Checked with my peeps...and they're feelin funky on this one.
August 7, 2013 4:25 PM   Subscribe

Stephen Colbert holds dance party after Daft Punk pulled from show - Comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert makes no secret his love of music on his late-night program The Colbert Report. But after a contractual conflict that scuttled a guest appearance by Daft Punk, Colbert unleashed his ire onto MTV and his parent company Viacom. Colbert Dances to Daft Punk's Get Lucky (direct link to video)
posted by dougzilla (160 comments total) 31 users marked this as a favorite
 
Brilliantly recovered from a tough situation. Hard to believe the Viacom executives sat there, thumb in butt, while this situation developed until a day before the show.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:32 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


As a caterer who works weddings and events where there are dance floors, i will be hearing this fucking song every fucking weekend for the next 2 fucking years at least.

If I could stab music with my knife as it's being played, I would shank this song over and over.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:33 PM on August 7, 2013 [28 favorites]


Tags on that video Drinky Die linked: basic cable, FCC, laws, sex, nudity, Viacom, Hugh Laurie, appearances, performances, balls, censorship, TV, asses, breasts

Indeed.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:34 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


I was disappointed. I thought this was saying Colbert held a private dance party for the audience with Daft Punk since they couldn't play on his show. This is okay too, I guess, but that would have been pretty awesome...
posted by Sangermaine at 4:35 PM on August 7, 2013


Nobody puts Colbert in a corner.
posted by GuyZero at 4:36 PM on August 7, 2013 [25 favorites]


What is noteworthy war criminal Henry Kissinger doing in a feel-good dance video?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 4:37 PM on August 7, 2013 [49 favorites]


Before I watched the video I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be great if Bryan Cranston were in this?" I was not disappointed.
posted by dortmunder at 4:38 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


This is a terrible song and I hate the new Daft Punk album. That Peter Serafinowicz did a weird cover of it on his YouTube page makes me dislike him too. "Get Lucky" is literally the worst thing that has happened in the world since 8 September, 2001.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:40 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


Hey, what about that Poet Laureate Kenneth Goldsmith.

I heard they are performing Black Skinhead with Kanye West at the VMAs.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:41 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


"Get Lucky" is literally the worst thing that has happened in the world since 8 September, 2001.

That's a pretty awful thing to say. Some things just shouldn't be joked about. I know I should flag the comment and move on, but it's always going to be too soon for that kind of humor at the expense of all those affected by those events, seared onto our national consciousness.

Never forget.
posted by Celsius1414 at 4:53 PM on August 7, 2013 [42 favorites]


Feels good, whatever it is.
Drop all hang-ups please.
posted by curtj at 4:55 PM on August 7, 2013


I am tired of Get Lucky, yes, but more than that I am disappointed. Disappointed that this watered down disco has captivated so many people. The original shit is SO. MUCH. BETTER.
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:57 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


Get Clucky
posted by heathkit at 4:58 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


I can usually only take small doses of Colbert, but the combination of the 'StePhest Colbachella' and his dramatic reading with Hugh Laurie* of the 'Several Words You Can't Say on Broadcast TV But Can On Cable' provided the largest dosage of Pure Delight I'd gotten from him since the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Yeah, Kissinger was an unpleasant surprise in the sequence of awesome, but it was so so apropos that he would pick up his phone and call "Security..."

"Get Lucky" is not so bad; it is just so lightweight that it would float away if not being held over us by Music Industry Hype. Still, bringing back pleasant memories of the Summer of "Gangnam Style" is not a bad thing...


*Also this moment. They should just give Laurie a regular slot on Colbert's show; he could be the next John Oliver.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:09 PM on August 7, 2013 [10 favorites]


I am tired of Get Lucky, yes, but more than that I am disappointed. Disappointed that this watered down disco has captivated so many people. The original shit is SO. MUCH. BETTER.

There is nothing to be gained by trying to shame people for liking something long after all the "hip" people discovered it. I couldn't have given two fucks about Daft Punk prior to hearing this song for the first time (and the first time I heard it, it was a cover!). Hearing it made me want more.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 5:10 PM on August 7, 2013 [23 favorites]


Hate to lay on the snark so early here, but that was a better promotion for Daft Punk than any live performance could have been. Obviously Colbert totally hates their parent company - I mean, my own mother posted this video on Facebook!

To stick it to our corporate overlords, I didn't click the Like button.
posted by antonymous at 5:15 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Outstanding video to a mediocre song.
posted by wrapper at 5:21 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


I saw this last night and it was magical (though I didn't really pay any attention to the quality, or lack thereof, in the song). Colbert is such a rare talent - smart, warm, engaging, empathetic, and brave - who pretty much always makes it worth staying up until 12.30 AST to watch his show.
posted by Flashman at 5:22 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


The best part with Kissinger is that Colbert's making that weird "jerking off in your face" dance move at him.

Subtle.
posted by mrgoat at 5:25 PM on August 7, 2013 [10 favorites]


daft punk is playing at my house. my house.
posted by kaibutsu at 5:28 PM on August 7, 2013 [17 favorites]


People who are tired of and/or uninterested in Get Lucky but not yet tired of and/or uninterested in the turning-dance-songs-into-slow-songs shtick might want to try Daughter's version, which I'm quite fond of.
posted by eykal at 5:28 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


Impressive that he was able to put that video together in the one day between learning they couldn't appear and the actual show.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:30 PM on August 7, 2013 [13 favorites]


Through an anomaly in the space time continuum I heard Get Lucky before Daft Punk did. Also, in the future they are either worshiped as gods or hated, depending on whether you can afford to live on the surface or not.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:30 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


could they have really done all this in a day? i mean the choreography, the cameos, the scenes in Washington, LA and NYC.

i love me some Colbert, and i know nothing about the process of putting something like this together, but it seems implausable that it was done in a single day...

feel free to correct me, though!
posted by bitteroldman at 5:31 PM on August 7, 2013


No
posted by Ad hominem at 5:32 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


What a weird prank to pull. Stephen Colbert, as usual, played his part very well. One could almost believe what he was saying.

