Synopsis

An elderly inventor builds a strange robot with a glowing Lite-Brite face and a stereo at its core. After the machine is taken into the streets of Houston, it discovers that its real purpose is making people dance. The robot moves from lonely wandering to wild house parties, poolside celebrations, and increasingly destructive excess. When its newfound celebrity ends in chaos, the battered sound-system creature returns to the person who made it, completing a darkly comic cycle of creation, success, collapse, and homecoming.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was an unofficial production made by Houston-based Funwunce Productions and filmed on location in Houston in 2010. Local landmarks, including the downtown skyline and light rail system, appear throughout the piece.

• The concept began as a short film about a robot representing the rise and fall of human life. It developed into the story of a "party robot" that climbs through the nightlife scene before returning home.

• The robot was deliberately reimagined as a sound system, creating a visual connection to the name LCD Soundsystem.

• The costume was completed just before filming, with no rehearsal period. The first shooting day also took place in a warehouse without air conditioning.

• The robot's illuminated face was made from a Lite-Brite powered at first by a car battery carried in a backpack. Because the performer could not see properly inside the suit, crew members had to call out directions.

• Technical problems led to improvised solutions. The car battery was replaced with smaller lights, while tied-together pooper-scooper handles helped produce the robot's distinctive rhythmic walk.

• The production used friends, family members, and Houston locals in front of and behind the camera, giving the video a deliberately homemade, community-made character.

• After appearing online, the video gained attention from music blogs and was selected as Vimeo's "Video of the Week."