Is the road to social robots a Boulevard of Broken Dreams?*

Two posts in one!!!

So, I realized it's been a while since I posted any new songs for practicing. I was practicing Boulevard of Broken Dreams a few days ago when it reminded me of the book I'm reading for an English paper. In the first section of "Alone Together", Turkle talks a lot about sociable robots and what they offer, but also why they seem so appealing. She talks about their highlights, but also their dark sides. Through her research, she has come to the idea that what sociable robots really do is make up for the vulnerabilities we feel as humans-- and in the end, they keep us from truly learning how to relate to and interact with each other.

Here are just a few examples, if you're looking for a reference point:
- Cog
- Kismet
- Leonardo
- Domo

So, the thing that got me relating it to the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was Turkle's point that perhaps we are expecting far too much out of these robots; that when they don't perform up to par, we tend to dumb ourselves down, stooping to what we know the robot can accomplish, in order to make it appear as though it meets our needs. And meanwhile, we're totting around the idea that robots will eventually replace us in caring for children and the elderly. As the children she's interviewed have asked: "Don't we have people for those jobs?"

Anyway, on that note, here's a new song for you to practice. Excuse the fact that this song is very much at the low end of my range. As per usual, the tab can be found below.

(Em,G,D,A)2x Capo 1

 I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

(Em,G,D,A)
Em                              G  
  I walk this empty street
D                      A                        Em     
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
                    G   
Where the city sleeps
          D                   A                         Em
and I'm the only one and I walk alone

G,D        A                    Em
        I walk alone, I walk alone
G,D           A
I walk alone, I walk a...

[Chorus] (Solo is the same)
C    G            D             Em              
  My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
  My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
  Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
C      G      B
  'Til then I walk alone

Em      G      D      A     Em
  Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,
      G      D      A  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah
Em            G       
  I'm walking down the line
D               A               Em
That divides me somewhere in my mind
       G 
On the border line
D               A             Em 
Of the edge and where I walk alone

Em,G,D,A,

Em       G           
  Read between the lines
D                    A            Em
What's fucked up and everything's alright
         G         
Check my vital signs
   D              A                 Em
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

G,D
       A
I walk alone
        Em
I walk alone

G,D
       A
I walk alone
      
I walk a...

[Chorus]

C    G            D             Em
  My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
C    G       D                Em        
  My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
C     G       D                Em
  Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
C      G      B
  'Til then I walk alone
Em      G      D      A     Em
  Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah
      G     D
Ah-ah, Ah-ah
       A
I walk alone
           
I walk a...

Solo (C,G,D,Em)3x
     (C,G,B)
Em            G          
  I walk this empty street
D           A              Em
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
          G     
Where the city sleeps
    D            A
And I'm the only one and I walk a...

(Repeat chords for chorus)

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone...


-Kal