But not. Because, no.
posted by mountmccabe at 5:32 PM on August 7, 2013


Well, not a day as surface dwellers understand it.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:33 PM on August 7, 2013 [8 favorites]


it seems implausable that it was done in a single day...

Next you'll tell me that Colbert isn't really a right-wing pundit.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:33 PM on August 7, 2013 [8 favorites]


As a caterer who works weddings and events where there are dance floors, i will be hearing this fucking song every fucking weekend for the next 2 fucking years at least.

I have it on our wedding playlist, our wedding is in a week.
posted by Windigo at 5:34 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


So, not having heard either Daft Punk or this song before, I played the video.

So what you are all telling me is disco didn't die. Because that, my friends, was a disco song.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:37 PM on August 7, 2013 [17 favorites]


Before I watched the video I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be great if Bryan Cranston were in this?" I was not disappointed.

Previously.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:37 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


They rediscovered disco. Actually. They rediscovered Giorgio Moroder and got Nile Rodgers to play it and it sounded like disco
posted by Ad hominem at 5:40 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


Really prefer Daft Punk's older stuff. "Get Lucky" is a practically straight-to-commercial mediocre song on a mediocre album. Has about as much character as a Basement Jaxx track. In other words, perfect for the high fructose corn syrup generation, and you'll be seeing them in the Super Bowl.
posted by phaedon at 5:45 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


Everyone was in on it. Doubtful that an actual Daft Punk performance on the show would have the legs this does. Talk about your free advertising.
posted by HyperBlue at 5:50 PM on August 7, 2013


Boots. Cats.
Boots and Cats.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:54 PM on August 7, 2013 [6 favorites]


I still like "Get Lucky" but mostly I'm happy that all the kids are learning what an awesome force of nature and wonder Nile Rodgers is. I'm sure he has his darkness, but that dude just seems to be all smiles and love right now (and, as I will tell you when I'm tipsy, he basically invented music in the '80s). Nile Rodgers forever!

I think Random Access Memories is a pretty amazing and complicated album and I love that Daft Punk made it. I do not care what anyone else says.

I do think this whole thing was weird and I want to give Daft Punk the benefit of the doubt that they wanted to be on the show, but their label and Viacom was weird about it (I don't think it was an elaborate prank). Last I heard, they weren't even going to perform but just dance/etc.

But however! This was delightful. I have nothing but LOVE for Colbert and he's an impressive dancer. I'm sad that there was no Daft Punk but this went a LOOOOONG way to make up for that.
posted by darksong at 6:00 PM on August 7, 2013 [9 favorites]


So what you are all telling me is disco didn't die. Because that, my friends, was a disco song.

Well, for some of us, the Disco Resurrection. And for others, Zombie Disco.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:03 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Aw come on that was fun.
posted by jquinby at 6:05 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


Really reminds me of a Nathan Barnatt dance video.
posted by slomodinkens at 6:06 PM on August 7, 2013


Is Dynasty considered disco? Because I want to see a collab with Leon Sylvers.
posted by gucci mane at 6:10 PM on August 7, 2013


So are Matt Damon booths a thing now? Because I haven't been to a mall in a while.
posted by sourwookie at 6:10 PM on August 7, 2013 [9 favorites]


This was great but it's weird that people are using the pretext to be, I dunno, outraged about something. It was obviously planned from the beginning, no doubt with full collusion from MTV, Viacom, Daft and the Punx and whoever else. Why is Pitchfork even conspiratorially raising the question?
posted by naju at 6:11 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


One thing should be said though: trolling Daft Punk fans is not a difficult thing.

It's interesting to watch obsessive fans get excited about where Daft Punk are (not actually) going to play next. A Nile Rodgers charity event? Governor's Ball? A Kavinsky set? Guesting with Phoenix at Coachella? It goes on and on.

I have loved their music and seen them a couple times but this sort of thing happens so often I am half expecting them to not play the VMAs.
posted by mountmccabe at 6:14 PM on August 7, 2013


PS is Colbert's dancing really impressive? I thought the goofy white guy thing was part of the joke...
posted by naju at 6:14 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


So what you are all telling me is disco didn't die. Because that, my friends, was a disco song.

1) No, disco never died. It's been around all along, competing with other forms of dance music. We just don't notice it that much even when it's new, because it's such a vintage style now.

2) The entire Random Access Memories album is one long tribute to the 1970s, complete with yacht rock softies, Giorgio Morodor and Paul Williams. The end is a giant explosion of The Now, but most of that album is entirely a throwback to the years when my age was recorded in single digits. And I love nearly every minute on it.
posted by hippybear at 6:17 PM on August 7, 2013 [19 favorites]


+1 for dancing beardo John Stewart Skyping in from the Middle East.
posted by jessamyn at 6:19 PM on August 7, 2013 [27 favorites]




This was great but it's weird that people are using the pretext to be, I dunno, outraged about something.

