Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 15495 : Skinny White Chick skewers fandom in celebration of the end of the Strike.

It really reminded me of that Southpark song "I'm Super! (Thanks for Asking)". Which is a great song for singing first thing morning or in front of your class (who doesn't do that?) but as means for skewering fandom not so much. I give the song 5.5.

And hey the strike is over. We'll have to find something new to chat about till the spoilers for Dollhouse kick in.

Simon | February 13, 16:08 CET

I suggest who we'd cast in the next strike and submit Morgan Freeman as the jaded-but-still-a-romantic-at-heart plucky union leader. No strike would be the same without Morgan Freeman.

Does Joss even have a sense of humour ? With him I think it'd be like saying he has a sense of liver - some things are just innate.

ETA: And some thing's aren't plurals.

[ edited by Saje on 2008-02-13 13:25 ]

Saje | February 13, 16:24 CET

Beware of solo singer-songwriters using a capo. If they don't know how to pick a key, there's probably a lot else they should know and don't. For the comfort and safety of her audience on the high notes, I think Skinny White Chick should at least move hers down a few frets.

But at last we have way to determine if Joss has a sense of humor *pins and needles*.

[ edited by dreamlogic on 2008-02-13 14:28 ]

dreamlogic | February 13, 17:13 CET

She is obviously very talented, but I prefer satire that lampoons actual traits. The comment on the obsessiveness works, but the idea that Whedon fans or Science Fiction fans, for that matter, don't read books, is pretty ludicrous. Since that seemed to be the main hook used to communicate the core message, it really did not grab me. There is sooooo much that one could choose to satirize in fandom, that it seems a shame to go with something that does not hold true. Especially since its juxtaposition with her other point about people investing so much in something that can be taken away so easily, just made me recall all the stories of how the Sherlock Holmes fans drove Doyle so crazy...and the whole premise of Misery, of course.

So maybe she was being ironic? She is purposely acting like a book elitist when she knows that fans of books can be just as nutty as fans of Science Fiction TV? Nah, just did not come across that way, but maybe that is just my lack of imagination.

Of course maybe the point of the song was just to use fandom to get exposure, which worked just fine.

Got to go. I'm almost finished rereading that last Harry Potter book. ;-)

newcj | February 13, 17:28 CET

Okay, I could get through about 1:30 of that.

Yes, we fans are functional illiterates who never read anything of real quality.

And to insinuate that Joss may not have a sense of humor--hello, have you watched any random 2 minutes of any of the shows? One of the most remarkable aspects of Joss's work is his ability to combine pathos or horror with humor...not sequentially, but simultaneously. What nonsense.

Oh, her voice is grating, too.

Chris inVirginia | February 13, 18:31 CET

I'm sort of glad I don't have sound at work now.

Saje | February 13, 18:39 CET

It's kind of cute, definitely meant to get "Fans" of all types to pay attention to her material. I found it funny that she's singing about having better things to do than be involved in a Fandom and then uses the line "I'll see you at the Con". I had trouble understanding the lyrics; Her tongue was planted a little too firmly in her cheek.

[ edited by TDBrown on 2008-02-13 15:42 ]

TDBrown | February 13, 18:41 CET

Apparently those "better things to do" involve taking the time and energy to write a song to let us all know that you've got better things to do and therefore are oh-so-knowingly superior? Meant "all in good fun" or no, I've never quite understood that kind of mentality...

Of course, I'm quite certain that any difference of opinion will just prove us wacky fandom types with no lives and no sense of humor.

RambleOn623 | February 13, 19:47 CET

I thought it was great. Pushy fans who don't take no for an answer when telling people what they should watch are annoying.

dingoes8 | February 13, 19:52 CET

Morgan Freeman as the jaded-but-still-a-romantic-at-heart plucky union leader. No strike would be the same without Morgan Freeman.

Nah, Morgan Freeman's a wimpy stand-in for James Earl Jones in a strike. Check out "Matewan."

barboo | February 13, 19:56 CET

I think newcj called it. An attempt to get on the Whedon radar. I listen to a lot of acoustic music and while I'm willing to blame some of it on YouTube, I wasn't that impressed with the tune or the lyrics. There are better ways to skewer our fannish tendancies, I think.

Lioness | February 13, 19:57 CET

That was a waste of 2 minutes of my life, haha.

cookiepartier | February 13, 20:02 CET

Okay, I can get the elitist attitude towards Fandom; I've been in the book industry for over 13 years and I went without a TV for more than three years out of a (IMO not so misguided) principle (and yes, every spare moment of that time I spent reading). Book people can be the most closed minded people you could have the privilege of meeting, but, many (and I mean many) of them are also ardent fans of good TV; they debate, critique, analyze all the various nuances of plot, and are dedicated fans. Book people were the ones to introduce me to Buffy (and then Firefly), book people were the ones to convince me that my self-imposed moratorium on TV needed to be put aside to watch these beautifully written shows.

