Eagles are so free
February 9, 2007 7:55 PM Subscribe
Can't you see? There's one in a tree, and he's looking at me. A St. Louis TV station took a bunch of footage of bald eagles for a segment, but half of the interview footage was lost due to microphone problems, so they improvised. What resulted is a sweet-ass-sweet musical montage on the awesomeness of eagles. [YouTube filter, by the way, via the boing.]
The song is funny, yes, but I don't understand the elaborate set-up about the "footage" being lost. Hope me?
posted by Mid at 8:12 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by Mid at 8:12 PM on February 9, 2007
It's not an "elaborate set-up." As explained by the uploader:
The IYI crew visited Alton Illinois to interview Brett Stawar, executive director of the Alton Regional Convention and Tourism Bureau. Alejandro Cruz, the videographer, had technical difficulties with his wireless mic set, and couldn't capture any of Aileesha Breedlove's interview questions. This is what we did to salvage the segment. Ryan Wiggins wrote approximately 90% of the lyrics based on rough edits, and performed the resulting vocal arrangement. The vocals were captured with an Electro-Voice RE20 microphone, and recorded to DVCpro tape. The audio and video were edited and mixed entirely with Vegas 6.0. All of the 3D titles were produced and rendered with Blender 3D, an open source 3D graphics package. The entire project took about 4 hours from conception to completion.
posted by c:\awesome at 8:16 PM on February 9, 2007
The IYI crew visited Alton Illinois to interview Brett Stawar, executive director of the Alton Regional Convention and Tourism Bureau. Alejandro Cruz, the videographer, had technical difficulties with his wireless mic set, and couldn't capture any of Aileesha Breedlove's interview questions. This is what we did to salvage the segment. Ryan Wiggins wrote approximately 90% of the lyrics based on rough edits, and performed the resulting vocal arrangement. The vocals were captured with an Electro-Voice RE20 microphone, and recorded to DVCpro tape. The audio and video were edited and mixed entirely with Vegas 6.0. All of the 3D titles were produced and rendered with Blender 3D, an open source 3D graphics package. The entire project took about 4 hours from conception to completion.
posted by c:\awesome at 8:16 PM on February 9, 2007
Also, don't bother watching past 2:48 - the best stuff is up front.
posted by mrnutty at 8:16 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by mrnutty at 8:16 PM on February 9, 2007
I don't think the words "eagle mustache, eagle snow" have ever appeared in a song before. Can't imagine why not...
posted by gingerbeer at 8:19 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by gingerbeer at 8:19 PM on February 9, 2007
c:/ -- I got that much, but I don't understand what they mean that they recorded the song in order to "salvage" the segment. Did this really get played on the news in STL? Or was this just a joke for internal consumption.
(Not trying to be dense.)
posted by Mid at 8:30 PM on February 9, 2007
(Not trying to be dense.)
posted by Mid at 8:30 PM on February 9, 2007
Ok -- here's the St. Louis station that appears to be involved.
posted by Mid at 8:35 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by Mid at 8:35 PM on February 9, 2007
Just relax and enjoy the tunes.
posted by c:\awesome at 8:36 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by c:\awesome at 8:36 PM on February 9, 2007
this is so definitely not real. it is super-amazing-hilarious, but not real. eagle mustache? it's a great viral with a semi-plausible set-up.
posted by ambulance blues at 8:43 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by ambulance blues at 8:43 PM on February 9, 2007
Song credits: "Eagles Fly" by Ryan Wiggins and Omar O'Hara.
posted by bhouston at 8:51 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by bhouston at 8:51 PM on February 9, 2007
Whoa, that was some serious gruffy-voiced one-take stream-of-consciousness plinky-piano awesomeness right there.
posted by aliasless at 8:56 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by aliasless at 8:56 PM on February 9, 2007
p.s. this also sounds suspiciously like the guy who did "America (Fuck Yeah)"
posted by aliasless at 9:02 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by aliasless at 9:02 PM on February 9, 2007
this is so definitely not real. it is super-amazing-hilarious, but not real. eagle mustache? it's a great viral with a semi-plausible set-up.
You have obviously overestimated Missouri's ability to be clever.
posted by sourwookie at 9:04 PM on February 9, 2007
You have obviously overestimated Missouri's ability to be clever.
posted by sourwookie at 9:04 PM on February 9, 2007
Then again, here in Missouri we do have a knack for writing shitty songs about eagles.
posted by sourwookie at 9:07 PM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by sourwookie at 9:07 PM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites]
Well played, sourwookie.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:50 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:50 PM on February 9, 2007
I hope that this isn't one of the last bits of silliness that local news stations get to broadcast before they realize that the interwebs are everywhere. Everywhere!
