I saw this a day or two ago. It's great. "Thou Shalt Always Kill" is said as he stands in front of the presidential seal. But according to the youtube comments, "kill" is also hip hop slang for "do great at." Youngsters? posted by craniac at 10:59 PM on April 19, 2007
I never thought I'd hear Crass and Oasis mentioned in the same verse. posted by griphus at 11:01 PM on April 19, 2007
Youngsters? More like Henny Youngman - "kill" is Catskills comedy circuit slang for "make your audience die laughing."
Right then. Carry on. posted by ikkyu2 at 11:02 PM on April 19, 2007
Well. That just killed my buzz. posted by ZachsMind at 11:04 PM on April 19, 2007
"kill" has always mean "do really well" I think one of a class of terms (such as "bust a gut" or "crack up") derived from the physical pain caused by uproarious laughter.
Anyway. I saw this a couple months ago, and loved it. Letter from God is also great. posted by delmoi at 11:07 PM on April 19, 2007
That was surprising fresh. It probably get's old quickly though, but still. It would be good performance art. posted by bhouston at 11:20 PM on April 19, 2007
Is there an agreed-upon significance to this sort of hipster-ish full beard? The bartender-slash-bad-electronic-musician at my local bar sports one, as well as have various indie-rock wusses, such as Sufjan Stevens and Devendra Banhart. posted by unmake at 11:35 PM on April 19, 2007
All I know is Matisyahu's got a pretty good one. Fortunately, he escapes my wrath. posted by phaedon at 11:41 PM on April 19, 2007
Best song ever. posted by Lucie at 11:41 PM on April 19, 2007
I really really like this. posted by Arturus at 11:51 PM on April 19, 2007
That was amusing. But... Thou shalt not make a one-link YouTube post. Unless, you know, it's something good....well, it doesn't really qualify as the be-all, end-all best example of a one-link post, now does it? posted by zardoz at 11:51 PM on April 19, 2007 [3 favorites]
Huh... I interpreted the "thou shalt always kill" thing differently. He says right before that line "thou shalt think for yourselves", so I took the "thou shalt always kill" line as a way of 'testing' that you are, in fact, paying attention, and not just mindlessly going along with him. posted by the other side at 11:52 PM on April 19, 2007 [1 favorite]
Also, I was at a club a couple of nights ago, and I told my friend, "This band sounds like shit." His response was, "It's called lo-fi, and it's supposed to sound that way."
I, for one, welcome our new hipster dismembering overlords. posted by phaedon at 11:52 PM on April 19, 2007
Confirming that it is kill in the hip-hop sense, along with addressing a slew of other questions. posted by Arturus at 12:11 AM on April 20, 2007
Everybody else is just a band, except The Beach Boys; Brian Wilson is our Mozart...The Beach Boys and Journey. posted by wsg at 12:14 AM on April 20, 2007
Arturus, that link is so bizarre. They spend 8 minutes explaining the song. I mean, what? posted by wemayfreeze at 12:20 AM on April 20, 2007
brilliant, innit! posted by numinous at 12:24 AM on April 20, 2007
That guy is oddly alluring. I wish to jump him. Maybe it's the accent. posted by liquorice at 12:25 AM on April 20, 2007
I think the beard gives him a sort of "Hebrew Prophety" vibe, which goes well with a list of "thou shalts."
I interpreted the "thou shalt always kill" thing differently. He says right before that line "thou shalt think for yourselves", so I took the "thou shalt always kill" line as a way of 'testing' that you are, in fact, paying attention, and not just mindlessly going along with him.
That had been my take as well, the_other_side.
Fine tooth comb time. posted by dreamsign at 12:46 AM on April 20, 2007
(that was really good) posted by dreamsign at 12:46 AM on April 20, 2007
He was flippin' those LP covers like Bob Dylan flipping cards in the "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video...
The Monkees... just a band.
The Boston Pops... just a band.
Siouxie and the Banshees... just a band.
The Strawberry Alarm Clock... just a band.
Spike Jones and his City Slickers... just a band.