For me, it's because Colbert created a faux anti-Viacom sentiment to make some jokes, then did a five-minute promo video for a band that Viacom has a vested interest in. It's selling Colbert's brand of cynicism on one hand, then leveraging that to promote the thing he pretends to hate. I know Colbert's schtick is to be disingenuous, with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, but this is just too much.

(And yes, I know there's already an open DFW thread.)
posted by antonymous at 6:21 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


Within The Bleed, All musical styles exist at once. Sometimes something slips through. Such as Earth 725 Drake doing Synth Pop. I've already said too much.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:21 PM on August 7, 2013


His name is Giovanni Giorgio, but everybody calls him Giorgio.
posted by orme at 6:22 PM on August 7, 2013 [14 favorites]


I'm willing to bet Bryan Cranston drives around with that outfit in the trunk of his car, just praying that someone will ask him to roller-boogie.

Also, Aaron Paul's "omg whee wtf is happening" face at the Charlie Rose roundtable is utterly charming.
posted by palomar at 6:22 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


My children are convinced that the actual title of this song is "Mexican Lucky." And I'm okay with that.
posted by altopower at 6:25 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


"omg whee wtf is happening"

Now playing in my mind to the tune of Jesus Christ Superstar's "What's The Buzz".

Thanks. I guess.
posted by hippybear at 6:26 PM on August 7, 2013 [10 favorites]


The opening rant came across very self-indulgent to me -- it's all "Stephen didn't get his way" and felt like it ran several minutes beyond the amount of funny it contained -- but then I was completely charmed by the dance-off.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:30 PM on August 7, 2013


I'm sure he has his darkness, but that dude just seems to be all smiles and love right now (and, as I will tell you when I'm tipsy, he basically invented music in the '80s). Nile Rodgers forever!

Rodger's interview in Daft Punk's The Collaborators series of videos released during the lead-up to the album is entirely fun and charming.

(Actually, that entire series of 8 videos is worth watching. Provides depth and context, makes it more fun.)
posted by hippybear at 6:32 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Just watching this now on Hulu.

In no universe is Robin Thicke a replacement for Daft Punk (or anyone) but they recovered so brilliantly that I can't imagine an actual Daft Punk appearance being better.

(Pretty weak that MTV pitched a fit seemingly at the last minute and Viacom didn't do anything, but that's TV for you.)
posted by HostBryan at 6:38 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I keep forgetting that Robin Thicke's dad is Alan Thicke, and then I remember and it weirds me out a lot.
posted by palomar at 6:45 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


And yes I'm well aware that Colbert's camp knew something like this was going to come down, hence the cameos; still, there's definitely more than a kernel of truth to the situation. I'd buy that they knew this could happen but didn't get confirmation until yesterday.
posted by HostBryan at 6:46 PM on August 7, 2013


Surprised at all the Get Lucky hate. I pretty much stopped listening to pop music in 1983, but I love this damn song.
posted by freakazoid at 6:46 PM on August 7, 2013 [11 favorites]


What is noteworthy war criminal Henry Kissinger doing in a feel-good dance video?

Marking time before an eternity in hell, from the looks of it.
posted by R. Schlock at 6:58 PM on August 7, 2013 [11 favorites]


Yeah, I really don't get Robin Thicke. I see him a lot on TMZ (I know, I know -- judge all ye want) but he's just another face in a line of "who are you and why should I care?"
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 7:00 PM on August 7, 2013


Seconding hippybear's opinion on the album. By all rights, I shouldn't like it. But I do. It's worth it for the Paul Williams track alone. And I'm still not sick of Get Lucky, despite having heard it a kerspillion times.

Of course, watching the Dodgers game just now, I witnessed Darth Vader and some stormtroopers, accompanied by the Cardinals mascot, doing the Gangnam Style dance in the St Louis outfield. So I'm not entirely sure what the rules of this timeline/universe are.
posted by Celsius1414 at 7:01 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


+1 for dancing beardo John Stewart Skyping in from the Middle East.


He's back in a couple of weeks! The summer has just flown by....
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 7:05 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


palomar and potsmokinghippieoverlord: this one isn't Robin Thicke, this one is. But they have Pharrell in common.

Colbert, my friend, that is a totally decent high-kick you got going on. Well done! I'm so not over this song or Daft Punk yet.
posted by juliplease at 7:09 PM on August 7, 2013


1979 called.

Disco sucks.
posted by Bonzai at 7:10 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Colbert had my heart when he called Daft Punk "Click and Clack"
posted by Ber at 7:10 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]




Disco never died. Quite the opposite. You may not have noticed, but it's conquered the world.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 7:14 PM on August 7, 2013


Solid single, but "Doing It Right" is tops.
posted by porn in the woods at 7:14 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


I'm not entirely sure what the rules of this timeline/universe are.

