I can't believe I am the first to tackle this song as this might be Neil's most timely statement and most brilliant song. A dating service for robots is the surface meaning, but I believe at the root is a comment on how superficial our search for a soulmate is. We have our checklist of what we look for (blond, blue eyes, 110 pounds) and when the person is found that fulfills it we call it love, or at least lust, and sample and hold them happily because our list has been satisfied. In that sense we are only robots responding to "blank + blank = perfect partner" in a souless way without consideration for the surprises and intangables that surely go with any higher meaning of love. Think of the popularity of sites like E-harmony and the purely sex related ones. Or just the "sample and hold" mentality of today's hook-up culture. This song well predated all of that.
I can't believe I am the first to tackle this song as this might be Neil's most timely statement and most brilliant song. A dating service for robots is the surface meaning, but I believe at the root is a comment on how superficial our search for a soulmate is. We have our checklist of what we look for (blond, blue eyes, 110 pounds) and when the person is found that fulfills it we call it love, or at least lust, and sample and hold them happily because our list has been satisfied. In that sense we are only robots responding to "blank + blank = perfect partner" in a souless way without consideration for the surprises and intangables that surely go with any higher meaning of love. Think of the popularity of sites like E-harmony and the purely sex related ones. Or just the "sample and hold" mentality of today's hook-up culture. This song well predated all of that.
@finslaw, I think you did a great job analyzing the lyrics. This is certainly one of Neil's more prophetic moments.
@finslaw, I think you did a great job analyzing the lyrics. This is certainly one of Neil's more prophetic moments.