Comments on: Lookit Ira Glass Tryin' To Be Funny!

Lookit Ira Glass Tryin' To Be Funny!

The Whelk — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:06:28 -0800

At the Webby Arwards, the drummer from OK GO got into a staring contest.

By: Electric Dragon

Electric Dragon — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:10:46 -0800

Neither of them would last 5 minutes against Sigmund Spatsky.

By: VikingSword

VikingSword — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:10:58 -0800

Is? Is this? Is this something? Is this something I would need? Is this something I would need to have

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:11:49 -0800

I wish I could shoot rays of cancer out of my eyes and through the internet.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:13:52 -0800

I wonder when OK GO will make one too many viral videos for their own good.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:20:21 -0800

There should be two recognized forms of staring contests. The Unblinking and the Unbreaking Gaze. I suck at the former but excel at the latter.

By: Fizz

Fizz — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:25:42 -0800

Animal cheated!

By: angrycat

angrycat — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:29:58 -0800

i never knew animal had eyelids also, that second muppet is a total stoner

By: timsteil

timsteil — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:32:55 -0800

God i hate OK GO with the heat of a thousand fiery suns. They were mooks in Chicago until Ira Glass waved his fabulous wand on them. Now they are insufferable mooks. They should start every track with Ira going..."But..but..but...when he realized" There is so much good music right here in Chicago that goes unheard because of doinks like this who blew a big advance on a video. Props to their marketing skills, but Jebus just go away already. You're worse than a Geico commercial.

By: dbiedny

dbiedny — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:33:12 -0800

I'd love to stare at a muppet, but the Shit Sandwich™ is blocking my line of sight. Best of the Web(bies), indeed. Blech.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:34:07 -0800

that second muppet That'll be Sgt. Floyd Pepper, the bass player in the Electric Mayhem

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:35:05 -0800

And the Mayhem are about a zillion times the band OK GO will ever be...

By: clarknova

clarknova — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:41:47 -0800

The consolation prize was an animated .gif _{Which means he also won a Webby award.}

By: mightygodking

mightygodking — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:43:12 -0800

Okay, so Metafilter hates OK Go now? It's so hard to keep track of what we hate and don't hate. I wish there was, like, a spreadsheet that got updated daily or something. It would make things easier. Although I will admit that it would have been slightly cooler if it was Lady Gaga having a staring contest with Animal.

By: Think_Long

Think_Long — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:43:52 -0800

It's weird to see a video with Zach Galifinakis (sp?) when he's not the center of attention.

By: Think_Long

Think_Long — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:45:14 -0800

There is so much good music right here in Chicago that goes unheard because of doinks like this who blew a big advance on a video. Umm, I'm not sure how OK Go is preventing other musicians from being heard, but ok. They were also pretty big before they blew their big advance on that video where they were dancing in their back yard to choreography done by their sister. Huge money was spent.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:46:20 -0800

Okay, so Metafilter hates OK Go now? I can't speak for the site. I just hate. Without particular object or purpose. Grar.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:49:11 -0800

Your favorite...

By: hal9k

hal9k — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:49:33 -0800

Is this something I would need to have a glass eye? Two glass eyes? Ira Glass? What? I shiver with antici

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:53:53 -0800

pation

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:58:40 -0800

There have been more OKGO posts than Gaga posts in the past month. So, um, congratulations?

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:07:21 -0800

who's OKGO?

By: inturnaround

inturnaround — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:10:07 -0800

The second Muppet is Sgt. Floyd Pepper, he's the only Muppet who can really control Animal and is the bass player for the Electric Mayhem. The role was first performed by Jerry Nelson (who was also Gobo Fraggle, Count Von Count, Robin the Frog and Emmet Otter amongst many other roles). Nelson retired from puppeteering a few years ago due to health reasons, but he continued to voice some of his roles after that point synced to Matt's puppeteering. So, any new Count segments you see on Sesame Street will be them working together. But the (Disney) Muppet roles have now largely been completely recast, Matt Vogel is the current man to play Floyd. That's Vogel you hear on that video and in the last Muppets Christmas special "Letters to Santa". As for Animal, of course he was originally played by Frank Oz, but he (and most of Oz's characters) is now played chiefly by Eric Jacobson. Jacobson does most of the new Bert and Grover stuff for Sesame, but Frank Oz does come to play them a day or two a year when he can to record new skits. I've been impressed with his work. I was really surprised when I found out that Piggy in "A Very Merry Muppet Christmas" was him and not Oz.

By: Brocktoon

Brocktoon — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:11:10 -0800

He hipster'd all over that fool.

By: empath

empath — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:11:55 -0800

i thought this was hilarious. And again, the mefi hate squad comes out. how boring.

By: Lutoslawski

Lutoslawski — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:14:45 -0800

I really don't like playing flash games, so I usually skip over those threads. I guess I figure that if I go in and start a polemic about how much flash games are sucky and a waste of time, I am then wasting my time with flash games, which is exactly the thing I'm decrying and...and...Derrida on Joyce and all of that. sigh. Few things are less interesting than having to read why someone hates such and such band, how much better the other scenester bands theyre into are, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I am so hip because of all my hate blah blah blah That was hilarious. The muppets + Ok Go + Ira Glass is a win. They certainly aren't my favorite band, but a band that 1) creates an incredible Rube Goldberg machine for a music video 2) sells USB drives after their shows disguised as dominoes that have both their new record and a recording of the concert you just saw on them and 3) plays in odd meters, especially in 5 are OK in my book. Very funny. Thanks Whelk.

By: empath

empath — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:15:57 -0800

They were mooks in Chicago until Ira Glass waved his fabulous wand on them.

Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."

