Porter Robinson: "Sad Machine" and its impact on "The Iron Horse" · 4:42pm Dec 28th, 2018
So, I'm going to see Porter Robinson live tonight in Houston! His song "Sad Machine" is probably one of the biggest early influences on The Iron Horse and its tone, so today I'd like to post about the song and how it defined Turing Test's voice as I hear it...
Early on in 2015, when I was planning out The Iron Horse, I wasn't sure what approach to take. I didn't want to just do another "Sweetie Bot" story (ala "Friendship is Witchcraft"), but I was thinking of doing something that was still mostly comedic. However, I felt like there was room to tell a deeper, more complex story that would realistically examine how the world of MLP would be affected if a robot suddenly dropped into their midst. I felt like I needed some kind of inspiration, and since music is one of my main influences and I listen to music a lot while I write, I thought I should try to find a song that served as a bit of a "theme song" for the story. While Daft Punk served as a major influence on chapter titles and potential arc themes, nothing stuck out to me as a song that would define the character of Turing Test (who at that point, didn't even have a name yet).
One arc I was thinking of at that time was the story that eventually became "Broken," the story about Turing Test getting trapped at the bottom of a canyon and facing her mortality. I thought about how profoundly sad that idea was and so I did a YouTube search for "sad robot" and then, when that didn't yield something that stuck, I searched the term "Sad Machine." And that's when I found it...
When the song was over, I was simply in shock. Somehow, that one song just encapsulated everything that felt right about the character. The vulnerability, the affection, the need for a friend, and even the voice of the character (played by the vocaloid Avanna, by the way) all just seemed right. The repeated cadence of "She depends on you" and "I'll depend on you" set the perfect tone for Turing as a vulnerable child under Twilight's care. To this day, when I imagine Turing Test's voice, she sounds like the robot in this song.
Thus, even though no chapter shares its title, "Sad Machine" is probably the unofficial theme song for The Iron Horse and definitely for Turing Test as a character.
Oh, and if you haven't heard Porter Robinson's album "Worlds" in its entirety, by the way, you should check it out if you enjoy electronic music at all. It's pretty great.
But anyway, since I'm talking about it, here is the full track below as well as some of my favorite remixes and covers of the song. Happy listening, and I'll see you guys in the New Year! 🎩
First, here's the full song, as opposed to the slightly shorter version from the music video:
Up next, here's the upbeat remix by Tut Tut Child that I used for the end credits of the story.
Want a little extra "sad" in your machine? This beautiful vocal cover by Didrick and Ember Island was on repeat when I wrote the scene where Turing Test dreams of life as an organic pony. Much liquid pride was shed.
No school like the old school! Legendary chiptune band Anamanaguchi used their usual 8-bit goodness for this remix.
Oddly enough, Greenfinger, my illustrator turned me on a bit more to Snail's House, so here's their chipper rendition!
Like something a bit more orchestral? Here's a sweeping semi-orchestral mix by Killabyte...
...followed by a quieter, strictly acoustic piano and flute piece by Seycara Orchestra.
Here's a unique mix from Poly Pines that's heavier on the drop.
Another remix that goes in a more drum and bass-heavy direction is this one by Astre:
I only recently discovered this piano cover on Spotify by Evan Chow and I absolutely love it. The simplest of the versions on this list, perhaps, but one of the most impressive. This guy needs more love!
Lastly, this mix by KLOUD just came out a few weeks ago. While not my personal favorite version, it's still pretty boss, and having a remix for a 2014 song released in 2018 shows the staying power of the song:
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this playlist of one of my favorite songs. I'll let you guys know how the Robinson concert goes and maybe post a video if I can get away with recording a bit. We'll see. 
P.S. Any other Houstonians attending the concert? If so, shoot me a PM, maybe we can hang for a bit! 
Hey, same here between my own story, Pony-Me and Porter Robinson's Shelter!
I also have an unending list of remixes that I have collected.
I love Porter Robinson
So just so I understand this correctly: Techquestria has invented Vocaloid? Neat.
Love it
Have a good time at the concert!
I was actually going to come down from Alabama and attend (I even bought my tickets early!), but things happened and I couldn't make it. Which sucks, because it would've been cool to meet you.
Also, I had no ideas there were so many remixes of Sad Machine.
4987709
Whaaaat?! Oh man, that would have been crazy.
It was an amazing show too. I'll try to post a video from it later!
4987719
I'm glad you had fun! And I'd love to see some videos.
This story is on my read later but this post has made me want to go read it. Music is one hell of a motivator for the imagination isn't it? One song can make you think of things and imagine things that just inspires you to create.
Revisiting my feed because of a stack overflow.
Oh the feels from this song!
Finally got back to this post and DANG I didn't realize there were THAT many versions! I only ever knew about the music video short version and the cover by Didrick/Ember Island. This is amazing and I love it.
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Yep, it surprised me as well when I started to dig deeper. It seems that some part of the essential quality of the song resonates with a lot of the people who listen to it. I think Porter, despite his recognition, deserves even more respect for taking a genre mostly known for head-nodding club tunes and turning them into such emotionally striking songs like "Sad Machine." (Though that Didrick/Ember Island cover is truly something special.)
By the way, if you haven't seen it, I put up a post detailing my experience at the Porter Robinson concert at the tail end of 2018. You can view it here.