FREAKTASTIC NEW VIDEO CHANNEL WILL RIP YOUR FACE OFF AND EAT YOUR BRAIN
June 29, 2020 1:20 PM Subscribe
There are certain things you don’t know you’re missing in life until you’re exposed to them, right? EXP TV just might be one of those things. It’s got an aesthetic that hovers around the same territory as Everything is Terrible! and Vic Berger, it even reminds me of Mike Kelley’s stuff, but that’s only going to get you in the ballpark. Which is good enough, but you just have to click on the link and see for yourself. It’s a barrage of strange imagery and is really quite an inspired—not to say elaborate and work intensive—art project. And just in time for a pandemic. Bored with Netflix? Have enough Amazon Prime? Maxed out on HBO Max? You need to tune in, turn on and drop your jaw to the floor at what’s screening on EXP TV.
EXP TV the brainchild of Tom Fitzgerald, Marcus Herring, Taylor C. Rowley. I asked them a few questions via email. (Richard Metzger, Dangerous Minds)
EXP TV the brainchild of Tom Fitzgerald, Marcus Herring, Taylor C. Rowley. I asked them a few questions via email. (Richard Metzger, Dangerous Minds)
What is EXP TV? What should someone expect to see when they get there?
EXP TV is a live TV channel broadcasting an endless stream of obscure media and video ephemera from our site at exptv.org. We stream 24/7.
The daytime programming is called “Video Breaks”—a video collage series featuring wild, rare, unpredictable, and ever-changing archival clips touching on every subject imaginable. Similar to how golden era MTV played music videos all day, daytime EXP TV streams non-stop, deep cut video clips filtered through our own distinct POV.
What treasures would reward the loyal Video Breaks viewer? Ventriloquist dummy sales demos, Filipino Pinocchios, LSD trip-induced talking hot dogs, Liberace’s recipe tips, French synth punk, primal scream therapy seminars, Deadhead parking lots, empty parking lots, Israeli sci-fi, scary animatronics, teenage girls’ homemade art films, Belgian hard techno dance instructions, Czech children’s films about UFOs, even Danzig reading from his book collection. And that’s all in just one hour!
We’ve been collecting obscure media for decades, but we’ve sorted through it all and cherry-picked the funny, the bizarre, the relevant, the irrelevant, the visually stunning, the interesting, the infamous, the good, the bad and the fugly. We’ve done all that so the viewers don’t have to. They get to kick back and experience the sweet spot without having to dig for rare stuff themselves or sit through an entire movie waiting for the cool part.
Our Nite Owl programming block features specialty themed video mixes and deep dives on everything under the sun: Bigfoot, underground 80s culture, Italo disco, cults, Halloween hijinks, pre-revolutionary Iranian pop culture, midnight movies, ‘ye ye’ promo films, Soviet sci-fi, reggae rarities, psychedelic animation and local news calamities. On any given night you could watch something like our Incredibly Strange Metal show followed by a conceptual video essay like Pixel Power—our exploration of early CGI art.
Aside from our unique tone and deep crate of video materials, one thing that really sets us apart in 2020 is our format. We are *not* on demand, we are *not* interactive—just like old TV! You can tune in anytime and something cool will be on.
That’s EXP TV in a nutshell. It’s funny, it’s art, it’s music, it’s infotainment, it’s free and it’s 24/7.
My one complaint is that I can’t make it full screen. Otherwise, mesmerizing.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 1:28 PM on June 29, 2020
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 1:28 PM on June 29, 2020
A valedictory assessment of civilisation? Perhaps.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2020
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2020
Not working for me, is it adblocker-sensitive?
posted by rhizome at 2:58 PM on June 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 2:58 PM on June 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
This reminds me of Concrete TV, only waaaay softer.
posted by Chickenring at 3:08 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Chickenring at 3:08 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is disturbingly tuned to my mindset.
posted by delfin at 4:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by delfin at 4:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
This club has everything! Ventriloquist dummy sales demos, Filipino Pinocchios, LSD trip-induced talking hot dogs, Liberace’s recipe tips, French synth punk, primal scream therapy seminars, Deadhead parking lots, empty parking lots, Israeli sci-fi...
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:33 PM on June 29, 2020 [12 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:33 PM on June 29, 2020 [12 favorites]
It's like Concrete TV reborn...
posted by BS Artisan at 4:48 PM on June 29, 2020
posted by BS Artisan at 4:48 PM on June 29, 2020
Now I can watch TV on lsd WITHOUT THE lsd! Thank you internet!
posted by vrakatar at 5:10 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by vrakatar at 5:10 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
Genuinely strange. Video without the sound, or sound without the video. Reminds me of that movie, "VHF". There is fullscreen, use the brackets at the bottom of the row on the left. Don't even bother at work; you'll get fired just for the odd sounds coming out of the speakers not to mention the video on the screen... genuine surrealism. Great post!
posted by cybrcamper at 6:48 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by cybrcamper at 6:48 PM on June 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ahh, a return to favorite childhood memories in the fever ward.
posted by Chitownfats at 9:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 9:02 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
rhizome, it works for me with ad blockers.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:56 PM on June 29, 2020
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:56 PM on June 29, 2020
I just caught a block of Star Wars themed stuff, it was mesmerizing to watch all the bad crap that they found.
posted by inthe80s at 11:27 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by inthe80s at 11:27 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
MetaFilter: it was mesmerizing to watch all the bad crap that they found.
posted by hippybear at 11:31 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 11:31 PM on June 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
My one complaint is that I can’t make it full screen. Otherwise, mesmerizing.
