"Are 'Friends' Electric?" (Gary Numan & Tubeway Army)

When Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army first got together, they were a guitar-driven band.  In fact, they even scored a recording contract on the basis of being "punk-crossover."  But then, quite serendipitously, Numan stumbled upon a mini-Moog synthesizer that another artist had left in the recording studio where they were cutting their first album.  As he told The Guardian in February 2014, the synth made him reevaluate the band's entire approach.
"When I turned (the mini-Moog) on, the sound blew me away.  In that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to do."
The band's record label, however, wasn't thrilled.  It was quite reluctant to back Numan's new musical direction.  That is, until "Are 'Friends' Electric?" from their second album, Replicas (1979), hit #1 on the UK music charts within a month of release.
Although, compared to Numan's hit song "Cars," "Are 'Friends' Electric?"  is practically unknown here in the US.  I first heard it on alt rock radio late at night in Fall 2001 while living in Washington, DC, and was hooked immediately.  Somehow, its Orwellian vision of a android-dominated future didn't seem so far-fetched in light of events at the time.  In fact, it still seems eerily (Siri-ly?) feasible.
Specifically, the song centers around a lonely, isolated man who hires an android sex worker, or "friend" (hence the quotes in the song title), for the evening.  Long story short, the guy is seeking affection and a true connection, but, when the evening is done, he realizes the android is incapable of feeling any kind of real emotion, leaving him feeling even more empty.
What I love about this song (and "Cars," too, for that matter) is the DIY feel and mix of analog and digital: real, live drums and real, live bass, juxtaposed with buzzing, almost frigid, synthesizers.  Plus, there are bright bursts of distorted guitar on each bridge, which keep the song rooted in the realm of punk.  (I kind of imagine this is what The Velvet Underground would have sounded like had they formed in 1976 instead of 1964.)