As robots become increasingly useful, we've started to see them being deployed in the military arena. Today in Iraq, the first ever squadron of robot warriors are making combat safer for human soldiers in situations that portend an ambush or booby-trap. While one of these machines may look more like a small stripped-down tank than a Terminator or ED-209, it can be just as lethal. I'm reminded of the sentry gun scene from the Director's cut of Aliens. Together with the surveillance and tactical capabilities of pilotless drones, today's non-human armed machines have ushered in an era of remote control warfare. Controlling these killbots would be a first-person shooter aficionado's dream, for they are no mere killing-simulators; This kind of electronic warfare is the real deal.

Cursor Miner - War Machine
Anthony Rother - Destroy Him My Robots
Add N to (X) - Revenge of the Black Regent [with Allison Goldfrapp leading the charge]

You gotta love cover versions. Sure it might be the lazy way to express one's musical creativity, but it's also a surefire way for a band to get noticed [Case in point: Soft Cell's biggest hit, Tainted Love, was a cover of Gloria Jones' 1964 hit]. The practice continues to this day, with many artists offering up their own interpretations of their influence's work. One of my favorite current acts, Nouvelle Vague, is basically a Bossa Nova/Jazz/Sixties pop cover band of 70s and 80s new wave and punk hits. [By the way, they've got a new album coming out. Go buy it.]