Chicago, Boston, Black Oak Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama and Asia... just bands (unless you're taking a geography test).
The Dave Matthews Band... just a band.
Paul Shafer and the CBS Orchestra... just a band.
Blood Sweat and Tears, Earth Wind and Fire, Crosby Stills Nash and Young... just bands, three, I think.
The Go Gos... just a band.
Kay Kaiser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge... just a band.
The Four Freshmen... just a band.
the harvey girls... GODS!!!! posted by wendell at 12:51 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
He says right before that line "thou shalt think for yourselves", so I took the "thou shalt always kill" line as a way of 'testing' that you are, in fact, paying attention, and not just mindlessly going along with him.
Sounds like the most effective use of irony in a lyric since that song from the movie "Billy Jack: that went "Go and hate your neighbor, go and cheat a friend..."
But seriously, I like it, and I will take 75% of his advice. posted by wendell at 12:56 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
I saw that video on the Stylus Singles Jukebox blog at the beginning of April, and let me tell you fine folks, that song owns a little piece of your mind now. I hope you two get along.
It's nice to see this reach the blue. Well done, ikkyu2! posted by Emardhi at 1:00 AM on April 20, 2007
wemayfreeze: It's a song with a lot of stories behind it, I guess. Plus, it's a radio show. I never understand the logic behind those anyway, aside from the ones on NPR. posted by Arturus at 1:03 AM on April 20, 2007
that was a good thing to have seen and heard. thanks posted by From Bklyn at 1:09 AM on April 20, 2007
Irony. Just a band.
(I liked that.) posted by parudox at 1:14 AM on April 20, 2007
I figured he meant thou shalt always kill your television. posted by sourwookie at 5:09 AM on April 20, 2007
It's like a manual of hipster manners... Thou shalt be a hip I thou does this. Me, I want someone to think for me. Like this guy. posted by MarshallPoe at 5:13 AM on April 20, 2007
They've been playing the heck out of this song on WXPN (Philly). My main beef is with the statement: "The Pixies - just a band." I'm 'bout to go all Fatwa on this dude. posted by Mister_A at 5:28 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
So, um, we need to think for ourselves. Hard. Hurts. But good. Thanks. posted by bystander at 5:33 AM on April 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
That was pretty silly and good. posted by ph00dz at 5:35 AM on April 20, 2007
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry. posted by Eideteker at 5:41 AM on April 20, 2007
Good stuff. posted by Tarrama at 6:16 AM on April 20, 2007
Kind of the exact opposite of 1967 (40 years ago) when rebel songs were about tearing down the old order, now its about creating new order out of chaos. "Though shalt.." posted by stbalbach at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
Dataphage - that was quite interesting. posted by chuckdarwin at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2007
They've been playing the heck out of this song on WXPN (Philly). My main beef is with the statement: "The Pixies - just a band." I'm 'bout to go all Fatwa on this dude.
I know - they're just called PIXIES. (no 'The') posted by chuckdarwin at 6:28 AM on April 20, 2007
He looks a bit like Herman Dune with less talent. posted by dobbs at 6:31 AM on April 20, 2007
I'm amused by 'Thou shalt not take the names of X, Y and Z in vain' followed by 'Thou shalt not put recording artists on a pedestal.' posted by jacquilynne at 6:33 AM on April 20, 2007
A discussion about the song, by the people involved:
A DJ asks who Crass was. WTF? posted by dobbs at 6:46 AM on April 20, 2007
Thou shall not use obscure hip hop slang out of context. posted by TechnoLustLuddite at 7:10 AM on April 20, 2007
In my formative punk rock days, right after I got a car, so 1991 or about, I went to the Karma Records at 86th and Keystone hoping to find some Crass records. I knew about Crass either because I'd read about them in MRR or (more likely) the punk rock girl whose locker was right next to mine and on whom I had a massive, unspoken, and unrequited crush had a hand-made Crass t-shirt she wore every single day.
