partymeister to the plebians

August 14, 2007 9:57 PM

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG is a musical composition by the inimitable Dan Deacon, dubbed by his local paper as part vaudeville ham, part electronica genius. Take a tour of Dan's thrift-store electronic keyboard and read his answers to stupid questions in Ignore Magazine. via Miss Cellania
posted by madamjujujive (34 comments total)

Good ol' Dan Deacon. He's the bees knees!
posted by carsonb at 10:04 PM on August 14, 2007

Thanks so much for posting this, I love what little Dan Deacon I've heard, and that was pretty fun!
posted by chlorus at 10:15 PM on August 14, 2007

Scary Internet meme cross-over: Tay freakin' Zonday is opening Deacon's upcoming show with Girl Talk in Minneapolis.

Really.
posted by sparkletone at 10:55 PM on August 14, 2007

So nice. That fanciful keyboard setup is great. What is that Casio? Thanks, madamjujujive!
posted by sleepy pete at 10:56 PM on August 14, 2007

I want to believe he's that weird a guy, that's he really believes in this music, and that it's not just a show to capture hipsters (Pitchfork loves him). I want to believe.

That Tay/Girl Talk/Deacon lineup sounds amazing, the sort of show you'd hallucinate when intoxicated. Shame it's in bloody minneapolis.
posted by phrontist at 11:08 PM on August 14, 2007

Okay, mjj, it's like this: You have made many fine posts that I've enjoyed since I first discovered MeFi about a year and a half ago. I've journeyed back through the foggy ruins of time, too, to search through, discover and enjoy many of the posts you made in the years prior to my discovering and joining MeFi. And truth be told, you are one of my big-time top fave MeFiers.

But from here on out, you will always hold a extra special place in my heart as the woman who introduced me to Dan Deacon.

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG is a deliciously twisted piece of music, and that video is the best music video ever made anywhere in the universe.

That is all.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:33 AM on August 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

If it's good enough for flapjax, it's good enough for me.
posted by Poolio at 1:04 AM on August 15, 2007

there is simply no substitute for seeing dan deacon in person...he literally nearly shut down the entire pitchfork music festival
posted by Kifer85 at 1:27 AM on August 15, 2007

If my GF didn't interpret "this might not be right, tell me and I'll change it" as "sit down in reverential silence and listen to the whole of this, then rant at me about why I made you sit through it" then Dan Deacon would have caused one less argument in the world.

I like him though.
posted by vbfg at 1:46 AM on August 15, 2007

I second Kifer on Dan Deacon in person. When I saw him, he set up shop in the crowd and encouraged fans to climb up on the stage and look down on him. This man can squeeze more awesome out of those little machines than you'd think possible.
posted by dougunderscorenelso at 6:03 AM on August 15, 2007

I saw a show a couple months back, and he had a dance contest. Everybody made a huge circle, and then Dan picked one person to kick it off, who chose the next participant after like 30 seconds or something. It was way cool.

He also did a spot on the local college radio station, where he encouraged people to check him out on the web. "Turn on your computer and then go to google. That's double-u double-u double-u dot google dot com." That was the best and truest set of instructions for finding an artist on the internet I've ever heard.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 6:33 AM on August 15, 2007

A bunch of friends and I were just reminiscing about Dan Deacon, who went to the same college. Thank you so much for posting this. I now have my soundtrack for the day.
posted by munchingzombie at 6:33 AM on August 15, 2007

flapjax at midnite, your kind words are starting my day off on a nice footing - thank you!

sparkeltone, just the thought of all that internet awesomeness on one stage makes my head assplode.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:35 AM on August 15, 2007

he literally nearly shut down the entire pitchfork music festival

Oh come now, I was kind of sad that I missed his show there, but I don't think the large field of people watching Cat Power were in any danger of getting shut down when Dan Deacon was doing his thing on the side stage!

(Yes, I regret not seeing Dan Deacon, but he'll be touring near here soon. And I got to be half drunk and sit on a blanket while listening to Cat Power, so I think I kind of split my losses.)
posted by mikeh at 7:03 AM on August 15, 2007

Yes! Dan Deacon is totally incredible live. Please go see him if you have a chance. He tells the most -amazing- stories between songs, about deer and floating orbs and things. Also, consistently impressive use of the English language.

phrontist: I've talked to him a few times when he's come through town, and he seems like a generally agreeable, and agreeably wacky, person. I don't think he's putting on a show to capture hipsters. Just entertain them.
posted by hapticactionnetwork at 7:21 AM on August 15, 2007

I'd be really tempted to go if the show were on a weekend, or closer than 6 hours away from me. I'd be mostly going because Girl Talk puts on a good dance party.

I'd be kind of creeped out seeing Tay Zonday in person though, honestly. His recent Jimmy Kimmel performance makes him look like what you'd get if a human bred with one of the animatronic animals from Chuck E Cheese. Maybe it's just that he's super nervous and is performing stiffly as a result?

I'm conflicted.

And in general, physical manifestations of Internet memes set of all sorts of Gibson-ian alarm bells in my head, especially the ones that happen (by accident) to be people.

On the other hand, it'd almost be worth going (if it were closer or on a weekend) just to say I was there. Also, to see if Girl Talk does anything involving Chocolate Rain in his est.

