"it's such a thrill to add a filter, lo-fi, lo-fi"
December 5, 2012 9:22 AM Subscribe
Look At This Instagram (Nickelback parody) (video, ~3 min.)
(I can't actually hate on photos of glasses on cats, though. Everything else on Instagram may be overdone, but I will never get tired of pictures of cats in pretty much any configuration.)
posted by koeselitz at 9:28 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 9:28 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Whenever you set out to make a song parody, you should always ask yourself: Will this song parody be more annoying than the thing it's making fun of?
posted by Sys Rq at 9:29 AM on December 5, 2012 [13 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 9:29 AM on December 5, 2012 [13 favorites]
Much much better than this had to be.
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:30 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by 2bucksplus at 9:30 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
It was great, but not funny. It was factual, not comedic in any way I could tell. Are we certain this isn't an actual instagram usage video?
posted by Keith Talent at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Keith Talent at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Here are some configurations of cats.
posted by beryllium at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by beryllium at 9:31 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
This pretty much explains why I don't have an Instagram account.
posted by COD at 9:35 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by COD at 9:35 AM on December 5, 2012
I'm kind of a fan of anything that encourages people to take photographs and start thinking about the world in photographic terms. Like if my mom is walking down the street and sees the light hitting something a certain way and thinks "that'd make a great Instagram" and then decides what angle it would look best from given a square format, I think that's fantastic.
posted by nathancaswell at 9:38 AM on December 5, 2012 [26 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 9:38 AM on December 5, 2012 [26 favorites]
Instagram is simply a visual journal. What some people deem 'postable' others consider mundane and redundant. It's not Instagram's fault if what people publish on there is considered lame by others, just like it isn't the screwdriver's fault that a house collapses. You don't have to follow the people you don't enjoy seeing photos from, either. FWIW, I see a lot of good photography there.
AH well.
posted by jinkoh at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2012 [9 favorites]
AH well.
posted by jinkoh at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2012 [9 favorites]
I saw this a few days ago, and have not posted a photo online since... well, just two, but they were very, very good.
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 AM on December 5, 2012
I love instagram and hate Nickelback but this parody is terrific!
posted by blaneyphoto at 9:42 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by blaneyphoto at 9:42 AM on December 5, 2012
There is only one "Photograph" parody you'll ever need, and it's LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAAAPH.
posted by Rory Marinich at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2012 [14 favorites]
posted by Rory Marinich at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2012 [14 favorites]
Wait wait wait wait wait a minute here. I thought we had all agreed that Nickelback sucks. If you're going to do a song parody using Nickelback music, shouldn't it be about how Nickelback sucks, kind of Like Weird Al did with "It's Still Billy Joel to Me"?
posted by Cookiebastard at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by Cookiebastard at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2012
Also, X-pro II is clearly the best filter.
posted by nathancaswell at 9:53 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by nathancaswell at 9:53 AM on December 5, 2012
"Hold still goddammit fuck" made me LOL
posted by Ratio at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Ratio at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]
Rory Marinich already posted the number one classic "Photograph" parody, I can leave this thread with a peaceful heart.
posted by brieche at 10:08 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by brieche at 10:08 AM on December 5, 2012
Between what I post and what my friends post, this described my instagram experience perfectly. I should go kill myself now, right?
Except I love instagram and I don't care what you think and if you're not following Colonel Meow there you aren't living.
posted by misskaz at 10:19 AM on December 5, 2012
Except I love instagram and I don't care what you think and if you're not following Colonel Meow there you aren't living.
posted by misskaz at 10:19 AM on December 5, 2012
I'm kind of a fan of anything that encourages people to take photographs and start thinking about the world in photographic terms. Like if my mom is walking down the street and sees the light hitting something a certain way and thinks "that'd make a great Instagram" and then decides what angle it would look best from given a square format, I think that's fantastic.
Speaking as someone who's generally wary of how image-driven our media is, I think Instagram's fantastic. It encourages people to look for beauty in everything around them, not just in the visuals that've been built specifically for people to take pictures of.
From what I've seen of people on Instagram, it's the anti-"tourist vacation photos". Fewer pictures of obvious landmarks, more shots of little details and quick, memorable moments. More of that and maybe we can get back to sensible conversation as a society (fingers crossed).
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:21 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Speaking as someone who's generally wary of how image-driven our media is, I think Instagram's fantastic. It encourages people to look for beauty in everything around them, not just in the visuals that've been built specifically for people to take pictures of.
From what I've seen of people on Instagram, it's the anti-"tourist vacation photos". Fewer pictures of obvious landmarks, more shots of little details and quick, memorable moments. More of that and maybe we can get back to sensible conversation as a society (fingers crossed).
