Spiritual Machines

The title of Our Lady Peace's first concept album. It's also unusual because it was written and recorded in less than a year. The title is a reference to Ray Kurzweil's book The Age Of Spiritual Machines - When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence about an isolated future with machines affecting what it means to be alive. Guitarist Mike Turner read it, then showed it to Raine Maida, and after that they got Kurzweil to get involved.

Pearl Jam's Matt Cameron filled in for normal OLP drummer Jeremy Taggart (Josh Freese of A Perfect Circle was the backup if Cameron couldn't make it) for two songs after Taggart received a leg injury after being assaulted.

The tracklisting is as follows:

1) "Right Behind You (Mafia)"

2) "In Repair"

3) "Life"

4) "Middle Of Yesterday"

5) "Are You Sad"

6) "Made To Heal"

7) "Everyone's A Junkie"

8) "All My Friends"

9) "If You Believe"

10) "The Wonderful Future"

The best exemplification of the influence of The Age Of Spiritual Machines in the album by Our Lady Peace would have to be the hidden track, which I believe is called Kurzweil and Molly. The song is merely a narrative with ambient accompaniment. The lyrics are a conversation between Raymond Kurzweil, the author of the source of inspiration, and Molly, an advanced computer(?) from the year 2099. The conversation implies a strange future where music is incredibly advanced, written for humans with bodmods who can appreciate it at a degree unimaginable.

See the song, Kurzweil And Molly.