What's Her Face... and staple sauce... a heaping bowl of staple sauce.

September 10, 2013 10:02 PM

TEEN GIRL SQUAD! Cheerleader! So-and-So! What's Her Face! The Ugly One! Exchanging Decemberween presents! Fondly recalling kindergarten! Battling it out with the bands! Coping with grievous tragedy! In twenty-four great-smelling colors! Off to camp! Valentime's! Sitting on the babies! Exempting those exams! Attending Teen Girl Prom! Meanwhile, Sci-Fi Greg, DnD Greg, Open Source Greg, and Japanese Culture Greg step into the Apple Store robotic dragon's lair...
posted by Rory Marinich (66 comments total)

If you miss Homestar Runner, try an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Junior. One of the Brothers Chaps works on it and the style definitely lives on.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:08 PM on September 10, 2013 [6 favorites]

The Brothers Chaps also work on Gravity Falls and the Aquabats! Super Show!, and once you know that then the state of media circa 2013 makes a whole lot more sense, I think.

(The Aquabats, of course, created Yo Gabba Gabba, making them one of the more furtive powers behind the throne.)
posted by Rory Marinich at 10:16 PM on September 10, 2013 [8 favorites]

Here, the Rory: have a trophy!
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:19 PM on September 10, 2013 [3 favorites]

I got jimmies.
posted by The Whelk at 10:21 PM on September 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

Ohhh Trevor...I pine for you...
posted by rollbiz at 10:24 PM on September 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

Looks like a usb dongle goblin to me.
posted by benzenedream at 10:37 PM on September 10, 2013

I can date Science Fiction Greg again!
posted by Apropos of Something at 10:46 PM on September 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

why thank you, Bret. You've filled out nicely too.
posted by daisystomper at 11:00 PM on September 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

I can't believe this hasn't been posted here before. I guess I've been...ARROWED!

PS these clothes smell like grandmaws
posted by sexyrobot at 11:37 PM on September 10, 2013 [4 favorites]

Oh many, that jingly theme song. There was a month when that was stuck in my head SO HARD, and now it's back.
posted by straight at 11:45 PM on September 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

I believe I shall celebrate this post with a light switch rave, and then perhaps getting ye flask.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:53 PM on September 10, 2013 [7 favorites]

I like music... and, um, cloth.
posted by pernoctalian at 11:55 PM on September 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you miss Strong Bad and Homestar Runner, may I suggest the Telltale Strong Bad (PC/Wii) games? The Brothers Chapman were obviously deeply, deeply involved in those games and they are like an interactive version of about 100 Strong Bad emails. They're stuffed full of hilarious new content as well as tons of callbacks to the Strong Bad videos.

I assume they are a big reason the Strong Bad emails stopped. I imagine the guys must've got burned out somewhat making the games, although it doesn't show. They aren't particularly great as adventure games, but the writing and the clever, creative silliness remains strong throughout all five games. My favorite is Episode 4, where the conceit is that you're watching a home video (Dangeresque 3) and all the characters are pretending (with varying degrees of willingness/success/consistency) to be characters in Strong Bad's silly detective movie.

(My favorite part of Matt Chapman's voice work is that he not only creates distinct voices for all the characters, but he can do a recognizable version of Strong Bad imitating any of the other characters.)
posted by straight at 12:05 AM on September 11, 2013 [15 favorites]

You can't get ye flask.
posted by straight at 12:05 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

It really makes me happy that the Brothers Chaps are working on Gravity Falls. They could have just used their powers for good, but they chose to use them for awesome!
posted by MrBadExample at 12:12 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

This is where I point out how fantastic the Aquabats Super Show is. Specifically the episode Cobraman. Specifically specifically that Matt Chapman plays a character named "Carl" in that episode WEARING A STRONG BAD WRESTLING MASK and speaking EXACTLY like Strong Bad, even using Strong Bad-isms.

It's AMAZING
posted by sleeping bear at 12:15 AM on September 11, 2013 [6 favorites]

It is very very nice that the Chaps chaps are working and letting their wonderfulness percolate through the popular culture. But I still miss Homestar Runner. When they finally get back to it, will Flash even be a thing anymore? You already can't view most of the site on the most popular mobile platforms. Will HTML5 Homestar be the same?
posted by JHarris at 12:16 AM on September 11, 2013

(And don't forget, Strong Bad is a player in the first Poker Night at the Inventory, where he plays against Tycho, The Heavy and Max of Sam & Max. And after Tycho's recent public statements, it's a lot easier to get into SB's putdowns of him.)
posted by JHarris at 12:18 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

And I really wish I had a way to see more Aquabats. That's a show that deserves wider exposure.
posted by JHarris at 12:19 AM on September 11, 2013

I can't believe this hasn't been posted here before. I guess I've been...ARROWED!