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 11:05 PM on February 9, 2007
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 11:05 PM on February 9, 2007
I would just like to observe that bald eagles are some wicked awesome bad-ass birds. Bears and tigers could kill you and eat you, but they are still cute. Sharks -- well, as long as you aren't bleeding in the ocean, you're going to be OK. But even in that cheesy video, every time the eagle looks at the camera I am telling myself the bird is not looking at me. It is a hell of a juxtaposition, this sappy song and the stone-cold ninja shit-kickers of the animal world. Eagles are scary as fuck. Is it just me?
posted by Methylviolet at 12:33 AM on February 10, 2007
posted by Methylviolet at 12:33 AM on February 10, 2007
Why did the Executive Director of the Alton Regional Convention and Tourism Bureau think that the best place to be interviewed on TV about the region he's seeking to show in it's best light was in some dirty old alley with a dumpster as a backdrop?
Didn't the segment producer or the cameraman on this item have any better ideas for an interview setting?
Like the song says, you've come a long way from St. Louis... oh wait, you haven't, have you?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:21 AM on February 10, 2007
Didn't the segment producer or the cameraman on this item have any better ideas for an interview setting?
Like the song says, you've come a long way from St. Louis... oh wait, you haven't, have you?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:21 AM on February 10, 2007
At least one briton would agree with you, Methylviolet.
posted by arruns at 3:56 AM on February 10, 2007
posted by arruns at 3:56 AM on February 10, 2007
Of course it's not real. When news organisations run short of news to fill up a time slot, they don't up and perform silly songs to fill up the space.
I suppose the song might just have been intended seriously by a very deluded person, but the set-up story is just ludicrous.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 4:46 AM on February 10, 2007
I suppose the song might just have been intended seriously by a very deluded person, but the set-up story is just ludicrous.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 4:46 AM on February 10, 2007
Written and performed by Nickelback.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 5:51 AM on February 10, 2007
posted by cyclopticgaze at 5:51 AM on February 10, 2007
Why did the Executive Director of the Alton Regional Convention and Tourism Bureau think that the best place to be interviewed on TV about the region he's seeking to show in it's best light was in some dirty old alley with a dumpster as a backdrop?
You've obviously never been to Alton.
Seriously, I've been a few times and that's exactly what it looks like.
posted by Mid at 6:32 AM on February 10, 2007
You've obviously never been to Alton.
Seriously, I've been a few times and that's exactly what it looks like.
posted by Mid at 6:32 AM on February 10, 2007
Aileesha Breedlove, the apparent reporter in the piece, doesn't appear on MY 46's website or on Lexis Nexis. But MY46 DOES have a segment entitled In Your Interest. Looks like it might be a mashup of an actual piece that aired and the song. It's still funny.
If it were Monday I'd be tempted to call the station to ask, but there's no one answering at the moment.
posted by winna at 8:14 AM on February 10, 2007
If it were Monday I'd be tempted to call the station to ask, but there's no one answering at the moment.
posted by winna at 8:14 AM on February 10, 2007
sombody did a Maudlin power ballad to mash it up.
hahahahahahaha
clever.
Eagles are awesome but I for one dont cry or get patriotic goosbumps when I think about them. I am so thick skinned dammit
thanks for the post
posted by celerystick at 9:22 AM on February 10, 2007
hahahahahahaha
clever.
Eagles are awesome but I for one dont cry or get patriotic goosbumps when I think about them. I am so thick skinned dammit
thanks for the post
posted by celerystick at 9:22 AM on February 10, 2007
> When news organisations run short of news to fill up a time slot, they don't up and perform silly songs to fill up the space.
How do you explain the ten minutes that the local Fox affiliate gives in each half-hour news broadcast to 'American Idol'?
posted by ardgedee at 9:39 AM on February 10, 2007
How do you explain the ten minutes that the local Fox affiliate gives in each half-hour news broadcast to 'American Idol'?
posted by ardgedee at 9:39 AM on February 10, 2007
On one hand, the "didn't record the correspondent's questions" excuse sounded dodgy to me -- typically those are re-written/re-recorded after the fact anyway, due to the fact that often times people answer somewhat different questions than those asked, and as long as it's a proper lead in, it's typically OK (i.e. you didn't ask the guy "Do you like kittens?" and then, when it airs, he says "Yes" to "Did you kill that hobo?")... though the credits on the outro looked at least buyably legit to me. So there you go. Either way, it was pretty awesome, though, admittedly more so if it turns out to be real. (Which, I'm figuring is the case, just because it does seem like both an odd thing to fake, and also, they did a good job of making it look at least conceivably real.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:37 PM on February 10, 2007
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:37 PM on February 10, 2007
"Eagles are awesome so get rid of that frown.
