History UncannyValley / Music

[[quoteright:350:[[Music/{{Kraftwerk}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/we_are_the_robots.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"We are the Robots."'']]

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!!Examples

* David Guetta's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVw7eJ0vGfM Turn Me On]]". It contains the trifecta of UncannyValley nightmares, including half formed, yet still animated, robots (a la [[Film/AIArtificialIntelligence AI]]), a terrifying amount of ConspicuousCGI, and truly abominable [[UncannyValleyMakeup doll-faced humans]]. Most likely one of the most terrifying music videos in existence.

* In 1986. BBC Two Released A Stop Motion Music Video Of Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite Song Originally From 1957 the Claymated Jackie Is So Unusual. Due to His Puffy And Pronouced Face. And The Fact That he Morphs Into various things. The End Result Is Very [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CTs8a7dVa0 Unerving]]

In 1986. BBC Two Released A Stop Motion Music Video Of Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite Song Originally From 1957 the Claymated Jackie Is So Unusual. Due to His Puffy And Pronouced Face. And The Fact That he Morphs Into various things. The End Result Is Very [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CTs8a7dVa0 Unerving]]

** As if that wasn't enough, they made Hatsune Miku, the most popular Vocaloid, into a real-life realistic robot that doesn't even look like her (it's on the web somewhere). This is just ''overkill''.

** The music video for "Tranz" starts out innocently enough, but as it goes on, it starts to feel... off. The usually stoic Russel is wearing a big, happy grin, GenkiGirl Noodle is unusually subdued, and 2D? His face goes from emotionless to ''annoyed'', which is quite a shift after his happy behavior in "Humility". In the end of the video, we get treated to some DerangedAnimation from the minds behind "WebOriginal/Don'tHugMeI'mScared", featuring a floppy computer-animated 2D swallowing himself, a lumpy Claymation 2D head with snot coming out of his nose, and finally, 2D ''melting''. It's creepy enough on its own, but when you remember that 2D is implied to either be possessed or have had his soul harvested...

** The music video for "Tranz" starts out innocently enough, but as it goes on, it starts to feel... off. The usually stoic Russel is wearing a big, happy grin, GenkiGirl Noodle is unusually subdued, and 2D? His face goes from emotionless to ''annoyed'', which is quite a shift after his happy behavior in "Humility". In the end of the video, we get treated to some DerangedAnimation from the minds behind "WebOriginal/DontHugMeImScared", featuring a floppy computer-animated 2D swallowing himself, a lumpy Claymation 2D head with snot coming out of his nose, and finally, 2D ''melting''. It's creepy enough on its own, but when you remember that 2D is implied to either be possessed or have had his soul harvested...

* The genre of "bubblegum bass" feeds off of this trope. All of the over-repetitiveness of some phrases, bright poppy colors and a background whine in some songs make you feel just a little off. Not to mention the vocals being pitched just a little higher than usual and the utter vapidity of some songs. A proper example of this trope and a big part of the genre, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc1H3BaMNLg GFOTY]] really lives up to this, or Lipgloss Twins who just don't feel right [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ43nlWmoeA in this song]] are true to this trope.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8GQ91M4pmk This music video]] by Butterfly for the Taiwanese online game ''Fairyland 2'' does an unsettling method in deforming their live action members to the game's scenes. Just the RogerRabbitEffect in reverse plus the creepy deformations in conjunction with the game's cartoony characters and mediocre CG effects.

* 2D of Music/{{Gorillaz}} is described in-universe as a {{Bishonen}} type, but he's decidedly creepy. His arms and legs are just slightly too long for his movements to look natural. According to the backstory he has eight-ball fractures in both eyes, rendering them totally black, but if you don't know this it looks like he has no eyes at all, and his name doesn't help - he was nicknamed 2D, short for "Two Dents", after he suffered the two car accidents which [[EyeScream wrecked his eyes]]. Add to this his missing two front teeth, and his smile is pure horror, made worse by the fact that he ''is'' still kinda cute. It's particularly noticeable in the videos for "Feel Good Inc" and "Dirty Harry".

* The fully-{{Inten|dedAudienceReaction}}tional look for the music video of "[[https://youtu.be/MKk1u5RMTn4?list=PLjACqN5i5sDWIIpg-5EB4WcitMMqnXhFP Carnival of Rust]]" by Music/PoetsOfTheFall, revolving around a CircusOfFear carnival and its surreal, menacing denizens.

* Music/FKATwigs effectively applies this to her music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFtMl-uipA8 Water Me]].It displays FKA twigs with her face edited to have eyes slightly too large and too close to the nose and lips, while her head ticks side to side to the beat of the song, quite jarringly. She also displays this in her other works, including a commercial for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99YyWeqHaBo Google Glasses]].

* The faces and almost anything on Music/AphexTwin's [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs music videos]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P3Wc-37pC4 Just]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Az_7U0-cK0 watch]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tatccHVfuhA for]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3far9oHZOsI yourself]].

* Music/PuffyAmiYumi's video for "Hataraku Otoko" (the theme song of ''Manga/HatarakiMan''). We get close ups of lips and backs of heads, but TheReveal comes in at 1:10 and scares you half to death. You can go [[http://www.puffyamiyumiworld.com/songs/hatarkuotoko.html here]] to see some pictures from the video.

* The band member costumes in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDfwUJzYQg the music video]] for Wyona's Big Brown Beaver by Music/{{Primus}}. They were so cumbersome that they had to mime the song at half its original speed to get the performance down correctly.

