Experimental Film (song)

"Experimental Film"
Single by They Might Be Giants
from the album The Spine
Released 2004
Recorded 2004
Genre Alternative rock
Length 2:56
Label Idlewild
Writer(s) John Flansburgh, John Linnell
Producer(s) They Might Be Giants and Pat Dillett
They Might Be Giants singles chronology
"Man, It's So Loud in Here"
(2001)		 "Experimental Film"
(2004)		 "T-Shirt"
(2005)

"Experimental Film" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It is the lead single from their 2004 album The Spine.[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 animators 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 eponymous 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 is the only Homestar Runner cartoon to have been shown on television.

Use in television

The song was used as the end credits music for the Independent Film Channel TV series Film School, apparently without irony, as well as in ads for the show.[6]

Translation

The song has been translated into French on the Homestar Runner Wiki.

References

  1. 1 2 They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  2. ↑ They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  3. ↑ "They Might Be Giants artist info". Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-03-02. Cooking Vinyl. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  4. ↑ "They Might Be Giants: Tall Tales". exclaim.ca. September 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  5. ↑ PLAY: Get Your MoveOn Groove On Wired. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  6. ↑ IFC Film School pt26 on YouTube. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
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