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:21 AM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
I LOL'd. Because I hate Nickleback so very, very much.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:34 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by Navelgazer at 10:34 AM on December 5, 2012
I don't understand. Isn't Instagram just Facebook's photo system? Similar to Google -> Picasa, Yahoo -> Flickr, etc.?
posted by mrgrimm at 10:39 AM on December 5, 2012
posted by mrgrimm at 10:39 AM on December 5, 2012
mrgrimm: “I don't understand. Isn't Instagram just Facebook's photo system? Similar to Google -> Picasa, Yahoo -> Flickr, etc.?”
No. Instragram is another one of these vaunted "social networks" – in Instagram's case, it's an app on your phone that lets you take pictures and share them with any people who happen to be following you. There is an option within Instagram to also share whatever photos you take on Facebook, too, so you'll often see people sharing from Instagram to Facebook. Instagram started as an independent startup, but Facebook paid a billion dollars to acquire Instagram a few months back. They haven't made any apparent changes so far.
But, yeah, Instagram is its own thing. Probably the Wikipedia page explains it better than I do. Also, confusingly, Facebook has their own photo app which is pretty much analogous to Instagram.
tl;dr – Instagram is an app connected to a social networky kind of photo-sharing thing.
posted by koeselitz at 10:58 AM on December 5, 2012
No. Instragram is another one of these vaunted "social networks" – in Instagram's case, it's an app on your phone that lets you take pictures and share them with any people who happen to be following you. There is an option within Instagram to also share whatever photos you take on Facebook, too, so you'll often see people sharing from Instagram to Facebook. Instagram started as an independent startup, but Facebook paid a billion dollars to acquire Instagram a few months back. They haven't made any apparent changes so far.
But, yeah, Instagram is its own thing. Probably the Wikipedia page explains it better than I do. Also, confusingly, Facebook has their own photo app which is pretty much analogous to Instagram.
tl;dr – Instagram is an app connected to a social networky kind of photo-sharing thing.
posted by koeselitz at 10:58 AM on December 5, 2012
Another thing I sneaky love about Instagram is the weird emoticon language that has evolved there. I'm not talking about using a smiley face, I'm talking about long strings of emoticons you can read like sentences. They're like modern hieroglyphs. Like a photo of a football player is responded to with football, bicep, runningman, lightningbolt, shockedeyes, exclamationpoint, questionmark, exclamationpoint.
Into it.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:17 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Into it.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:17 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
"take a selfie looking cute ..." precedes the best line of the song.
posted by zippy at 11:48 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by zippy at 11:48 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Peach pie, peach pie" might be the laziest rhyme in the piece, but goddamn if I didn't lose it just then.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:25 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 12:25 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Instagram's case, it's an app on your phone that lets you take pictures and share them with any people who happen to be following you.
You can follow people's photos on Flickr too, send messages, etc. How is Instagram any different. Is it just the filters?
posted by mrgrimm at 12:29 PM on December 5, 2012
You can follow people's photos on Flickr too, send messages, etc. How is Instagram any different. Is it just the filters?
posted by mrgrimm at 12:29 PM on December 5, 2012
Disclosure: my wife uses Instagram heavily and I look at her pics. It just seems like another photo-sharing service to me. I suppose every Web niche has its ecosystem and inside jokes. *shrug*
posted by mrgrimm at 12:30 PM on December 5, 2012
posted by mrgrimm at 12:30 PM on December 5, 2012
mrgrimm: “You can follow people's photos on Flickr too, send messages, etc. How is Instagram any different. Is it just the filters?”
The difference is that it's not really "just Facebook's photo system." If Facebook has an analogous photo system – that is, an app that people share / tag photos through – then it's this. I totally agree that in a sense it's "just another photo-sharing service." I just meant it's kind of distinct from Facebook in a way that Picasa isn't distinct from Google.
I guess the other difference is that it's mobile-focused. Flickr is really a desktop thing. Instagram makes it a lot easier to snap pictures and share them right away from a phone. As yet, there's no easy way to do that with Flickr; I've tried their app, and maybe it's just me but I couldn't do much with it. Really, the gimmick Instagram found was basically being a really rapid route for people to take and share pictures.
posted by koeselitz at 12:44 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
The difference is that it's not really "just Facebook's photo system." If Facebook has an analogous photo system – that is, an app that people share / tag photos through – then it's this. I totally agree that in a sense it's "just another photo-sharing service." I just meant it's kind of distinct from Facebook in a way that Picasa isn't distinct from Google.
I guess the other difference is that it's mobile-focused. Flickr is really a desktop thing. Instagram makes it a lot easier to snap pictures and share them right away from a phone. As yet, there's no easy way to do that with Flickr; I've tried their app, and maybe it's just me but I couldn't do much with it. Really, the gimmick Instagram found was basically being a really rapid route for people to take and share pictures.
posted by koeselitz at 12:44 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
This video/song is great and not really the take-down of IG that some people think. It's a pretty loving parody, as parodies go.