We're in full Get Lucky Backlash, which began thirty seconds after your mother recognized the melody at Macy's two months ago. Get Lucky Backlash will wax through the remainder of the summer, propelled by the Robin Thicke/Interscope "Street Team," a roving collection of white people in their 50's and 60's who are paid to sit in public spaces and hum the melody to "Get Lucky" in a tuneless falsetto. The waning phase of Get Lucky Backlash will continue for the next two years, ending only when a twenty year old bond trading intern at Morgan Stanley declares drunkenly to his friends that the song was originally written and performed ironically. This moment will initiate Get Lucky Rehabilitation, a process that will continue by fits and starts over the next decade, only to end when photographs surface of an unhelmeted de Homem-Christo on a beach in Ibiza wearing jorts.
posted by R. Schlock at 7:17 PM on August 7, 2013 [29 favorites]


If you look carefully at the beginning, the audience gets to its feet and begins dancing except for a group of five people in suits in the front row. He dances right past them, as they just sit there, stiffly. They're obviously thinking "What fresh hell is this?"
posted by zarq at 7:18 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yeah, they dance with him as the credits roll at the end of the episode.
posted by Drinky Die at 7:26 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Having just watched the full episode, the whole thing seemed somehow reminiscent of Wayne's World.
posted by figurant at 7:29 PM on August 7, 2013


Disco Sucks!
posted by dougzilla at 7:31 PM on August 7, 2013


Wow, not getting the hate for the song. First time I heard it, and it's a headbobber. Is it the Best Song Evar? No, but, jeez louise. I would totally dance to it.
posted by the sobsister at 7:32 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Haha, this album won my prestigious "most pretentious aging group saga" of the year award.
posted by cbecker333 at 7:44 PM on August 7, 2013


Agh, this video. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. Honestly. Stomach-clutchingly funny.
posted by That's Numberwang! at 7:46 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


They rediscovered disco. Actually. They rediscovered Giorgio Moroder and got Nile Rodgers to play it and it sounded like disco

This x 1,000,000. I fucking love the Giorgio Moroder track.
posted by Talez at 7:46 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


I enjoy "Get Lucky" and pretty much all of Random Access Memories so put me on whatever side.

Some interesting info, if true (obviously take it all with a grain of salt) from a Reddit poster claiming to have insider knowledge of the situation can be found here.

TL;DR - the episode was in the works for a month, Daft Punk was never technically going to perform but they were going to be there, which is why the sketch came out the way it did. They just rewrote the opening and some of the other bits to fit the MTV situation.
posted by HostBryan at 7:46 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


Speaking of your boy Pharrell, they just announced he is producing Miley Cyrus' new album, entitled BANGERZ. It is to feature appearances by Thee Six Mafia member Juicy J and rap bad boy OFWGKTA affiliate Tyler, The Creator.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:47 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love this bit. Unironically, totally love it. Don't care one damn bit what percentage of truth was involved in the setup, either. To be vintage Colbert, it really should contain an ununtangleable hairball of hokum, corporate shilling, celebrity cheese, and sheer entertainment coughed up for my viewing pleasure. It's like ambergris, without the smell.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 7:48 PM on August 7, 2013 [16 favorites]


I was initially shocked at seeing Kissinger, but on second viewing I am reminded of the criticism of the nude picture of Mr Burns on The Simpsons.

"He's bad, but he'll die. So I like it."

Time has not been kind and will be less so in the future.

In other news, I still love this album and this song, and people hating on it obviously hate fun. Where can one acquire a Matt Damon box for emergency purposes?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:49 PM on August 7, 2013 [9 favorites]


Sonny, I been listening to Daft Punk a long time. Get Lucky is literally no different than anything the pair has done up until now. Personally, prior to this album, I would characterize Daft Punk as "a bit better than mediocre" and this album does not disappoint or surprise in the least. The only thing that's changed is the world.

Also, Colbert totally rules. I defy anyone to name a bigger talent on television in the last ten years.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:52 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Where can one acquire a Matt Damon box for emergency purposes?

I can only assume Matt Damon lives in that box, leaving only briefly to act in movies as a way of paying for fresh scraps of fan-blown paper.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 7:57 PM on August 7, 2013 [5 favorites]


Seriously, everyone here claiming not to like "Get Lucky" is being cooler-than-thou hipsters, right?
posted by downing street memo at 8:00 PM on August 7, 2013 [10 favorites]


This video is hilarious, it cheered me up a lot. Love that Colbert was using the spotting technique as he was spinning. And that thing he was doing at the beginning, I don't know what it's called but loooooooooove it!

I'd like to point out that two of my favorite songs from this year, Korean pop, are disco: f(x)'s Signal and SHINee's Like a Fire. So yes! Disco is alive :)
posted by one teak forest at 8:05 PM on August 7, 2013


naju: PS is Colbert's dancing really impressive? I thought the goofy white guy thing was part of the joke...

Stephen Colbert in "Dancing Muchachos" from Exit 57.

That's also him singing. Man can move his hips.
posted by tzikeh at 8:06 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


I somehow missed Daft Punk the first time around, and then suddenly they're everywhere. I feel like I'm the unwitting participant in a massive public relations campaign designed to look emergent.
posted by mecran01 at 8:09 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


Get Lucky is literally no different than anything the pair has done up until now.

Can't agree. RAM is miles away from the inventiveness and energy of Homework.
posted by shortfuse at 8:35 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


More Dancing Colbert
posted by stifford at 8:39 PM on August 7, 2013 [3 favorites]


Can't agree. RAM is miles away from the inventiveness and energy of Homework.

What is it with the hipster portion of the Internet just wants to shit on anything by Daft Punk that isn't Homework? Even Discovery which is the far more polished, richer sounder and, dare I say, complete album. I swear the only way you people will like Daft Punk again is if they make some pseudo-80s French House album.
posted by Talez at 8:50 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


What is it with the hipster portion of the Internet just wants to shit on anything by Daft Punk that isn't Homework?

Hey mom, I made it to the hipster portion of the Internet at age 40+! I finally did it!

I didn's say anything bad about Discovery by comparing RAM to Homework. I love, love, love Discovery, which I think is also superior to RAM. I also think of it as different from RAM although clearly closer to it than Homework.
posted by shortfuse at 9:05 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


I didn's say anything bad about Discovery by comparing RAM to Homework.

