The Floppotron (the musical instrument, not the Disney sequel)

January 24, 2018 12:44 AM

Africa by Toto - - the latest classic song to be performed on the Floppotron, a musical instrument, nay entire orchestra, cobbled together by Polish musician and engineer Paweł Zadrożniak from 64 floppy drives, 8 hard drives, and 2 scanners.

Here is a short YT summary of the history of the Floppotron, Zadrożniak's website describing the construction of the Floppotron, and the entire back catalog of songs performed on the Floppotron so far.

...and here are shortcuts to some of the Floppotron's greatest hits:

Take On Me
Sweet Dreams
Owner of a Lonely Heart
The Phantom of the Opera
Enter Sandman
Seven Nation Army
We Built This City
Rasputin
Mr. Blue Sky
Born To Be Wild
Despacito
All Star
Sweet Home Alabama
Stayin' Alive
Video Killed the Radio Star
Feel Good Inc.
All I Want for Christmas is You
Last Christmas
What is Love
Running in the 90's
Highway to Hell
Sail
Ghostbusters
Sandstorm
Game of Thrones
Never Gonna Give You Up
The Show Must Go On
Smells Like Teen Spirit

posted by fairmettle (24 comments total)

The Floppotron is a national treasure.

Granted not OUR nation, but a national treasure nonetheless.
posted by Samizdata at 12:47 AM on January 24, 2018 [9 favorites]

Also, Staying Alive, but no better example of computer music than Still Alive. How did you neglect that? Even by JoCo, a past Metafilter fave.

I am disappoint!
posted by Samizdata at 12:58 AM on January 24, 2018

Also, Steve Almond on Toto's Africa.

(Also, a personal revelation - I once saw Toto perform this live. (At Disneyland. With a cute girl I met on the monorail.)
posted by Samizdata at 1:19 AM on January 24, 2018 [5 favorites]

After Flopotron, if I were Kraftwerk, I'd pack it in and just go unplugged acoustic folk music with ukulele and kazooos, 'cause, dude, what's the point?
posted by zaixfeep at 2:14 AM on January 24, 2018

ok it is time again for that pup dancing to totos africa it is time
posted by zachlipton at 2:49 AM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Star Wars Imperial March on a dot matrix printer.

Toto - Africa metal cover by Leo Maracchioli.
posted by adept256 at 3:07 AM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

> adept256:
"Star Wars Imperial March on a dot matrix printer.

Toto - Africa metal cover by Leo Maracchioli."

Cheers! That led to several of his covers (metal cover rabbithole) including his for Everything is Awesome, which was at least a hoot and a half, if not two hoots.

(Off topic, but so no one gets mad, here's that cover.)
posted by Samizdata at 3:38 AM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

I guess it loads down in Africa.
posted by leotrotsky at 3:56 AM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think it should be playing "Too Much Time on My Hands".
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 4:07 AM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Re: Steve Almond: Toto, Defended
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:35 AM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think it should be playing "Too Much Time on My Hands".

Don't yuk on their yum.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:08 AM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

if I were Kraftwerk, I'd pack it in and just go unplugged acoustic folk music with ukulele and kazooos

If you haven't heard their pre-synthesizer material, you're not too far off...

(No "Computer World"?)
posted by neckro23 at 7:25 AM on January 24, 2018

Yeah, Peter Schickele is getting older, but it's good to see that his legacy will be carried forward after he's gone.
posted by Naberius at 7:34 AM on January 24, 2018

Peter Schickele

The Ill-Tempered, uhhh, obsolete computer hardware, I guess

Great selection of tunes!
posted by Existential Dread at 9:02 AM on January 24, 2018

Hmm... I play Africa on the ukulele, but never considered kazoo for it. Seems a natural for the intro.

There is a long history of this kind of thing. I was told there was a program to play The Star Spangled Banner on an IBM 360, at least on the printer and the disc drives. Maybe other machines.
The printer would raise the cover and print out a picture of the US flag while this was going on.
Never saw proof of this, but I have heard tunes played on just the 1403.
posted by MtDewd at 11:02 AM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Toto's Africa on a Harpejji
posted by peeedro at 2:44 PM on January 24, 2018

Interesting factoid - Steve Porcaro wrote the demo for this song while he was working on Africa and it was unintentionally sent off on the flip side of a demo tape for Quincy Jones. Quincy flipped the tape.
posted by lagomorphius at 4:44 PM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Perpetuum Jazzile, a capella group, sing Africa I like the rain effect.
posted by freethefeet at 4:56 PM on January 24, 2018

We need a rendition of the "Chariots of Fire" theme song, the world is incomplete without it
posted by Napoleonic Terrier at 6:58 PM on January 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

> I_Love_Bananas:
"Re: Steve Almond: Toto, Defended"

You know, he was ragging on Africa, not on Toto as an entity (or, in toto, if I am allowed). There are some bands I very deeply love and can listen to a nauseating amount of times. Doesn't mean I have to love ALL their songs (I generally don't.)

(Seriously, when he was reading the lyrics, which I later independently confirmed because frankly, I was only ever able to pretty much understand about a quarter of, they struck me as pretty cringe-worthy.)
posted by Samizdata at 2:15 AM on January 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

(And that 25% does NOT include doos or wahs.)
posted by Samizdata at 2:18 AM on January 25, 2018

Also, Staying Alive, but no better example of computer music than Still Alive. How did you neglect that? Even by JoCo, a past Metafilter fave.

I am disappoint!

I purposefully left it off my list of links because I think it is the worst of the adaptations on the Floppotron - - so bad, that I feel it does a disservice to the charmingly bittersweet original.
posted by fairmettle at 1:41 AM on January 26, 2018

> fairmettle:
"Also, Staying Alive, but no better example of computer music than Still Alive. How did you neglect that? Even by JoCo, a past Metafilter fave.

I am disappoint!

I purposefully left it off my list of links because I think it is the worst of the adaptations on the Floppotron - - so bad, that I feel it does a disservice to the charmingly bittersweet original."

Fair enough, fair enough. I'll go do another round of testing in contrition.
posted by Samizdata at 12:15 PM on January 26, 2018

BTW, Toto's 'Africa': The Oral History of '80s Pop's Most-Spoofed Megahit
posted by fairmettle at 4:00 AM on February 6, 2018