This one had a nightmare but they're calming him down.
The beauty of a country wrapped up in a bird."
Elaborate set-ups about lost footage are absurd.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:14 PM on February 10, 2007
This one had a nightmare but they're calming him down.
The beauty of a country wrapped up in a bird."
Elaborate set-ups about lost footage are absurd.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:14 PM on February 10, 2007
By the way, no eagles were harmed during the making of this footage... but one of the cameramen got his eyes gouged out. Unfortunately the camera was pointing away from him at the time so we didn't catch that on film, but here's another five minute video where we sing songs about it while showing cute pics of snakes and bats!
posted by ZachsMind at 5:22 PM on February 10, 2007
posted by ZachsMind at 5:22 PM on February 10, 2007
Huh. I don't exactly understand why people find this so hard to believe. I mean I honestly don't understand why you're so confused about the "setup". Why couldn't it just be the truth?
I suppose it's possible it's not, but unless there is some actual evidence they're lying, it seems really weird to accuse them of dishonesty.
posted by delmoi at 6:47 PM on February 10, 2007
I suppose it's possible it's not, but unless there is some actual evidence they're lying, it seems really weird to accuse them of dishonesty.
posted by delmoi at 6:47 PM on February 10, 2007
delmoi : "I suppose it's possible it's not, but unless there is some actual evidence they're lying, it seems really weird to accuse them of dishonesty."
Nah. For some of us, it's patently unbelievable. For example, if you told me that some Fox News affiliate showed a segment called "Do it up the butt", and which consisted of the news anchor and field correspondent chatting about how much they enjoyed anal sex, I'd disbelieve you, even without actual evidence that it was false.
With no evidence that something is false, and no evidence that something is true, it seems natural to make your own appraisal of likelihood when determining whether to believe something or not. That's why when a MeFite says "I already know about that link, my brother emailed it to me a month ago", I believe him, but if he says "I already know about that link, the Pope emailed it to me a month ago", I don't, despite there being no evidence either way.
posted by Bugbread at 8:01 PM on February 10, 2007
Nah. For some of us, it's patently unbelievable. For example, if you told me that some Fox News affiliate showed a segment called "Do it up the butt", and which consisted of the news anchor and field correspondent chatting about how much they enjoyed anal sex, I'd disbelieve you, even without actual evidence that it was false.
With no evidence that something is false, and no evidence that something is true, it seems natural to make your own appraisal of likelihood when determining whether to believe something or not. That's why when a MeFite says "I already know about that link, my brother emailed it to me a month ago", I believe him, but if he says "I already know about that link, the Pope emailed it to me a month ago", I don't, despite there being no evidence either way.
posted by Bugbread at 8:01 PM on February 10, 2007
I suppose it's possible it's not, but unless there is some actual evidence they're lying, it seems really weird to accuse them of dishonesty.
I wasn't accusing anyone of dishonesty, just that the whole thing sounded a little urban-legendy. Like I said, the song is funny. Where it came from seems a little less than clear.
posted by Mid at 9:02 PM on February 10, 2007
I wasn't accusing anyone of dishonesty, just that the whole thing sounded a little urban-legendy. Like I said, the song is funny. Where it came from seems a little less than clear.
posted by Mid at 9:02 PM on February 10, 2007
why? music is sentimental and crappy and the video isn't anything special. Why chain a poor eagle to a branch for people to look at it under the guise of seeing the nations emblem!
posted by gnomesb at 9:55 PM on February 10, 2007
posted by gnomesb at 9:55 PM on February 10, 2007
I don't care if it is fake, I laughed so hard my stomach hurts. But maybe that's from that big ol' eagle sandwich I ate for lunch.
posted by thekilgore at 2:21 PM on February 14, 2007
posted by thekilgore at 2:21 PM on February 14, 2007
« Older Is the 21st century making you miserable? | Excuse me sir, might I have some poridge? Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by quonsar at 8:03 PM on February 9, 2007