You implied Homework is best. Which means that Discovery is worse. Which is patently false.
posted by Talez at 9:06 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I find explaining the skit to someone who hasn't seen it yet is arguably better than the skit itself.

"Then he walks in to Henry Kissinger's office - I mean, who knew Kissinger was still alive, much less had an office"
posted by phaedon at 9:06 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


I implied no such thing. Read the post I quoted and was responding to. I wanted to argue that Daft Punk had made different (and for me better) music from RAM in the past. I picked Homework.

Stop assuming the worst of fellow music fans.
posted by shortfuse at 9:11 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


"Disco is not dead! Disco is LIFE!"

also, really happy for it to become popular again. Disco is really fun.
posted by jb at 9:27 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm originally from MI, but moved to Tokyo about six or seen years ago. It would seem that a journey across the ocean was exactly the right distance, because I was not familiar with any of Daft Punk's newest songs or Robin Thicke until they were both offered up for mockery here on the blue. If not giving a shit about dance music makes me a hipster, I'm ok with that.
My glasses are prescription. I know where I stand.
posted by GoingToShopping at 9:28 PM on August 7, 2013


Did I smile? Did that have me tapping my feet, and laughing, and having a good time and chuckling?

Yes. Yes it did.

All I really wanted out of it. A bit of humor, some fun.

Go about your gear. I'm having fun here.

*dances off MeFi to "Get Lucky"*
posted by mephron at 9:28 PM on August 7, 2013 [7 favorites]


I thought Colbert was trying to imitate Ellen's moves, especially at the beginning and dancing in the aisles?

I think the groove is nice but damn the song is so repetitive. Is that the point of it, maybe? That humans are drawn to sex like moths to a flame, like Gatsby to the green light and the promise of an orgastic future, and so we beat on trying to get lucky? Or is it doing a Venus/Mars thing about women stay out late to have fun but men stay out late hoping for sex? Or is the repetitiveness there to simulate the miserable and exhausted "oh this is still happening?" vibe of staying up all night? Some version of "up all night to get lucky" is repeated about fifty times and I just kind of want to buy Daft Punk some lottery tickets and get them to call it a night.

Like the legend of the phoenix
All ends with beginnings
What keeps the planet spinning (uh)
The force of love beginning
We've come too far to give up who we are
So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars
She's up all night 'til the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky
We're up all night 'til the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
The present has no ribbon
Your gift keeps on giving,
What is this I'm feeling?
If you wanna leave I'm ready (ah)
We've come too far to give up who we are
So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars
She's up all night 'til the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky
We're up all night 'til the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
(We're up all night to get
We're up all night to get
We're up all night to get
We're up all night to get)
(We're up all night to get (together)
We're up all night to get (let's get funked again)
We're up all night to get funky
We're up all night to get lucky)
(We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky)
(We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky)
We've (we're up all night to get lucky)
Come too far (we're up all night to get lucky)
To give up (we're up all night to get lucky)
Who we are (we're up all night to get lucky)
So let's (we're up all night to get lucky)
Raise the bar (we're up all night to get lucky)
And our cups (we're up all night to get lucky)
To the stars (we're up all night to get lucky)
She's up all night 'til the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky
We're up all night 'til the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
posted by onlyconnect at 10:08 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


It would seem that a journey across the ocean was exactly the right distance, because I was not familiar with any of Daft Punk's newest songs or Robin Thicke until they were both offered up for mockery here on the blue.

You didn’t have to go that far, I’m doing it right here! I thought I surely must know that song but didn’t realize it, clicked to see Colbert, didn’t know the song and was not entertained enough to hear the whole thing. I’m going to bet I can accurately guess how the rest of it goes.
posted by bongo_x at 10:19 PM on August 7, 2013


I think the groove is nice but damn the song is so repetitive. Is that the point of it, maybe?

Have you listened to I Feel Love lately? Or an earlier Nile Rodgers track, Le Freak?

It's perhaps not the point... but it certainly is part of how the genre works.
posted by hippybear at 10:22 PM on August 7, 2013 [10 favorites]


I'd like to point out that two of my favorite songs from this year ... are disco:... So yes! Disco is alive :) posted by one teak forest

Would you say it's Born to be Alive?
posted by vespabelle at 10:24 PM on August 7, 2013


Being repetitive is kind of Daft Punk's thing.
posted by speicus at 10:27 PM on August 7, 2013 [4 favorites]


Wow. He can dance!
posted by thylacine at 10:32 PM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


"Disco is not dead! Disco is LIFE!"

Yes, Tony! That is the passion I remember!

Being repetitive is kind of Daft Punk's thing.

They have another song where the lyrics are:

Around the world, around the world (x72)
posted by aubilenon at 10:47 PM on August 7, 2013 [13 favorites]


Has about as much character as a Basement Jaxx track

Huh. I thought Basement Jaxx were pretty good for a while.
posted by atoxyl at 10:47 PM on August 7, 2013 [2 favorites]


That humans are drawn to sex like moths to a flame,

This is a song about staying up looking for a dog, you just have a one track mind.
posted by biffa at 12:31 AM on August 8, 2013 [7 favorites]


Daft Punk, always a fun topic to hear people talk about. Their music demonstrates an outstanding cohesion between aesthetic and technical process (Nilesh Patel was a genius and I assume taught the duo a thing or two about making a track DEEEEEEP).

