Man is dead, Foucault famously said. But in the absence of man, what will become of the robots? Who will attend to and articulate their existential crisis? In our age of fragmented identity politics, it is perhaps surprising that no one has thought to ask the robots themselves. Until now.

No They Do, the West Coast's premier roboethnography concern, has recently released what is sure to be a classic in the annals of robot culture: "When Robots Rule the World," a collection of songs gathered from the robot communities of North America.

In the liner notes, No They Do explains:

Few were aware of these remnants of our future; those who were had only questions: did they hate us, envy us, disdain us? Did they see the toaster as an appliance or as a brother? Had they inherited our lust for destruction, or did they seethe with the righteous anger of the oppressed?

Posing as the robot XJ3, No They Do lived undercover in robot and cyborg hamlets, listening to the stories the inhabitants told, and the songs they sang to and about each other, and about the humans they encountered. The risks were huge - it would have been so easy to be caught sweating, or breathing - but the rewards equally so. The songs of robots are surprisingly sad. Their emerging culture is not at all what we expected. We have barely scratched its surface.

The robot songs curated by No They Do can be heard at the official No They Do website, at CD Baby, in iTunes, and--whether you realize it or not--in your heart. Please support this important project by ordering a Compact Disc, to be delivered by U.S. mail to your meatspace domicile.