So anyway, I'm in Karma and, as usual, there's nothing between Crash Test Dummies (were they A Thing yet in 1991?) and The Cure. So I ask the friendly stoner clerk, who plays with the computer and insists there's No Such Band.
But, I say, look, for sale, right behind you, between the DK's and the Sisters of Mercy, you have a Crass bumper sticker!
Friendly stoner guy looks at it, says Huh, and shoos me away.
To me, he sounds almost exactly like The Streets dude. Is that my tin 'murican ear unable to disambiguate cross-pond accents? posted by Kwine at 7:33 AM on April 20, 2007
From the interview: "is it, like, a Nietzsche reference? ... no, not really".
But good find. Awesome. posted by GuyZero at 7:46 AM on April 20, 2007
My deepest sympathies for posting this. I lack all attempts at rhythm and meter, and don't even have a nice English accent to back things up!
----
Thou shalt not post if you are the original author.
Thou shalt not worship favorites or follow non-cabals.
Thou shalt not take the names of Matthew Haughey, Jessamyn West, Josh Millard, Paul Bausch, Todd Loken, Matthew Chen or the Green in vain.
Thou shalt not think any girl over the size of 14 that eats a sandwich is a hurf-durf butter eater… Some people are just big boned.
Thou shalt not read Fark.
Thall shalt not stop likin' a band just 'cause they’ve b'come popular.
Thou shalt not post while drunk or fried.
Thou shalt not judge a post by its poster.
Thou shalt not judge a question by its unmarked answers.
Thall shalt not buy Pepsi Blue products. Thou shalt not buy self-link'd products.
Thou shalt not go into the grey with a vendetta, call'em out, and whine 'bout him.
Thou shalt not favorite so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, songs or Comment Fables to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not link The Onion.
Thou shalt not crap in a thread and leave as soon as you done your shitty little quip or insult you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same topic week in, week out just ’cause you once made a post that got lots of comments but interest's waning.
Thou shalt not put websites and online communities on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.
Kuro5hin - is just a site
Google News - Just a site
The New York Times - Just a site
Cute Overload - Just a site
YouTube - Just a site
Digg - Just a site
Kottke - Just a site
Flickr - Were just a site.
Technorati - Just a site
Instapundit - Just a site
Think Progress - Just a site
LGF - Just a site
MySpace - They're just a site
MetaChat - Just a site
Boing Boing - Just a site
The Next Big Thing - JUST A SITE
Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-english speaking countries as to those that occur in english speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that flames, callouts and memes were never part of the four elements and never will be.
Thou shalt not make goddamn double posts, thou shalt not make goddamn double posts, thou shalt not make goddamn double posts, thou shalt not make goddamn double posts.
Thou shalt not link to ads.
Thou shalt not ask what a period means.
Thou shalt not need a television to understand this.
Thou shalt not make say it vibrates.
When I say “end” thou shalt not say “well”.
When I say “Wen” thou shalt not say “dell”.
When I say, he say, she say, we say, "signal to noise" - kill me.
[Ah, forgot where I was, there go]
Thou shalt not quote me longly.
Thou shalt not sign the end of your comment.
Thou shalt not wish you girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “AskMe” Cap-A-S-K-Cap-M-E not A-S-K-M-E-F-I, regardless of what the header at the top of the front page tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that dios went off on nofundy in a NewsFilter post with a yet another callout.
Thou shalt think for yourselves.
Is the only reason anyone is interpreting these lyrics for deeper meaning because the guy in the video has a long scraggly beard and thus looks 'wise' like a rabbi or imam?
Thou shalt play your own instruments. posted by Pastabagel at 8:00 AM on April 20, 2007
Robocop: not just a MeFite
Wow, dude. You are amazing. posted by arcticwoman at 8:09 AM on April 20, 2007
All that needs to be said is: Let's see whether anyone will listen to this song in a month, once it's taken off rotation. posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:17 AM on April 20, 2007
I liked. And I do not question Stephen Fry. The Smiths were more than 'just a band'. posted by everichon at 8:20 AM on April 20, 2007
Kept listening for it to become more than an irritating Streets knock-off. It didn't. posted by Kirklander at 8:21 AM on April 20, 2007
I know a fellow with that beard. He is sullen, dickish, an alcoholic of the first order, and in two bands. posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:32 AM on April 20, 2007
Heard this on the radio the other day and was totally into it, then they got to the "just a band" part, and I was thinking yes! yes! yes! until they said,
"the Pixies: just a band."
