Lucy & Marie met Victoria, in August 2005, whilst at Leeds University & the trio spontaneously bonded, over a mutual love for The Bangles, Blondie, The Killers, Billy Idol, Gang of Four, The Slits & The Rapture.
They released four singles: 'The Treatment' (High Voltage) 'City Place' (Playlouder) 'Automatic' (Fierce Panda) and 'You're Out' (679).
For both 'The Treatment' and ‘Automatic’ Dead Disco teamed up with producer du jour James Ford. The result sounds like an unlikely, but genial, meeting between Ladytron and Girls Aloud (with added guitars), making ‘Automatic’ an incredibly infectious slice of pop perfection.
‘Automatic’ has an equally contagious video (directed by Saam Farahmand - the guy responsible for the Klaxons’ ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ and ‘Atlantis to Interzone’ Videos) that features the girls stylistically thrashing about inside a revolving cube.
Dead Disco disbanded in December 2008 because of unknown causes (you can read here). After this, the girls concentrated on their own projects: Victoria Hesketh on Little Boots, Lucy Catherwood and Marie France on Video Villain.
www.myspace.com/deaddiscohq
AUTOMATIC
Dead Disco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm utterly at your whim all of my defenses down
Your camera looks through me with it's X-ray visions
And all systems run aground
All I can manage to push from my lips
Is a stream of absurdities
Every word I intended to speak
No way to control it, it's totally automatic
Whenever you're around
I'm walking blindfolded, completely automatic
All of my systems are down, down, down, down
Automatic, automatic
What is this madness that makes my motor run
My legs too weak to stand
I go from sadness to exhilaration
Like a robot at your command
My hands perspire and shake like a leaf
Up and down goes my temperature
I summon doctors to get some relief
But they tell me there is no cure, they tell me
No way to control it, it's totally automatic
Whenever you're around
I'm walking blindfolded, completely automatic
All of my systems are down, down, down, down
Automatic, automatic, automatic, automatic
Look what you're doin' to me
I'm utterly at your whim all of my defenses down
Your camera looks through me with it's X-ray visions
And all systems run aground
All I can manage to push from my lips
Is a stream of absurdities
Every word I intended to speak
Winds up locked in the circuity
No way to control it, it's totally automatic
Whenever you're around
I'm walking blindfolded, completely automatic
All of my systems are down, down, down, down
No way to control it, it's totally automatic
Whenever you're around
The lyrics to Dead Disco's song "Automatic" depict a person who is completely taken over by another person's presence. The singer describes themselves as being utterly at the whim of the other person, with all of their defenses down. The other person's presence is described as having a kind of X-ray vision that looks through the singer, leaving all systems in their body to run aground. The singer is so overwhelmed by the other person's power that they can only manage to speak in a "stream of absurdities," with every intended word getting lost in the "circuity" of their mind.
The metaphorical language used throughout the song compares the singer's experience to that of a machine or robot. They describe their "motor run[ning]" and their legs being "too weak to stand." They also confess to being completely "blindfolded" in the presence of the other person, with all of their systems breaking down. The chorus repeats the word "automatic" as a way of emphasizing the loss of control that the singer feels in the other person's presence.
Overall, the lyrics to "Automatic" are a powerful depiction of the experience of being overwhelmed by another's presence. The metaphorical language used throughout the song reinforces this sense of being at the mercy of something outside of one's own control.
Line by Line Meaning
Look what you're doin' to me
The singer is being affected by the person they are addressing in the song.
I'm utterly at your whim all of my defenses down
The singer is completely under the control of the person they are addressing in the song, with no ability to resist or defend themselves.
Your camera looks through me with it's X-ray visions
The person the singer is addressing seems to have the ability to see right through them, leaving them feeling exposed and vulnerable.
And all systems run aground
The singer feels like they are falling apart and unable to function properly when around the person they are addressing.
All I can manage to push from my lips
Despite the intensity of their emotions, the singer can only vocalize a string of nonsense.
Is a stream of absurdities
The words the singer speaks are nonsensical and irrational.
Every word I intended to speak
The singer has a desired message to convey, but is unable to communicate it properly.
Winds up locked in the circuity
The message the singer wants to express gets trapped in their mind and is unable to be articulated.
No way to control it, it's totally automatic
The singer has no power to prevent the strong feelings of attraction they have toward the person they are addressing. It is an automatic response.
Whenever you're around
The singer's automatic response is triggered whenever they are in proximity to the person they are addressing in the song.
I'm walking blindfolded, completely automatic
The singer is metaphorically in the dark and has no control over their actions when they are around the person they are addressing.
All of my systems are down, down, down, down
The singer loses all sense of control and functionality when they are around the person they are addressing. Their emotions are overpowering.
What is this madness that makes my motor run
The singer is confused and overwhelmed by the intensity of their emotions, which manifest themselves physically as sensations that they cannot control.
My legs too weak to stand
The singer's physical weakness is indicative of the mental and emotional control the person they are addressing has over them.
I go from sadness to exhilaration
The singer experiences extreme emotional fluctuations when around the person they are addressing, from feelings of sadness to excitement.
Like a robot at your command
The person the singer is addressing has total control over them, as if they were a robot under their command.
My hands perspire and shake like a leaf
Physical symptoms of the singer's emotional response include sweaty palms and shaking hands.
Up and down goes my temperature
The singer's body temperature fluctuates in response to their intense emotions.
I summon doctors to get some relief
The singer seeks medical intervention to try and alleviate their physical and emotional symptoms.
But they tell me there is no cure, they tell me
Despite seeking medical help, the singer is told that there is nothing that can be done to cure their emotional response to the person they are addressing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Brock Patrick Walsh, Mark Goldenberg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Damon Webb
id like to thank everyone involved in making this happen
belladonna2007
Personally this band doesn't sound "emo" to me, they remind me of garbage, dragonette, and metric, techno pop rock, great stuff!
Ismael Ogando
this song takes me back to my university days <3
MechaGojira00
Very nice song. I specially enjoyed the bass line, with a little of Joy Divison and a tiny bit of The Cure. Victoria's voice (aka Little Boots) is quite good, but definitely it has improved ever since. I'm expecting to listening if some of these punk influences make their way up to Little Boot's music, that'd be very interesting a thing to listen.
James Mint
Its makes my heart more strong and put the fuel in my chest
Drewski217
I think its nice that both nw projects are finding success. I wish they could've reconciled their different directions because who knows where they'd have gone or what music we'd have had. but considering the vastly different styles of both projects, it's no surprise they wanted to go different directions and broke up because of it. I just hope there's no bad blood.
pathud
I actually had the chance to see them live in London a few years ago and they sounded very good. Messy, for sure, but in a good way. Shame!!!!
c.v
<3 Love it =) They have a veritable talent
Arty Lee
I like the sound of this band.
adam2011
still brilliant! i keep listening to it over and over!