Break a leg / cut the thread

November 8, 2013 5:12 AM

Yoko Ono's new single Bad Dancer has a video which involves Ira Glass, Questlove, Ira Glass, and other cool people dancing, well, poorly.
posted by Rory Marinich (44 comments total)

and justin vivan bond!
posted by PinkMoose at 5:26 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

That was a lot of fun. Besides everybody looking like they were having a great time, I loved how the costumes tied the black-on-white painting background (which also evoked calligraphy) and the aluminum-foil background together.

Also, Yoko has a nice set of gams.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:29 AM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

One of the best things you can do for yourself is follow her Facebook feed. Never a dull moment. Plenty of uplifting ones. Warning: she's crazy prolific for an 80 year old.
posted by 3.2.3 at 5:38 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Is Ira Glass in it?
posted by pracowity at 5:43 AM on November 8, 2013 [7 favorites]

Confirmation of Ira Glasses.
posted by mean square error at 5:46 AM on November 8, 2013 [4 favorites]

First I've noticed how over-40 the surviving Beastie Boys look. Truly they are Beastie Men. They look like cool dads I wanna hang out with.

Also: Reggie Watts!
posted by Peevish at 5:48 AM on November 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Sadly, I only wish I could dance as well as the people in the video.

Fun video, catchy song. :)
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:54 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

That's funny because I just made a dance video called "Bad Singer" that features Yoko Ono.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:56 AM on November 8, 2013 [4 favorites]

Season of Ira Glass.

And Betty Boop.
posted by pracowity at 5:59 AM on November 8, 2013

I didn't think Ira was that bad of a dancer. When he waggled his finger at the camera I would say he brought the sass.
posted by Beardman at 6:10 AM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

I want to hug everyone in this video.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:13 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Especially Yoko and ?uestlove when they are dancing, so I can mush them together into a funky art superhuman that makes everyone feel good.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:17 AM on November 8, 2013 [4 favorites]

Ira was faking it--he's a fantastic dancer.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:24 AM on November 8, 2013

See?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:26 AM on November 8, 2013

Ira writes about the experience.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:33 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is great!
posted by xingcat at 6:50 AM on November 8, 2013

Confirmation of Ira Glasses.

"Iras Glass", please.
posted by mhoye at 6:51 AM on November 8, 2013 [10 favorites]

So, this video is double glazed then?
posted by yoink at 6:52 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Warning: she's crazy prolific for an 80 year old.

Ain't that the truth! And I think she's getting better with age.
posted by three blind mice at 6:55 AM on November 8, 2013

"You said Ira Glass twice."
"I like Ira Glass."
posted by Billiken at 6:57 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Gah I meant to say Ira Glass and Reggie Watts. Originally I was gonna have Ira third, and then I was like, "but people know him!", so I put him first, and then I wrote Questlove, and then I wrote Ira again, and only then did I leave my bed and make myself coffee.

This message brought to you by coffee.
posted by Rory Marinich at 6:59 AM on November 8, 2013 [4 favorites]

I am virtually incapable of listening to radio/podcasts so the only thing I've ever seen of Ira Glass's was his video thingy on creativity. To me he's just a dude with cool glasses and a perfect name.
posted by Rory Marinich at 7:00 AM on November 8, 2013

Confirmation of Ira Glasses.

"Iras Glass", please.


I would like two, please.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:11 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Ira Glass recently unfollowed me on twitter.

This has nothing to do with this music video but I felt like I needed to share it.

In other news, Ira Glass followed me on Twitter. I still don't know why.
posted by schwa at 7:16 AM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

Apparently he didn't know either.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 7:32 AM on November 8, 2013 [5 favorites]

If you get the chance, you should really see Yoko Ono live because it is glorious.