The last line was dumb though. Instagram doesn't have a lot to do with red-eye? There's no red-eye reduction feature. Kind of a lazy end to a great piece.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:51 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
The last line was dumb though. Instagram doesn't have a lot to do with red-eye? There's no red-eye reduction feature. Kind of a lazy end to a great piece.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:51 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Last Friday I went to a party with a live act with a lead female singer who asked for requests by the end of the night, and naturally I shouted out "Nickelback!!" She (along with half of the drunk crowd of about 20 people) belted out "How You Remind Me", and I thought it was a decent rendition, considering it was her second-to-last song of the gig. But in my inebriated condition, I felt I needed to contribute a healthy amount of my own gravel (phlegm) to get that familiar Nickelback sound in my ears.
This parody is interesting as they've somehow added the rough, raspy, husky sound to the female vocalist without getting shouty like the link posted by Rory Marinich above. I didn't know what Instigram was, either, but I think the music in the FPP was quality.
posted by Metro Gnome at 12:57 PM on December 5, 2012
This parody is interesting as they've somehow added the rough, raspy, husky sound to the female vocalist without getting shouty like the link posted by Rory Marinich above. I didn't know what Instigram was, either, but I think the music in the FPP was quality.
posted by Metro Gnome at 12:57 PM on December 5, 2012
I guess the other difference is that it's mobile-focused. Instagram makes it a lot easier to snap pictures and share them right away from a phone.
Yeah, this is the big feature of Instagram that built them the huge network of users. The filters are cute, and people love playing with them and just messing around like in Photoshop. But it's the super-simple picture posting integration with mobile phone cameras that made the app. And that also is a big part of the reason the demographic is hipsters with iPhones.
Unfortunately, their success in simplifying the mobile picture posting experience has resulted in EVERY OTHER FUCKING MOBILE APP now trying to do the same thing. Ok, I get having Facebook or Google + on my phone automatically upload any pictures I take in or out of the app. But Dropbox? God dammit man, I just want to share spreadsheets and shopping lists.
To update jwz's classic quote: Every mobile app attempts to expand until it can post pictures. Of your cat.
posted by formless at 1:25 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, this is the big feature of Instagram that built them the huge network of users. The filters are cute, and people love playing with them and just messing around like in Photoshop. But it's the super-simple picture posting integration with mobile phone cameras that made the app. And that also is a big part of the reason the demographic is hipsters with iPhones.
Unfortunately, their success in simplifying the mobile picture posting experience has resulted in EVERY OTHER FUCKING MOBILE APP now trying to do the same thing. Ok, I get having Facebook or Google + on my phone automatically upload any pictures I take in or out of the app. But Dropbox? God dammit man, I just want to share spreadsheets and shopping lists.
To update jwz's classic quote: Every mobile app attempts to expand until it can post pictures. Of your cat.
posted by formless at 1:25 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
This pretty much explains why I don't have an Instagram account.
You're missing out on pictures of my cats.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 1:37 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
You're missing out on pictures of my cats.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 1:37 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Aw man. I was going to link to look-at-this-photograph.com but it looks like Nickelback's lawyers have nuked it, thus making me hate Nickelback EVEN MORE HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE.
What the hell. I'll link to it anyway.
http://look-at-this-photograph.com/
posted by offalark at 2:57 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
What the hell. I'll link to it anyway.
http://look-at-this-photograph.com/
posted by offalark at 2:57 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
I put a picture of myself watching this video on instagram.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 3:31 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 3:31 PM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
I was giggling throughout but lost my shit at the duck. When he shows the camera the blurry duck, I just. TOO REAL.
The rhymes are really good as usual with CollegeHumor (it always surprises me that they make quality videos?) and the plane wing thing too just haw haw. I love this video. It's so obnoxious and it's also fortuitous about the photograph/instagram scansion.
posted by stoneandstar at 5:14 PM on December 5, 2012
The rhymes are really good as usual with CollegeHumor (it always surprises me that they make quality videos?) and the plane wing thing too just haw haw. I love this video. It's so obnoxious and it's also fortuitous about the photograph/instagram scansion.
posted by stoneandstar at 5:14 PM on December 5, 2012
It's amazing how much you can hate a song you've never actually heard just by experiencing a parody of it.
posted by Aznable at 5:46 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Aznable at 5:46 PM on December 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
I LOL'd. Because I hate Nickleback so very, very much.
Bad news: They'll probably get royalties off this.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:07 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Bad news: They'll probably get royalties off this.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:07 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
formless: " But Dropbox? God dammit man, I just want to share spreadsheets and shopping lists."
