Experimental Film (song)

"Experimental Film" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It is the first song on their 2004 album The Spine and, although never released commercially, is the album's lead single.^[1] The song has been seen by some critics as a return to the band's earlier sound.^[1]^[2] An animated music video was made for the song by internet cartoonists The Brothers Chaps and featured the characters from the animators' internet series Homestar Runner.^[3]

Though it saw no domestic release, "Experimental Film" was released promotionally in Great Britain. The disc included "Am I Awake?" and "Memo to Human Resources" as well as the single. The song was also released on a one-track promotional disc in Australia.

Subject matter

The song's lyrics are a satire of avant-garde cinema, and its perceived tendency toward meaninglessness and pomposity. The "narrator" of the song is an enthusiastic filmmaker who is attempting to make the titular movie. He extols its greatness and makes grandiose statements about his abundance of ideas to make the viewer's "face implode" in the end, but the film is unfinished and lacks a discernible subject.

Homestar Runner video

The video itself is a cartoon experimental film and is ostensibly directed by Homestar Runner cartoon characters Strong Sad and The Cheat. Their individual contributions are wildly different: Strong Sad's footage looks like it has been shot on black-and-white film, while The Cheat's portions are animated in his singularly basic style. Initially the video just cuts between the two, but they're superimposed and mixed together more and more until the two become indistinguishable. The video is full of references to other experimental films.^[4]

In spite of They Might Be Giants originally planning to make a separate video for the "MTV crowd,"^[5] they have declared the Homestar Runner video to be the song's official music video. It was the first Homestar Runner cartoon to be shown on TV.^{[citation needed]}

Use in television

The song was used as the end credits music for the Independent Film Channel TV series Film School, as well as in ads for the show.^[6]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
↑ They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
↑ They Might Be Giants artist info Cooking Vinyl. Archived on archive.org. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
↑ "They Might Be Giants: Tall Tales". exclaim.ca. September 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
↑ PLAY: Get Your MoveOn Groove On Wired. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
↑ IFC Film School pt26 YouTube. Retrieved 2010-01-23.

External links

Experimental Film (song) at This Might Be A Wiki
Experimental Film (releases) at This Might Be A Wiki
Experimental Film music video at Homestar Runner
Experimental Film at Homestar Runner Wiki

v t e They Might Be Giants

John Flansburgh John Linnell Dan Miller Danny Weinkauf Marty Beller Hal Cragin Brian Doherty Jonathan Feinberg Dan Hickey Kurt Hoffman Graham Maby Tony Maimone Eric Schermerhorn

Rock albums	They Might Be Giants (1986) Lincoln (1988) Flood (1990) Apollo 18 (1992) John Henry (1994) Factory Showroom (1996) Long Tall Weekend (1999) Mink Car (2001) The Spine (2004) The Else (2007) Join Us (2011) Nanobots (2013)

Children's albums	No! (2002) Here Come the ABCs (2005) Here Come the 123s (2008) Here Comes Science (2009)

EPs	Why Does the Sun Shine? Back to Skull Working Undercover for the Man They Might Be Giants in Holidayland Bed, Bed, Bed Indestructible Object The Spine Surfs Alone

Singles	"Don't Let's Start" "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" "They'll Need a Crane" "Ana Ng" "Purple Toupee" "Birdhouse in Your Soul" "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" "The Statue Got Me High" "I Palindrome I" "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" "O Tannenbaum" "S-E-X-X-Y" "Doctor Worm" "Boss of Me" "Man, It's So Loud in Here" "Experimental Film" 'Kids Go! "Can't Keep Johnny Down"

Other notable songs	"Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" "Particle Man" "You're on Fire"

Live albums	Live!! New York City 10/14/94 Severe Tire Damage Live The Spine Hits the Road Almanac Venue Songs

Compilations	Don't Let's Start Miscellaneous T Then: The Earlier Years Best of the Early Years They Got Lost Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants Venue Songs DVD/CD Album Raises New and Troubling Questions

Video releases	Direct from Brooklyn Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) Here Come the ABCs Venue Songs DVD/CD Here Come the 123s Here Comes Science

Related articles	Discography Dial-A-Song Mono Puff State Songs The Brothers Chaps International Space Year

v t e Homestar Runner

Media	Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People

People	The Brothers Chaps Craig Zobel

Characters	Homestar Runner Strong Bad The Cheat Other characters

Related articles	They Might Be Giants "Experimental Film" Y-O-U Da Vinci's Notebook Poker Night at the Inventory

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