You spelt that wrong. PEDANT'D!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:57 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

So, once upon a time I was at a retirement party at a local bar and grill - THIS GETS BACK TO HOMESTAR RUNNER I SWEAR - anyhow, at some point, a coworkers daughter shows up talks to her mom and her mom says "why not just eat here?" so she sits down and orders a burger and is immediately bored in that way that only a teenager surrounded by adults with which she has nothing in common can be. I feel bad for her but there isn't much I can do to assuage her ennui until her mom mentions something about her wanting a serger. "Wait a minute, a fellow maker of stuff!?!?!" think I, and so we talk for a while about tools and things we have made and skills we have and skills we wished we had and so on. This goes on for a while until that thread of conversation dies off. A little while later her mom asks her what the thing she was watching a while back was, and goes on to describe it. It was obvious the daughter didn't get what she was referring to, but I did. "Uh, Neon Genesis Evangelion?"

Suddenly it was the lightning round and the topic was "How cool can you possibly be and be over 40?" I was doing pretty well when her mom said, "Ask him about that one thing - the one with all the characters!" and I pretty much won the game by saying "You mean Homestar Runner?"

Then I revealed I was the guy at 0:39. I might as well have said I was the Greek god Apollo.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:11 AM on September 11, 2013 [19 favorites]

The best part of the Aquabats are the fight scenes, which look exactly like 8-year-olds pretend-fighting. If there is a polar opposite of Samo Hung/Jackie Chan choreographed martial arts precision, it's the Aquabats beating up a rubber monster. It's kind of genius.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:44 AM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

Three piece?
posted by graphnerd at 5:04 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

EndsOfInvention: You spelt that wrong. PEDANT'D!

You look burnt... or dead.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:16 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

JHarris: You already can't view most of the site on the most popular mobile platforms.

If they put their toons and sbemails on iTunes for $0.99 each I would probably go broke.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:18 AM on September 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

<marquee>possums</marquee>
posted by Rock Steady at 5:26 AM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

Awwwsome. Thanks, Rory!
posted by jennaratrix at 5:38 AM on September 11, 2013

Oh, and my Homestar Runner story is this: I honestly don't remember how I found it, but it was probably MetaFilter a wicked long time ago. I still have t-shirts that I'm wearing out. But here's the real story: in 2005, I moved in with my now-husband and (somewhat unexpectedly) his three boys, aged 5, 7, and 11. I'd set the boys upon a computer to keep them busy while I was unpacking, and introduced the oldest (now 19) to Homestar Runner. It was the first thing we bonded over, quickly followed by Calvin and Hobbes (since I had all the books). We still occasionally joke around about Strong Bad. Good stuff.
posted by jennaratrix at 5:44 AM on September 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

Oh oh oh, and I still have the sbtechno song in my iTunes. Yes, really.
posted by jennaratrix at 5:46 AM on September 11, 2013

Oh oh oh, and I still have the sbtechno song in my iTunes. Yes, really.

I love that, working in IT, I can pretty much just start going "dum-dum-dum-dum" and immediately instigate a lightswitch rave.
posted by bfranklin at 5:49 AM on September 11, 2013 [5 favorites]

Then we dip it in molten Plexiglass to give it that "kids under three are sure to choke on it" look.
posted by ostranenie at 6:01 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

This issue of Triangle Dog magazine showed up in my office recently, and you can understand my momentary excitement at the headline, but alas, it is just a story about an agility dog named Homestar Runner.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:07 AM on September 11, 2013

There are a few good backgrounders on HSR out there. The thing I found most interesting was that the site first built its fan base at Christian colleges, because it was the rare web animation series to be both funny and totally devoid of sex/violence/swearing.
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 6:24 AM on September 11, 2013 [6 favorites]

Just like Will Smith says, you don't need to "work blue" to make a hit - a lot of times, "edgy" is a cover for a lack of talent, commitment or follow-through. It takes serious chops to make something so entertaining to both excitable 10 year olds and cynical 40-somethings.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:44 AM on September 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

You look burnt... or dead.

My head asplode.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:52 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

PEDANT'D!

Damn straight! It's "What's Her Face... ATE Staple Sauce."

Come on, here, people. Get your heads in the game.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:09 AM on September 11, 2013

Gonna get a breadtangle of pizza!
posted by bicyclefish at 7:31 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Oh man. This was such a huge part of my high school experience. All of us artnerds, sitting around in studio class and singing ~wave o' babies~ at each other...
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:53 AM on September 11, 2013

Teen Girl Squad is *just now* hitting the blue?!

...I have a crush on *every boy*
posted by Mooseli at 7:55 AM on September 11, 2013 [5 favorites]

Mooseli, I'm doing the duolingo thing (thanks to learning about it on the gray) and a lot of times the sentences they have you translate will be odd or vaguely humorous and you wonder how intentionall it was, and sometimes you get something like "No soup for you!" and know it was intentional.

The one I'm still most on the fence about, in terms of whether it was intentional or not, was essentially "I have a crush on every boy."
posted by Navelgazer at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2013

That last video was a new one for me, so thanks for this.
posted by jepler at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2013

Oh man. This was such a huge part of my high school experience.