On my laptop, there is a fullscreen icon; on my Fire tablet or Fire TV browser, there is not. It seems oddly browser-specific; on my tablet, for instance, the viewable screen is a little larger on Firefox than on Chrome or on Silk.
posted by delfin at 6:43 AM on June 30, 2020
On my laptop, there is a fullscreen icon; on my Fire tablet or Fire TV browser, there is not. It seems oddly browser-specific; on my tablet, for instance, the viewable screen is a little larger on Firefox than on Chrome or on Silk.
posted by delfin at 6:43 AM on June 30, 2020
Is there anywhere that we can get information on the precise clips offered, or are we only expected to spectate and not learn about?
posted by JHarris at 6:48 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 6:48 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
And, once it has scrolled out of the ever-changing now, is there any hope for seeing any of this ever again?
posted by JHarris at 6:50 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 6:50 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
And, once it has scrolled out of the ever-changing now, is there any hope for seeing any of this ever again?
Create a bookmark for the web page?
posted by hippybear at 7:06 AM on June 30, 2020
Create a bookmark for the web page?
posted by hippybear at 7:06 AM on June 30, 2020
Pretty sure he meant more like "if I want to inflict the vintage Hostess commercial that I just saw featuring creepy children dressed as clown marionettes on my friends and family, will there be any way of predicting when and if it will air on this again?"
posted by delfin at 7:12 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by delfin at 7:12 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Not working for me, is it adblocker-sensitive?
my shitty internet doesn't seem to be up to the buffering required. As with anything that streams, I do wish there was an option to pause, manually buffer.
This kind of thing is entirely up my alley ... I think. When the going gets weird and all that. But so far, it feels pretty beta.
Anyway, bookmarked for later.
posted by philip-random at 8:00 AM on June 30, 2020
my shitty internet doesn't seem to be up to the buffering required. As with anything that streams, I do wish there was an option to pause, manually buffer.
This kind of thing is entirely up my alley ... I think. When the going gets weird and all that. But so far, it feels pretty beta.
Anyway, bookmarked for later.
posted by philip-random at 8:00 AM on June 30, 2020
Pretty sure he meant more like "if I want to inflict the vintage Hostess commercial that I just saw featuring creepy children dressed as clown marionettes on my friends and family, will there be any way of predicting when and if it will air on this again?"
I suggest, in the proper spirit of this thing, you get out your VCR and wait...
posted by Meatbomb at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2020
I suggest, in the proper spirit of this thing, you get out your VCR and wait...
posted by Meatbomb at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2020
The creepiest part is that I've seen some of these things before, and I don't know where or why.
posted by aramaic at 9:08 AM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 9:08 AM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
if I want to inflict the vintage Hostess commercial that I just saw featuring creepy children dressed as clown marionettes on my friends and family, will there be any way of predicting when and if it will air on this again?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0HK2s_x5gM
posted by anazgnos at 9:27 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0HK2s_x5gM
posted by anazgnos at 9:27 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Oh Metafilter, I love you.
posted by hippybear at 9:44 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 9:44 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
pretty sure it was a Twinky ad long ago and far away where I first became aware of how useless the word "wholesome" is. Or maybe I should say useful, assuming you're trying to tell people something is maybe kind of good for them even if there is zero supportive evidence.
posted by philip-random at 10:40 AM on June 30, 2020
posted by philip-random at 10:40 AM on June 30, 2020
THEY'RE PLAYING A MIKE JITTLOV SHORT RIGHT NOW I LOVE THEM FOREVER.
posted by delfin at 11:36 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by delfin at 11:36 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am recognizing some content that I saw last night in Video Breaks, so I guess the question is whether it's one set playlist or whether it will be given variation at intervals.
posted by delfin at 1:47 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by delfin at 1:47 PM on June 30, 2020
Boom! Alternative background to my endless adult swim stream of venture brothers to keep me comfortable when I have the living room to myself.
posted by Redhush at 5:17 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Redhush at 5:17 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
VIDEOLOAM
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:28 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:28 PM on June 30, 2020
Lower Third era Bowie putting up with an interviewer who can't get past the length of his hair.
Devo 1974 or so.
Owls.
.
Outtakes from one of Michael Nesmith's movies?
I feel like I should be in the old 9:30 club waiting for PiL or Mission of Burma. I can smell the place.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:39 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Devo 1974 or so.
Owls.
.
Outtakes from one of Michael Nesmith's movies?
I feel like I should be in the old 9:30 club waiting for PiL or Mission of Burma. I can smell the place.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:39 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 1:21 PM on June 29, 2020 [2 favorites]