And, you know. For the awesome dance party-ness of it all.
posted by sparkletone at 7:57 AM on August 15, 2007

I saw him live a couple of months ago; I talked with him before & after the show, & he seems genuinely friendly & very odd. At that show, he set up in front of the stage, & many people from the audience stayed up there the rest of the show.

I'm planning to see him when he passes through town again in November.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:51 AM on August 15, 2007

God I love him. So squishy! Thanks for the links!
posted by unknowncommand at 9:04 AM on August 15, 2007

Scary internet synchronicity. I'm going to one of his gigs next week in London UK.
posted by surrendering monkey at 9:24 AM on August 15, 2007

I want to believe he's that weird a guy, that's he really believes in this music, and that it's not just a show to capture hipsters (Pitchfork loves him). I want to believe.

True - this whole thing resembles a lesser DAT Politics/Kevin Blechdom crossbred with Napoleon frigging Dynamite to produce something more palatable to Pitchfork. I guess the Bene Gesserit are up to their breeding programs again.
posted by kid ichorous at 9:37 AM on August 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

Thanks for all the reports from live sightings - but HEY - wait just a doggone minute - Kifer85, dougunderscorenelso, solipsophistocracy, munchingzombie, hapticactionnetwork, Pronoiac, and all you others who already knew about Deacon - I am chastising you all severely for not coming back from your concerts, googling him up, and telling your fellow mefites about this guy before. That's what we all count on you for - keeping us in the loop of the happening stuff!

Do you want Boing Boing and Digg to beat us to all the cool stuff?
posted by madamjujujive at 10:05 AM on August 15, 2007

Reminds me a bit of the timeless classic (now ancient, in internet years) Hatt Hatt Baby.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:09 AM on August 15, 2007

surrendering monkey: "Scary internet synchronicity. I'm going to one of his gigs next week in London UK."

Thanks for the headsup - since tickets are only £5, I'll be there to see if he be or b'aint be the real thing. :)
posted by Drexen at 10:38 AM on August 15, 2007

sorry madame.

It's made of pure awesome: here's his video for Crystal Cat.

I have more to write, but now I'm busy listening to Spiderman of the Rings. It's riotously joyous.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:01 AM on August 15, 2007

Nice link, madam jjj, especially the title (I never thought about it, but plebians probably do need a partymeister).

And of course, I'm happy to learn about people like Deacon. We have a few oddballs out here in the Maine woods, too, like The Electric Starlight Space Animals, but of course there never can be enough.
posted by LeLiLo at 11:55 AM on August 15, 2007

There is a lion with a shark's head and he's roaming through the jungle. He is searching for the gold, but he wants to be alone.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:11 PM on August 15, 2007

Or rather: There is a lion with a shark's head.
posted by shakespeherian at 12:17 PM on August 15, 2007

I saw Dan open up for Adult at Emo's in Austin a few months ago. The crowd at Emo's is typically composed of bored hipsters and a few drunk metalheads. I've never seen someone command an Emo's crowd like Dan Deacon did. He got people to form dance circles, sing along, scream randomly, and count down from, like, 3,478. It was truly inspiring.
posted by lunalaguna at 12:18 PM on August 15, 2007

this whole thing resembles a lesser DAT Politics/Kevin Blechdom crossbred with Napoleon frigging Dynamite to produce something more palatable to Pitchfork.

Captures my feelings exactly. I can never tell if Deacon is doing anything seriously or if it's all just a lark. And his dancing feels way too self-consciously bad.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:32 PM on August 15, 2007

I was at that same show, at Emo's in Austin. I was just there for Adult. but Dan Deacon stole the show.
Fantastic stuff.

The stories in-between songs about the satanic demon cop pee snow tourbus thing was awesome too.
posted by Espoo2 at 12:52 PM on August 15, 2007

Dan Deacon shows aren't what they used to be here in Chicago. In just a few years, he's made so many friends and fans, that, with the addition of Pitchfork-style hype, his shows are too packed for anyone to see what he's doing. Also, there's no longer the element of surprise at seeing him play spastic dance music instead of math rock or whatever you expect to see when you look at him.

The parties are great, but he doesn't really shine above it anymore. He used to command the crowd, now they just go nuts because they're supposed to.

At a Pitchfork-afterparty at Reversible Eye however, when motherfuckers were dancing so hard they broke the floor, it didn't really matter either way. It was just fun.
posted by elr at 2:57 PM on August 15, 2007

Did you all ever hear about people dancing?

Together? For fun? Because the music was good?

Because this is the opposite of that.

It is cool, though. (And cool is approximately so 60 years ago.)
posted by humannaire at 9:04 PM on August 15, 2007

lelilo, I would love to take credit for the title but I cribbed it from the Ignore Magazine interview. But I agree with you, it's a great turn of phrase.

Thanks for the link to The Electric Starlight Space Animals - love that they can be found on Zen Poodle Label. Yes, Maine does indeed have a lot of wonderful eccentrics tucked away - there's a lot of space for that!
posted by madamjujujive at 11:55 PM on August 15, 2007

I want to believe he's that weird a guy, that's he really believes in this music, and that it's not just a show to capture hipsters (Pitchfork loves him). I want to believe.

theres no reason not to, he's one of the nicest people ive ever hung out with, just trying to have a really good time.
posted by sponge at 10:25 AM on August 16, 2007