What's interesting is that whether you love 'em or hate 'em, everyone, for the most part, can acknowledge their savvy. Since... Discovery they've been doing high-level maneuvers, and that drives people crazy, doesn't it?
posted by Taft at 1:17 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love this piece about "Doin' It Right" from Drew Daniel of Matmos.

I love the eschatological vision of everybody dancing and nobody whining about how they're doin' it wrong.
posted by straight at 1:42 AM on August 8, 2013


They have another song where the lyrics are:

Around the world, around the world (x72)


While true of the official studio release, the unreleased acapella version also has the lyrics:

badunh dunh dunh
biderp do derp do derp do derp do derp
dunh dunh
badeerp dee derp dee deep dee derp
posted by zippy at 2:03 AM on August 8, 2013 [4 favorites]


"Then he walks in to Henry Kissinger's office - I mean, who knew Kissinger was still alive, much less had an office"
I think you'll find he bursts out of a closet into Henry Kissinger's office. No idea why.
Also, I believe Bryan Cranston is now the coolest man alive, just seems like the more famous he gets the more fun he has.
posted by fullerine at 3:02 AM on August 8, 2013 [4 favorites]


If Disco isn't dead, this is a great place to insert these little gems from my childhood...

That's my best play to kill disco again. Right here... right now.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:12 AM on August 8, 2013


So what you are all telling me is disco didn't die.

The greatest trick that disco ever pulled...
posted by biffa at 4:42 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


2013 called.

1979 can go to hell.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:09 AM on August 8, 2013


My children are convinced that the actual title of this song is "Mexican Lucky."

And starts with "Like the legend of my penis".
posted by MartinWisse at 5:21 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


1979 can go to hell.
posted by Crusty McCatscan
posted by panaceanot at 5:33 AM on August 8, 2013


Like the legend of my penis

"All end and no beginning"

Sounds kinda small.
posted by panaceanot at 5:35 AM on August 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Watched it with my son who said "heh, he's coming out of the closet, is that old guy gay?" Otherwise LOVED IT and you cooler than thou folks are missing out. But Kissinger.
posted by headnsouth at 5:38 AM on August 8, 2013


panaceanot: "1979 can go to hell.
posted by Crusty McCatscan
"

Seriously. 9-year-old me just threw all my Micronauts at someone.
posted by jquinby at 5:44 AM on August 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


The worst thing about "Get Lucky" isn't that it's such a light-weight derivative of 1970's disco, it's that it's such a fucking earworm.
posted by Curious Artificer at 6:16 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


So you think electronic disco music is boring.
You think it's stupid.
You think it's repetitive.
Well, it is repetitive

Seriously, a disco reworking would be *amazing*
posted by asok at 6:30 AM on August 8, 2013


MetaFilter: Hasn't listened to popular music since (insert date here ________ )
posted by stltony at 6:30 AM on August 8, 2013


What is it with the hipster portion of the Internet just wants to shit on anything by Daft Punk that isn't Homework?

Mere Exposure Effect. "Da Funk" blew their mind when they were in high school, and nothing has been able to impact them the same way since.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:42 AM on August 8, 2013


Is it wrong that I felt kind of attracted to a bunch of middle-aged guys dad-dancing to Daft Punk?
posted by triggerfinger at 6:44 AM on August 8, 2013 [5 favorites]


Disco didn't die, it just had to go to rehab for a while.
posted by freakazoid at 6:51 AM on August 8, 2013


Here's a compilation of Stephen Colbert dancing that was posted to YouTube in 2007. It's been my go-to happy-place video for six years now. Not only does it not get old, but now I have a new Dancing Colbert video. Hooray!
posted by aabbbiee at 7:01 AM on August 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


Uther Bentrazor, I have the same problem with Musique, which is what did it for me. A proper Bangalter work out. I liked it so much that I bought Spinal Scratch, which is very similar, but faster. I suppose French house was pretty much the home of filter sweeps anyway. Da Funk was too much like the theme tune to Rhubarb for me.
posted by asok at 7:06 AM on August 8, 2013


Well damn, now it looks like the video has been pulled. Anyone know another link?
posted by Carillon at 7:27 AM on August 8, 2013


Since you are in the US, you can access it on Comedy Central's site.
posted by nooneyouknow at 7:42 AM on August 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


I liked Loverboy's "Get Lucky" a whole lot more.
posted by stevil at 7:47 AM on August 8, 2013


Content rejected.
This video has been removed due to a breach of the Terms of Use.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:51 AM on August 8, 2013


All I really want to know is whether or not the guy really wrote the words "Checked with my peeps and they're feeling funky on this one" or if that was fiction.

As for the Daft Punk song, like it or not, you've gotta admit, that is some tightly/elegantly produced stuff. It's obviously meant to be commercially-viable pop, but at least they're not just phoning it in like so much American pop was for a long stretch there.
posted by saulgoodman at 7:52 AM on August 8, 2013


Daft Punk derivative of 1978? Try a year earlier. I may have mentioned that before. Don't care. It's a very cool tune.

(um. Colvert thing v. entertaining. No idea what actually happened - it's a TV comedy show, so does it matter? Quite like Get Lucky, in moderation, but rest of Random Access Memories reminds me that even back then I could tell most of the disco years were devoted to dull stuff and why, once I discovered John Peel, that was it for disco. Apart for Donna Summer, obv. Am I made of stone?)
posted by Devonian at 8:03 AM on August 8, 2013


I am tired of Get Lucky, yes, but more than that I am disappointed. Disappointed that this watered down disco has captivated so many people. The original shit is SO. MUCH. BETTER.