Kids these days, and the garbage they're into. When I was your age, we sat around and sang "Trogdor."
posted by bicyclefish at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2013

...possums...
posted by Mister Moofoo at 8:20 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Man, I totally need to go home and listen to my Strong Bad Sings CD, something I haven't done in years. Those guys weren't just great comedy writers, they could really pen a catchy tune.
posted by Rangeboy at 8:23 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wait, the whole thing's on YouTube! Now I'm going to be singing "The Cheat Is Not Dead," at my desk all day.

Sure, I got tons of rhythm.
posted by Rangeboy at 8:30 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Once again, Biscuit Dough Hands Man slips through our fingers!
posted by antonymous at 8:31 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Teen Girl Squad is *just now* hitting the blue?!

I have a textfile full of awesome things from the Internet that have somehow never made their way to MeFi. It's impressive how many things make it through the net.
posted by Rory Marinich at 8:36 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Considering the response that Strong Bad's voice alone got at w00tstock (whatever the heck THAT is), it seems that there is still a market eager for Strong Bad and his cloud of marshmallow vapor encased in a globule of semi-solid licorice colloid. I keep hoping for a return, but I know that it ain't happening.
posted by 1adam12 at 8:41 AM on September 11, 2013

Oh oh oh, and I still have the sbtechno song in my iTunes. Yes, really.

Go grab lots of songs and sound files from the Bank of Free Country USA Downloads ATM.

Nothing like Strong Bad suddenly announcing "SOMEBODY GET THIS FREAKIN DUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!" when the whole iTunes library is on random. :)
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:47 AM on September 11, 2013 [4 favorites]

THAT TOMPKINS IS SUCH A REBEL.
posted by like_a_friend at 8:53 AM on September 11, 2013

Wave of babies!
posted by Lyn Never at 8:54 AM on September 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Then crazy learner-permit girl ...
Give me a ride...
to Babbages...

WHAT. THEY DON'T GOT NO TURBO GRAFX GAMES?
posted by like_a_friend at 8:57 AM on September 11, 2013

The system. . . is down. The system. . . is down. [doo-dit-da-doo-doo-doo, doo-dit-da-doo-doo-doo].
posted by jennaratrix at 9:28 AM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Get down off that smokestack and eat your the checkd.
posted by dr_dank at 9:59 AM on September 11, 2013

Oh man, Teen Girl Squad. We still quote it, years after the fact. Oh, how I miss the Decemberween cartoons, and the Strongbad commentary on reader-submitted costume photos.

"Ah, The Cheat's hot mom. Always in and out of prison."

Once upon a time I made friends with a mom simply because my then-baby was wearing a Trogdor tee.
posted by 41swans at 10:07 AM on September 11, 2013

An Apple is Not Candy!!
You get egg'd! You get egg'd! You get egg'd!

Jugga jigga wug jug jigga wug jigga wug jug
Jugga jigga wug jug jigga wug jigga wug jug
Jugga jigga wug jug jigga wug jigga wug jug
Jugga jigga wug jug jigga wug jigga wug jug
posted by straight at 10:26 AM on September 11, 2013

I miss videogames. I miss my mom.
posted by neuromodulator at 11:11 AM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

Quote of the Week Archive

Sever your leg, please. It's the greatest day.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:25 PM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

I genuinely sometimes call tomatoes matermorts to this day.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:38 PM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

I'd like to participate more in this thread, but I have Stuff To Do at the moment. Still, just throwing up the Homestar Runner Wiki for all yalls.
posted by JHarris at 1:58 PM on September 11, 2013

I keep hoping for a return, but I know that it ain't happening.

Oh, it probably will someday. It'll probably be brief but joyous, a final shining moment basking in the sun. Half of everyone will probably say it wasn't as good as it was before. Then we'll all die.
posted by JHarris at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2013

My daughter Molly sent in the Diorama question. I still call her Mollybdenum.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 3:57 PM on September 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

Matt Chapman moderated this year's Gravity Falls Comic Con Panel (yes, both Kristen Schaal and Mabel's sweater make an appearance). He's also one of the writers on the show. Unfortunately, I don't think Mike Chapman is involved, as he still lives in Georgia.
posted by FJT at 4:08 PM on September 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Corn is no place for a mighty warrior!
posted by Foosnark at 7:37 PM on September 11, 2013

Gotta jump on the high school nostalgia train with Making Fiends.
posted by archagon at 8:52 PM on September 11, 2013

Looking at the homestarrunner tag is an interesting review of the blue. HSR was first posted to the blue in January 2001, a year and a half after the site first opened. The last post was one I threw together about the games from the site, and there are seven other posts between those (plus a blatant bit of shilling for a shop that sells guitar strings, with a reference to HSR thrown in for good measure). But this is the first post dedicated to the Teen Girl Squad (though they were first mentioned in Feb. 2003, and they debuted in Dec. '02, so as a whole, we weren't that much behind the times).
posted by filthy light thief at 12:53 PM on September 13, 2013 [1 favorite]