* Music/{{Epica}} embraced this trope like it's own for "Requiem For The Indifferent"

* The extensive use of cheap Halloween masks in Music/{{Devo}}'s early ouevre apply, notably Booji Boy.

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LgcDpTH47g Supermassive Black Hole]]" music video for the band {{Music/Muse}}, has people with digitally projected faces. You can just imagine...

* Music/{{Mastodon}}'s instrumental "Pendulous Skin" is a strange musical example. A causal listener would assume that the song features Troy Sanders and Brent Hinds {{scatting}} over the song's instrumental backing. However, the "vocal" sounds are apparently entirely synthesized, and there are no vocals on the song. The resulting product sounds uncannily like vocals, but a listener will strain to understand what is being said - because, of course, nothing is being said. "Bladecatcher", another instrumental with synthesized effects that sound like vocals, also gets this to some extent, although the "vocal" sounds are much stranger on this one, more resembling the work of a band like Music/MeltBanana.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QfNvVbdrhg video]] for the latest Music/FloRida[=/=]Music/NellyFurtado cash in on that film {{G-Force}}. Even though the computer generated Furtado has obviously been animated using motion-capture, you can't help be creeped out by her movements. Plus the real-life Flo Rida himself has some kind of visual effect on him that makes his skin look plasticy and strange.

* The music video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflDc7PUT2g Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy]]" by Big & Rich features a creepy-looking Asian "mannequin" that ISN'T a mannequin. Just...the eyes...

* PuffyAmiYumi's video for "Hataraku Otoko" (the theme song of ''Manga/HatarakiMan''). We get close ups of lips and backs of heads, but TheReveal comes in at 1:10 and scares you half to death. You can go [[http://www.puffyamiyumiworld.com/songs/hatarkuotoko.html here]] to see some pictures from the video.

** Music/{{Sophie}}, one of the genre's popularizers (if not [[TropeMakers originator]]) is a master at this, taking a step further by designing all her sounds from scratch, designing bizarre, sounds comparable to rubber/plastic/elastic using synthesizers and integrating them in her often tracks. The end results resemble songs inspired by hyper-polished 2000's-era bubblegum pop, but as if entirely created by "hyperkinetic" aliens.

* The genre of Bubble Gum Bass feeds off of this trope. All of the over-repetitiveness of some phrases, bright poppy colors and a background whine in some songs make you feel just a little off. Not to mention the vocals being pitched just a little higher than usual and the utter vapidity of some songs. A proper example of this trope and a big part of the genre, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc1H3BaMNLg GFOTY]] really lives up to this, or Lipgloss Twins who just don't feel right [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ43nlWmoeA in this song]] are true to this trope.

* 2D of Music/{{Gorillaz}} is described in-universe as a {{Bishonen}} type, but he's decidedly creepy. His arms and legs are just slightly too long for his movements to look natural. According to the backstory he has eight-ball fractures in both eyes, rendering them totally black, but if you don't know this it looks like he has no eyes at all, and his name doesn't help - he was nicknamed 2D, short for "Two Dents", after he suffered the two car accidents which [[EyeScream wrecked his eyes]]. Add to this his missing two front teeth, and his smile is pure horror, made worse by the fact that he ''is'' still [[FetishFuel kinda cute]]. It's particularly noticeable in the videos for "Feel Good Inc" and "Dirty Harry".

* The cover of South African rap duo Music/DieAntwoord 's ''Ten$ion'' album features Yolandi Visser done up like some black-eyed, cannibalistic angel.

* Robo{{Music/LouReed}} in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiyX70ZqsVQ "No Money Down"]]. [[spoiler: Pulling off the flesh ''almost'' reduces the effect.]]

** Case in point: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXa9tXcMhXQ "The Robots"]]. German version [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHEoMpMvz7A here]].
** It's actually pretty impressive with their ability to stand that still during a performance.

* Just about any {{Vocaloid}} song that doesn't have to do with happiness and ice cream involves a mix of this trope with MindScrew (see ''Wide Knowledge of Late, Madness''; ''Alice Human Sacrifice''; and ''Dark Woods Circus'' for more details).

** {{Vocaloid}} songs in general, regardless of the content, are ''just'' robotic and twangy enough to fall into the Uncanny Valley. For some songs, the voice sounds perfectly human (or close enough to be out of the valley), but then there is just that one note where the creator didn't ''quite'' tune the voice right...

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVV4h38wnMI This video]] from TheWiggles. Those puppets are incredibly unsettling, especially with those dead, crystalline eyes.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVV4h38wnMI This video]] from TheWiggles. Those puppets are incredibly unsettling, specially with those dead, crystalline eyes.

* The song [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiKj0Z_Xnjc Papaoutai]] (a phonetic rendering of "Papa, où t'es?" or "Daddy, where are you?" in French) by Rwandan/Belgian singer Stromae is based on his real-life experience of having lost his father in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, [[LyricalDissonance although it is obscured by a catchy EDM beat]]. In the video, a young boy representing Stromae runs around his neighborhood looking for his father, but all he finds is a StepfordSmiler DemonicDummy. That's creepy enough, but it becomes even creepier when one realizes that the "dummy" is ''actually Stromae himself'' wearing makeup that makes him look eerily like an [[Series/DoctorWho Auton]]. Hard to tell whether this is more NightmareFuel or TearJerker.
** Taken Main/UpToEleven in this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3p43-Pxd6k video.]]

** ESPECIALLY "Music/BadRomance" and "Alejandro", in which she uses computer effects to enlarge and shrink her eyes. It's really unsettling to see her with [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/2/4/9/36249.jpg these huge bug eyes]] in one video, and these squinted tiny ones in another.