This Guardian blog post about the video lets us know that Roberta Flack (also in the video) is Yoko Ono's neighbor. Their address is apparently 301 N. WHERE I WANT TO GO WHEN I DIE.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:45 AM on November 8, 2013 [5 favorites]

Anyone know who the tall, Annie Lennox looking person with the bleached blond hair was? Also google suggests that the two Japanese chicks at the beginning were Cibo Matto, as I thought. I award myself two hipster points and apply them to levelling up on Smugness.
posted by Diablevert at 7:47 AM on November 8, 2013 [4 favorites]

The tall, Annie Lennox looking person is Justin Bond (formerly Kiki of Kiki & Herb).
posted by muhonnin at 8:19 AM on November 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Well, then shit, I revoke my hipster points. In that case, whose's the really tall skinny dude with the floppy black Mohawk? That's who I thought was Justin Bond, I remember him being super tall. I even saw Kiki and Herb once, too. Sigh. At this rate I'll never be allowed below 14th street again.

This video is all kinds of fun, though, thanks for posting it, Rory.
posted by Diablevert at 8:38 AM on November 8, 2013

Reggie Watts can't make a bad dance move. Not possible.
posted by orme at 8:40 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

I can't listen, only watch at work which is interesting to just take in the visuals. How can it be that Yoko is my mom's contemporary and is that cool (and yes to those amazing gams)? I have been feeling old and achy lately but this has actually made me reassess.

We should all live with the fearlessness of Yoko.
posted by readery at 8:48 AM on November 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

Tall skinny dune with the floppy black Mohawk is Himanshu Suri, formerly Heems of Das Racist.
posted by muhonnin at 8:54 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

"The mindset of this dance is to dress classy and dance cheesy" -PSY
posted by axiom at 9:55 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Everyone I recognized in that video is someone I've thought, "I would love to hang out with them for a while," about!
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 10:56 AM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

this is so amazingly cool - I want to be Yoko when I get (even) older.
posted by mumimor at 11:43 AM on November 8, 2013

Good rhythm, I can dance to it.

I sometimes wonder if I am a good dancer or a terrible dancer. I am an enthusiastic dancer, and sometimes get quite positive feedback. But maybe I'm just being humoured.
posted by jb at 12:40 PM on November 8, 2013

Unless you're on a stage performing, I think enthusiasm and a crowd that humors you are actually the only valuable metrics for good or bad dancing.

If the crowd doesn't like your dancing, fuck 'em and find a new one.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:51 PM on November 8, 2013

Ciba Matto! But they didn't dance.
posted by zardoz at 1:56 PM on November 8, 2013

I sometimes wonder if I am a good dancer or a terrible dancer.

If dancing makes you happy, you are good at it.

Having seen Ira Glass dance, I now want to see much more of it. I also really need to see the clip he describes where Yoko is dancing for a long time and he is pointing at her like "You're the bomb!"
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:18 PM on November 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Pure Glass.
posted by maudlin at 3:37 PM on November 8, 2013

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
posted by damnitkage at 6:37 AM on November 9, 2013

Their address is apparently 301 N. WHERE I WANT TO GO WHEN I DIE.

Yoko Ono still lives in The Dakota and Roberta Flack is indeed her neighbor.

This was really sweet and fun, thanks.
posted by thinkpiece at 10:07 AM on November 9, 2013

MCMikeNamara: "Unless you're on a stage performing, I think enthusiasm and a crowd that humors you are actually the only valuable metrics for good or bad dancing.

If the crowd doesn't like your dancing, fuck 'em and find a new one."

As I've posted earlier:

Fifteen or twenty years ago, during one of the USENIX conferences held in San Francisco, they rented Bimbo's 365 club one night for an event. I tagged along with my dad, an old-school programmer (APL FTW!) because D'Cuckoo were playing.

The room was packed full of mostly middle-aged (and older), mostly white, programmer types, many of them with... um, "unique" senses of rhythm, and not one of whom could dance any better than my dad can. But everybody was dancing.

Being in that crowd, dancing badly with everybody else, was one of the most joyous experiences I've had in my life.

posted by Lexica at 8:50 PM on November 9, 2013

That's funny because I just made a dance video called "AWESOME SINGER" that features Yoko Ono.
posted by artof.mulata at 8:42 PM on November 10, 2013