Man, I absolutely love that feature of Dropbox. I don't want to share my phone pictures with other people often, but I do want to have a backup in case my phone goes kaput/gets lost/whatever. Now, instead of having to remember every once in a while to take my phone apart to get out the SD card (you have to take out the battery to get the card), hook up the SD card reader to the computer, manually upload, and then put the card back in the phone, I can just...do nothing. Photos automatically uploaded in the background.
posted by Bugbread at 6:14 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Man, I absolutely love that feature of Dropbox. I don't want to share my phone pictures with other people often, but I do want to have a backup in case my phone goes kaput/gets lost/whatever. Now, instead of having to remember every once in a while to take my phone apart to get out the SD card (you have to take out the battery to get the card), hook up the SD card reader to the computer, manually upload, and then put the card back in the phone, I can just...do nothing. Photos automatically uploaded in the background.
posted by Bugbread at 6:14 PM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Similar concept, but with more subtlety and listenable music:
Joco's "Flickr". Or, if you prefer, a direct-download 16MB .MOV version.
(Joco is a "previously" times about twenty; here's one.)
posted by sourcequench at 7:01 PM on December 5, 2012
Joco's "Flickr". Or, if you prefer, a direct-download 16MB .MOV version.
(Joco is a "previously" times about twenty; here's one.)
posted by sourcequench at 7:01 PM on December 5, 2012
Ok, I get having Facebook or Google + on my phone automatically upload any pictures I take in or out of the app. But Dropbox?
Funny. Dropbox is the only site I share photos too. I back up all of my mobile photos and videos there (as well as on a local drive) automatically. Shrug II, Electric Meh.
Or what Bugbread said.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:08 PM on December 5, 2012
Funny. Dropbox is the only site I share photos too. I back up all of my mobile photos and videos there (as well as on a local drive) automatically. Shrug II, Electric Meh.
Or what Bugbread said.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:08 PM on December 5, 2012
There is only one "Photograph" parody you'll ever need, and it's LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAAAPH .
Now that was amazing.
posted by threeants at 3:02 AM on December 6, 2012
Now that was amazing.
posted by threeants at 3:02 AM on December 6, 2012
No love for Sal Governale's version of "Photograph."
Look at this photograph/it's a picture of my wife's fat ass...
No?
/shows self out
posted by kuanes at 8:20 AM on December 6, 2012
Look at this photograph/it's a picture of my wife's fat ass...
No?
/shows self out
posted by kuanes at 8:20 AM on December 6, 2012
You're wrong, Sys Rq, When you have seething contempt for two things, it is important to fold and stack the shit so tightly and high that no one can tell which one you started with. This way, people will hopefully think of terrible shitty music when they're vainly uploading fake low-fi pictures of their girlfriend onto facebook, and maybe they'll stop.
posted by hellslinger at 11:35 AM on December 6, 2012
posted by hellslinger at 11:35 AM on December 6, 2012
There is only one "Photograph" parody you'll ever need, and it's LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAAAPH .
Now that was amazing.
That was pretty good, but the "documentary" of the making was fucking META.
"... across town at Kennedy High School, Matt's comedy partner Ross lettered in a lot more stuff. But Ross went to the poor school. It's not as hard to letter in stuff there ... especially according to Brian Cavallvog."
lolz.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:31 PM on December 6, 2012
Now that was amazing.
That was pretty good, but the "documentary" of the making was fucking META.
"... across town at Kennedy High School, Matt's comedy partner Ross lettered in a lot more stuff. But Ross went to the poor school. It's not as hard to letter in stuff there ... especially according to Brian Cavallvog."
lolz.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:31 PM on December 6, 2012
kuanes: “No love for Sal Governale's version of 'Photograph.' No? /shows self out”
Wow, that's the most execrable pile of sexist bullshit I've ever heard. Whoever made that isn't fit to live in a society with human beings.
posted by koeselitz at 1:15 PM on December 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow, that's the most execrable pile of sexist bullshit I've ever heard. Whoever made that isn't fit to live in a society with human beings.
posted by koeselitz at 1:15 PM on December 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
the most execrable pile of sexist bullshit
Jesus Christ -- not to mention completely unfunny and not the slightest bit clever. We just got trolled. Blech!
posted by hellslinger at 2:38 PM on December 6, 2012
Jesus Christ -- not to mention completely unfunny and not the slightest bit clever. We just got trolled. Blech!
posted by hellslinger at 2:38 PM on December 6, 2012
« Older It's Hard Not to Love a Christmas Song with Two... | Backup Tut and other decoy spatial Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by koeselitz at 9:26 AM on December 5, 2012 [5 favorites]