But it really hasn't captivated many people. It's on the radio because it's paid to be on the radio. And people respond to what's on the radio. And TV.

at least they're not just phoning it in

I stopped caring about Daft Punk much after I heard Tron. I liked Homework, loved Discovery, then found most of the new stuff inaccessible or yeah, phoned-in.

I haven't heard any of the new album, but if it sounds like Get Lucky, it actually does seem a bit "phoned in." I do not deny that the production is tight. Elegant? Eh.

I dunno. It's just not Daft Punk to me. It doesn't have the same sound of Aerodynamic or Around the World or Crescendolls, etc. etc.

OK, now I guess I have to listen to the new album. YOU WIN, MTVViacomCBS-Weyrenhauser!

All I really want to know is whether or not the guy really wrote the words "Checked with my peeps and they're feeling funky on this one" or if that was fiction.

I say real.

it's a TV comedy show, so does it matter?

Surely you jest.

Some things just shouldn't be joked about.

Why not? That's what we do.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:06 AM on August 8, 2013


I need a Colbert Workout video. Like, yesterday. (Uh, "video" being generic for "whatever means necessary"...)
posted by allthinky at 8:06 AM on August 8, 2013


I think the groove is nice but damn the song is so repetitive.

Lose yourself to dance--c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
posted by straight at 8:10 AM on August 8, 2013


Do I jest?

TV is fake. All of it some of the time, and some of it all of the time. Knowing how much, and how, matters sometimes, but not as much as knowing that it is. I know nothing about the Colbert Show, being on the other side of the Atlantic, but I doubt anyone on it is doing their job under oath.
posted by Devonian at 8:18 AM on August 8, 2013


Do I threadshit?

This comment is meh. All of it some of the time, and some of it all of the time. Knowing how much, and how, matters sometimes, but not as much as knowing that it is. I know nothing about Devonian, being on the other side of the Atlantic, but I doubt he ever put on a pair of boogie shoes.
posted by misha at 8:29 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


I think the groove is nice but damn the song is so repetitive.

I understand where you're coming from and used to think the same way about disco and dance music in general. I didn't really get it until getting into Daft Punk the last couple of years, and the new album RAMmed (sorry) the point home.

In the case of dance music, the words don't matter. They can matter, it's fine if they do matter, but they don't have to. You are supposed to be dancing, not nodding along to a groove contemplating the lyrical depth. It isn't poetry, it's dancing.

As repetitive as disco can be, the same can be said of virtually any popular music -- rock, hip-hop, pop, country, Latin, EDM, punk, etc. -- it's kind of the point. Disco just takes it farther. As Jerry Garcia said in a documentary once (paraphrasing), disco makes the beat obvious enough for white people to dance to it. And that's okay.

I can't dance more than moving side to side like a schlemiel. But the above epiphany has made me want to learn how.

I stopped caring about Daft Punk much after I heard Tron.

/mouth drops open.
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:34 AM on August 8, 2013 [5 favorites]


No. But I have written on the soles of my slippers in biro.
posted by Devonian at 8:41 AM on August 8, 2013


Dance music doesn't really make sense unless you're in a club late at night, chemically altered, dancing in a sweaty, sexually charged crowd of strangers. Then... f*ck the lyrics.
posted by papercake at 9:13 AM on August 8, 2013


The Daily Motion video link is borked. Here is another source for it - Colbchella 2013 Get Lucky montage.
posted by dougzilla at 9:13 AM on August 8, 2013


Surprised at all the Get Lucky hate. I pretty much stopped listening to pop music in 1983, but I love this damn song.

This is not at all surprising. It's throwback music.
posted by mountmccabe at 9:13 AM on August 8, 2013 [2 favorites]


Seriously, everyone here claiming not to like "Get Lucky" is being cooler-than-thou hipsters, right?

No, of course not. You're playing a ridiculous stereotype. People have different tastes. Personally I prefer my mellow/cool music to have a lot more fuzz. Or better lyrics (which is not fair to disco, I understand).

When this album came out friends on another message board started talking about the Italo disco, etc. that this album is calling back to; I started to make a playlist before realizing that I would never listen to it. RAM is mostly inoffensive but it isn't interesting to me either. It's fine but I haven't listened to the record more than half a dozen times.


Also it is reasonable for someone to respond to a rock-edged house record 15 years ago differently than a disco record now. If one loved Homework there is no requirement to like RAM.
posted by mountmccabe at 9:31 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


PS is Colbert's dancing really impressive? I thought the goofy white guy thing was part of the joke...

He's doing the goofy white guy thing with pretty solid execution. I mean, it's not like, professional dancer caliber moves, sure, but I'd guess he's got at least a little dance training. one teak forest noted that he knows how to spot turns, and if you compare him and Hugh Laurie, you can see that Colbert's moves are tighter and on beat. His kickline moves are pretty good for an amateur, and while it's been noted that he can move his hips, if you watch the staircase bit with Jeff Bridges closely, he's got a nice crisp accent on the downbeat going on. It's nothing that's out of the reach of regular people, but his dancing has a nice bit of polish, even with the silliness.
posted by EvaDestruction at 10:57 AM on August 8, 2013 [7 favorites]


Eh, admittedly I am listening to it on free Spotify, which is a shitt way to hear new music, but RAM is not doing it for me (I should have just used YouTube ... maybe I'll give it another shot). I missed tracks 5-6 b/c I turned down a Spotify ad then forgot to turn the volume back up, but I'm on track 11 and just sticking around to hear Panda ...

