#)FINAL CHORUSCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCGF#Waiting for the light to changeCG/BDWaiting for the light to changeCGDWaiting for the light to changeCGDWaiting for the light to changeCGDWaiting for the light to changeCG/BDWaiting for the light to changeGyeah!
A tribute to The Kinks "Strangers" - may this track bless all those who listen, you are never alone but always strange. For you metronome-heads out there, the song itself is rhythmically deceptive, it's mostly in 5/4 but shifts towards the end of choruses into 4/4. Haunting tune, like the witch decoration I took a pic of at a nearby mall!
I Believe Music and lyrics (C) Mar 2020 Bayard Russell
I believe I believe I believe in an empty fate I believe I believe what you think is great is great I believe I believe I believe there are no mistakes But if you wait too long is it worth the wait
Endless choices you got Endless voices you got Endless options but Time will never wait for you to choose
I believe I believe I believe in an endless mind I believe I believe That the world gives endless signs I believe I believe I believe you can’t rewind You just might find you’re left behind
Slow day I’ve been thinking bout my problems in my Own way Trying to come up with a plan but at my Own pace I’ve been cooking something big but I’m like No way am I do it Today This hesitation got me facing my mortality Only got so many years Balancing so many fears It appears need to take my eye to sky Ask the birds why won’t you let me fly
I believe I believe I believe eventually I believe I believe you will not wait for me
Wake up in the morning already wired Check outside my window if the world is still on fire It’s my desire that we all feel safe again Drag and swipe the panels feeling the news Touch of red and yellow and a metric ton of blues And that’s my cue to give up and phone a friend
These are just the things that cut us quick and make us slow These are just the things that make us stay and make us go
Don’t know what to do my mind is blown I’ve got information overload Cause it’s typed it doesn’t make it so I’ve got information overload I just want to get us off ...This technology
Work through my depression starting to sink Noticing the difference what I say and what I think I want a drink that makes this all go away Turn notifications off with the tube Snooze my closest buddies Sorry if you think I’m rude My attitude is I need my space today
(photo credit: Eric Pickersgill)
JUST GET BETTER music and lyrics (C)Bayard Russell
If you really want to get hired If you really want to shoot the moon If you really want to get fired Let me push you, let me squeeze you Let me make you swoon
Just get better Manage this, manage this You need to get better
Do you wanna find out what you're made of Do you wanna get put in your place Do you wanna have yourself some breakfast Have some egg on your face How's it taste?
We're only worth as much As revenue we touch
Just get better!
Fomo Music and lyrics (c)Dec 2017 Bayard Russell
I have no fear of missing out Don’t really have a home But I don’t need one I just need a room in yours
And as the world is turning And as the world is burning And as the people fearing What in the world is coming But you still stay here
And I cannot say where this is going But I am unafraid of not really knowing
I just won’t judge on how to feel And there’s no place to find a deeper meaning I just find my next meal
And while the crowd is betting And consciously forgetting And I am reminiscing But also deep regretting But I still stay here
I have no fear of missing out
Brave Face - Music and lyrics (c) 2017 Bayard Russell
How do you stay strong When change is taking so long How do you stay strong When the right is feeling so wrong So I put on my brave face Though my heart is in a bad place How do I stay strong When change is taking so long
What do you say We only listen to our own voice What do you choose We only care about our own choice I'm biting off my nails Watch in disbelief at our epic fails But take a look out there You're still here And I still care
What do you fight Our leaders pay us no mind What do you write We only read the headline I'm pulling out my hair Asking myself why the world's not fair But take a look out there I'm still here And you still care!
Change happens every day Nothing stays the same If we keep chipping away Nothing set in stone Just work it to the bone You are not Alone
Come on let's stay strong Change will come before long Come on let's stay strong Dancing to our fight songs Put on your brave face Your heart is in the right place Come on let's stay strong Change will come before long
Put on your brave face
Get Your Hands Up Music & Lyrics (c) 2015 Bayard Russell
CHORUS So get your hands up And put them down Come on just stand up Drop to the ground Let's all go crazy Let's all be sane Let's all be different And stay the same
VERSE You're giving me terrible advice You say something that sounds so sweet Then something not so nice I can't trust What you say You're certain what you think right now But you'll go the other way
PRE-CHORUS Say it's a new beginning But then you never seem to change Say you are leaving me But then you never go away
VERSE You're giving me terrible distress Say you just need one more thing Then say you need the rest I don't know What to give Anxiety is killing me this Is no way to live
BRIDGE Believe in yourself Gotta get way better! Money doesn't matter Gotta get that cheddar Plan for the future You only live once! Drugs are bad Legalize those blunts! I'm popping my pill packs for longevity And I'm Lowering my carbs But I need energy Eating nothing but protein ketosis for me I'm feeling so dizzy my mind's in a tizzy Tried homeopathy don't trust my therapy Don't know should I purchase an iMac or PC Or Netflix or YouTube or Hulu or TV Or crossfit or fitbit or Just accept my body Do I go to Twitter for Insta company Or Tinder for booty or Snapchat my Wii Or delete my Facebook protect privacy Or live in a hole in the ground eating berries Better yet, just maybe, why don't we, Sit down on the carpet slowly Watch the world unfold and gently close our eyes and just breathe freely