And in the city where they played their first gigs, lo shall the hipsters sneer at them and post jibes on the internet.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:23:58 -0800

Play it from 1:41 to the end with the sound at maximum volume and see if the neighbors come knocking.

By: idiopath

idiopath — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:30:50 -0800

mightygodking: "Okay, so Metafilter hates OK Go now?" Wait, wait, now Metafilter whines about Metafilter hating things? It's so hard to keep track of the unanimous voice of the hive mind.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:31:30 -0800

The only consensus is that there is no consensus, but that is still up for debate.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:37:34 -0800

NO THERE ISN'T!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:58:45 -0800

Buddy Rich vs Animal Drum Battle

By: fluffy battle kitten

fluffy battle kitten — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:03:27 -0800

I love Animal. I didn't want to like this video but I LOVE ANIMAL. As an added bonus the Animal noises made one of my dogs lose his mind and he started barking & whining at my laptop while sitting about an inch away from the screen.

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:09:46 -0800

I'm kind of indifferent about their music but I have enjoyed their very creative videos. Even if I didn't I think if I ever appeared in a video with a muppet that would pretty much make me the winner of life and anyone who shit in a thread about my muppet video appearance would pretty much be the... what's the opposite of winner?

By: Alnedra

Alnedra — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:18:48 -0800

I think I would have hated Ok Go if Animal had lost the staring match. GO ANIMAL!

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:19:30 -0800

Who is this OK Go, and what do they have to do with Lady Gaga? I only read posts about Lady Gaga.

By: girlhacker

girlhacker — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:22:11 -0800

I wonder if the puppeteer also didn't blink the entire time.

By: rhizome

rhizome — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:57:54 -0800

They should produce their own scandalous and embarrassing video.

By: PercussivePaul

PercussivePaul — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:35:17 -0800

Don't focus on the mouth. It's a classic strategy. Hey Dan, you know what you need to do? Focus on the mouth! Don't listen to him! Yeah just look at his mouth, man! It's freaky! I don't know, I laughed. Quite a bit.

By: oneswellfoop

oneswellfoop — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:46:37 -0800

The puppeteer was holding the puppet over his head the whole time. A muppet vs. muppet staring contest would be nothing but a test of upper arm endurance.

By: PhoBWanKenobi

PhoBWanKenobi — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:59:32 -0800

This was a video about muppet blinking! Who cares what band was in it! Deliberate! Muppet! Blinking!

By: Ratio

Ratio — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:08:41 -0800

Wow, there was a lot of facial hair in that video.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:47:24 -0800

Was Animal telling him to "go get drums" or "go get drugs"?

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:42:05 -0800

who's OKGO? They're some guys that make quirky, high-production short videos. Some people confuse them with a band because there's some very mediocre music in the videos.

By: horsewithnoname

horsewithnoname — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:43:42 -0800

I was able to watch this video on my new iPhone by holding it in my right hand.

By: jenkinsEar

jenkinsEar — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:50:40 -0800

I'm a little ambivalent about their music too. Animal's drumming has always been a high point, but Janice's vocals recall Donna Godchaux in the drunken disaster years. Zoot has become little more than a novelty act, leaving behind the complex counterpoints he mastered while gigging with Bird back in the seventies. Dr. Teeth himself is clearly phoning it in, and just channeling Dr. John these days. Disappointingly, he never seems to have anything inventive to say musically, without lurching into some nasty fake creole ranting. OK Go is pretty good, though.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:55:46 -0800

There is so much good music right here in Chicago that goes unheard because of doinks like this who blew a big advance on a video. Are you always this ridiculous or is this a recent development?

By: middleclasstool

middleclasstool — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:06:09 -0800

I had no idea what Floyd's full name was. I had no idea Floyd had a full name.

By: frenetic

frenetic — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:43:54 -0800

I'm just happy the Muppets are doing anything sort of funny. Animal blinking in relief was awesome.

By: inturnaround

inturnaround — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:24:40 -0800

I had no idea what Floyd's full name was. I had no idea Floyd had a full name. Well, his name is two references in one. A nod to The Beatles, of course, but since his head is pink...he's Pink Floyd.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:41:12 -0800

Floyd's the one in the "Great Muppet Caper" who didn't have no other pants.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:49:41 -0800

I wonder if the puppeteer also didn't blink the entire time. posted by girlhacker at 1:22 PM on 6/27 [has favorites +] [!] The what?

By: Kronos_to_Earth

Kronos_to_Earth — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:05:29 -0800

...guess the post needs a "blink" tag... ÒÓ

By: waxboy

waxboy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:51:04 -0800

Buddy Rich unavailable for comment. See Homunculus.

By: Dr Dracator

Dr Dracator — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:39:14 -0800

I wish there was, like, a spreadsheet that got updated daily or something. It would make things easier. Don't forget to include using a spreadsheet used as a database among the things to hate.

By: Dr Dracator

Dr Dracator — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:47:13 -0800

Also lack of proofreading, edit windows and lacko fo edit windows

By: rageagainsttherobots

rageagainsttherobots — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:13:05 -0800

I had no idea Ira Glass was affiliated with OK GO. Weirdness.

By: empath

empath — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:15:21 -0800

I had no idea Ira Glass was affiliated with OK GO. Weirdness. He was their original drummer back when they were playing dive bars in Hamburg. He decided to leave the band and settle down with his photographer girlfriend when they went to film their first video.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:18:14 -0800

Ira writes: Here's what I learned watching OK Go shoot this video: 1) When the Muppets are ready to stop performing (at least in a setting like the Webbys) before the puppeteer takes his hand out of the muppet, someone puts a black satin bag over the Muppet, so no one has the unpleasant experience of seeing the Muppet lifeless. That's pretty great.