Personally I prefer my mellow/cool music to have a lot more fuzz.

I don't know what it's called, but there a breakbeat (most likely the wrong term) sound that Daft Punk used to have that's totally gone now. That's what I really miss.

And I know they did Teachers on Homework, but it seemed like a bit of a throwaway (like those rap skits everyone used to do). At 9:05, damn that Giorgio song is pretentious. Of course, it was also probably my favorite song off RAM. ;)

damn the song is so repetitive

Now that's an odd complaint against Daft Punk. All of their biggest hits are EXTREMELY repetitive (Around the World, One More Time, Oh Yeah, etc.), and I like 'em fine.

OK, I heard Panda. I'm not a huge AC fan, but I like 'em. I'll wait for their next one.

There's a common refrain in Daft Punk video comments of "I've been a Daft Punk fan for 15 years and I don't know why everyone is bitching and moaning."

I will explain: It's because Daft Punk hasn't released much music (compared to say, AC) and news of a new Daft Punk album is big news, and those of us who are music fans get excited, and then when it arrives and we don't like it ... we are disappointed. So we bitch & moan for a while then moveon.org.

it is reasonable for someone to respond to a rock-edged house record 15 years ago differently than a disco record now. If one loved Homework there is no requirement to like RAM.

Amen. I do love disco, though. After Indie Rock, it's my favorite genre of music. RAM, however, seems to lack the soul of something like Sylvester (admittedly, a tough act for anyone to measure up to) or A Taste of Honey. Maybe I just need more bass. I mean, what is disco without B A S S?!?
posted by mrgrimm at 11:09 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


Methinks they had a lot of this footage filmed way before this week. Hugh Laurie was on a day or two ago, and Jeff Bridges was on a few weeks ago for his RIPD movie. The chorus line girls were from a few months ago, and Kissinger was a guest from a long time back. I'm guessing they filmed dance sequences during the visits to use as stock footage should anything like this pop up.

It looks like Charlie Rose had Gillian and the crew on a week ago, so I'm pretty sure that this was planned ahead, either that or Colbert's crew films extra footage for this very reason.
posted by daHIFI at 11:42 AM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


What is it about music that makes a bunch of MeFis start declaring their opinions as facts?

As for the veracity, as daHIFI said, I would guarantee that he already had filmed much of the video for a segment/the segment previously, it just had to be repurposed when Daft Punk cancelled. After all, only the bit with Hugh Laurie was clearly set to the song, right? The rest could have been other music. Or perhaps it was meant to be an intro to the song that he had to extend to the full length.

In this case, I think the Internet "Fake!" Brigade might be jumping the gun. Not that the character of Colbert or previous MTV awards show doesn't give a reason to speculate, but I just ... kind of believe it happened much the way he said.
posted by gadge emeritus at 11:49 AM on August 8, 2013


What is it about music that makes a bunch of MeFis start declaring their opinions as facts?

That might be your read on it. It’s all opinion to me, doesn’t need to be clarified. Statement of facts would be like "There’s a bar of 7 in the bridge" or "The guys in Daft Punk are actually lizard people". Any discussion of the music outside of the technical is opinion.
posted by bongo_x at 12:03 PM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


Celsius1414, that really did help me better understand Daft Punk. I was basically looking for any possible way to make Get Lucky mean something, but you are totally right, and a song can still "do it's job" without poetry or deeper meaning. So, thanks.
posted by onlyconnect at 1:27 PM on August 8, 2013 [1 favorite]


Around the world, around the world (x72)

Also known as

Around the world (x144)
posted by speicus at 2:00 PM on August 8, 2013 [3 favorites]


Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Knock knock!

Who's there?

Daft Punk.
posted by speicus at 2:52 PM on August 8, 2013 [9 favorites]


Around the world, around the world (x72)
Also known as

Around the world (x144)
I must disagree. The kernel that is repeated is quite clearly "Around the world, around the world." Really, did you even listen to it?

Did you also use a tally counter?
posted by aubilenon at 2:57 PM on August 8, 2013


Lose yourself to dance--c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon;
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!


You're losing a lot of the more buried vocal lines, though. Like "Everybody's dancing" and "Yeah, everybody on the floor, yeah yeah".

There is so much going on in that song... the production is really deep and rewards many repeat listenings.
posted by hippybear at 3:30 PM on August 8, 2013




Dreadful throwback bland-out disco but the video was a gem.
posted by Decani at 2:14 AM on August 9, 2013


hippybear, I was just making a joke, but "Lose Yourself to Dance" does in fact have 50 "c'mon"s in a row at one point with no other lyrics. And I love it. Saying it six times in row would be repetitive. Having it keep going up and up and up so much further than you expect makes a fantastic hook.
posted by straight at 11:44 AM on August 9, 2013


Stephen Colbert on the Paul Mecurio podcast. Via The Onion AV Club, and he talks in-depth (and out of character) about the situation.
posted by gadge emeritus at 8:47 PM on August 12, 2013 [2 favorites]


I live in a box, so I hadn't heard of Daft Punk until very recently.

But I really liked "Lose yourself to dance" the first time I heard it. Repetitive, and fun. And - most importantly - you can lose yourself to the dance.
posted by jb at 8:22 AM on August 13, 2013


The Mecurio podcast is really worth a listen for people who want to hear Colbert talk about what it's like to play a character that looks exactly like you.
posted by jessamyn at 8:27 AM on August 13, 2013


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