*sigh* I guess someone had to say it. posted by whatnot at 8:33 AM on April 20, 2007
How did Bloc Party get in there? posted by cillit bang at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2007
Metafilter - just a blog. posted by googly at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2007
Thou shalt not think the un-trimmed beard look is made up for by ... anything. posted by thinkpiece at 10:24 AM on April 20, 2007
scraggly beard also = hot gay "bear" action. Which is either deliciously ironic or surprisingly accurate. Actually, I suppose he'd be more of an otter or wolf...
Either way, great fun, this music thing. posted by LMGM at 11:26 AM on April 20, 2007
IZZIT???? posted by kairab at 11:45 AM on April 20, 2007
Scroobius is ok but I'll be keeping my ear out for more from LeSac. posted by subtle_squid at 11:52 AM on April 20, 2007
This rocked, and especially the part about people leaving open mics right after playing. I hate that so much. posted by ORthey at 11:52 AM on April 20, 2007
"just a band"
There is something to be said for deranged enthusiastic attachment. Sure, there is no intrinsic worth to your favorite artistic, athletic or political entity, be it a person or a group. But worth is never intrinsic, it is always extrinsic. You might as well say that the person you love is "just a human." It's undeniably true, but it misses the point. The problem with cynicism is that there is no logical endpoint to it. It's all encompassing. Which is, of course, what makes it such an attractive choice for an outlook on life.
I liked it when I first heard it a few months ago, and I still do, but I still don't get the 'pheonix' thing. I mean, why would you want to deliberately spell phoenix wrongly?
It's cute, full of contradictory bombast, and bound to be a hit. posted by metaxa at 12:20 PM on April 20, 2007
plus, anything that gets the kids of today to actually check out the bands name-checked in this track has got to be good in anyone's books... posted by metaxa at 12:21 PM on April 20, 2007
Robocop is Bleeding - I'm late to the party, but I just wanted to say that your post was wonderful.
Also, this song rocks. posted by EatTheWeak at 3:33 PM on April 20, 2007
Kind of the exact opposite of 1967 (40 years ago) when rebel songs were about tearing down the old order, now its about creating new order out of chaos.
I interpreted the "Thou shalt kill" line as being a bit more somber. It seems that he's resigned to the fact that humans will always kill eachother for some reason or another. Whereas most of the lines are commands, I felt this one was a mere statement of fact. posted by odinsdream at 3:57 PM on April 20, 2007
Thanks for the coolio post! posted by Dizzy at 4:19 PM on April 20, 2007
was anyone else disappointed that the youTube video quality (as always) is quite low, then excited to see it's on iTunes in much higher resolution, then disappointed again at the realization that the iTunes video is more censored than the youTube one (e.g. CocaCola's logo, the album covers are pixelated).
why would you want to deliberately spell phoenix wrongly?>
probably because he thinks language should be spelled more how it sounds. when you say phoenix, it sounds like "PHE-nix" as opposed to "PHO-nix"...
it's out with the illogical old, in with the sensical new.
i had some kids at school today spell "castle" as "casole" ... according to scroobius, they did the right thing... posted by eli_d at 9:59 PM on April 20, 2007
Though shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend's best friend, take drugs, and cheat on him.
Somebody needs a cup of tea and a blanky. posted by Sparx at 2:09 PM on April 21, 2007 [1 favorite]
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I saw this a day or two ago. It's great. "Thou Shalt Always Kill" is said as he stands in front of the presidential seal. But according to the youtube comments, "kill" is also hip hop slang for "do great at." Youngsters?
posted by craniac at 10:59 PM on April 19, 2007