Fandom can be a place wrought with peril, filled will Klingon spouting fanboys and light saber wielding Jedi knights, then again, it can be a place to talk to intelligent people, engage in lively discussions, and support meaningful causes�

it can be Whedonesque.

So, let her sing her small-minded song, we know why we�re here, it�s her loss.

fromthecrypt | February 13, 20:33 CET

K'erpl'unk ! *waves lightsabre*

There goes the tone.

(OK, it might not be K'erpl'unk but it definitely starts with K and has apostrophes in it)

Nah, Morgan Freeman's a wimpy stand-in for James Earl Jones in a strike. Check out "Matewan."

Blasphemy ! I just don't get pluck from Earl Jones, great though he is. Nah, make mine Morgan.

Saje | February 13, 20:44 CET

It's OK for you guys... I sat through the whole 8 minutes, which is FAR worse than having watched all the Buffy/Angel/Firefly episodes at least three times each.
But yeah, I think her joshing was affectionate... wasn't it?

Mild Mike | February 13, 21:09 CET

Eh. She needs to put down that guitar and watch Firefly.

Succatash | February 13, 21:13 CET

She's a filker. They just like to make fun of all things creative and fannish. I think it was very much tongue in cheek and I seriously doubt she was seriously criticizing fandom. And if she was - who cares? We all know what we like and don't like -she's just adding another commentary to fannish life.

I thought it was mildly amusing but I could have done without the last six minutes.

ruthless1 | February 13, 21:18 CET

Wow, I guess we know who doesn't have a sense of humor.

twa_corbies | February 13, 21:24 CET

I'm all for making fun of fans. I am a second generation Trekkie (Trekker as the new people call them) and yeah - my dad and I can make fun of Trekkies like ourselves. But this was kind of lame. And even Whedon fans need to be made fun of sometimes (in the we can laugh at ourselves way).

You have a life so you can't watch 14 hours of Firefly? Mmm... k. But Youtube is okay. It was kind of like a really long ramble. Had some cute lines in it. But not as clever as I would have liked. And I'm not sure why she's lumping Buffy in there. If so it should have been Joss Whedon fans - not just Browncoats.

I couldn't get through the whole thing. To go with Simon's rating - but slightly lower I give it a 4.

BrownCoat_Tabz | February 13, 21:28 CET

After all the commentary, I can't wait to get home tonight and watch this (I'm kidding). If the person is trying to become known to fandom by performing on YouTube (and I'm not saying she is or what her intent is), it sort of reminds me in the most tangential, tenuous, tiny-filament-connective-tissue-way of Chris Crocker, who catapulted himself to some sort of fame (is his 15 minutes over yet?) on MySpace and YouTube by crying crocodile tears over poor Britney Spears. And I'm sure you remember who did a spot-on parody of his performance from the Whedon Universe of fame. Where was I? Oh yes. Poke gentle fun at us if you will, but try and get the elements right (Whedonesque at least, has some of the most astute, brainy, and articulate "fans" I've ever seen).

[ edited by Tonya J on 2008-02-13 18:48 ]

Tonya J | February 13, 21:46 CET

I assumed she was being ironic. Was she serious?

Vinity | February 13, 21:46 CET

I have to agree with twa_corbies and say that this thread does definitely prove who can and can't take a joke.

TamaraC | February 13, 22:14 CET

I assumed it was tongue in cheek, with the mention of Drs. Who and House, etc. And what self-respecting Browncoat laments the passing of Babylon 5 (JOKE!)? Plus it was at Phil Brucato's birthday party and if anyone can take a joke it might be a neopagan RPG designer. Actually he worked for White Wolf, so maybe not... (JOKE!) Shorter and more focused would've made for a better song, but it was better than most YouTube-posted performances I've stumbled upon recently. ETA - Of course, that's kind of a damning with faint praise situation.

zeitgeist | February 13, 22:29 CET

And now i'm sort of sorry I do have sound at home ;-).

Bit too long IMO but some nice lines. It was definitely tongue in cheek (she keeps making exceptions for her own favourite shows for instance). Or the whole thing could be completely ironic and people that know her know she's totally into all the stuff she lampoons. If not it's just sad and misguided snobbery so either way, freeze-dried win ;).

This sort of reminds me of the comments (not on here, on the original blog) to the "Lists of things i'm too afraid to blog about" from a while back. The authors put "3269 reasons Firefly is the worst show ever made" as a joke only to have a slew of comments suggesting they lay off Firefly. And on the day the words "missed the point" were redefined, we stood in awe ... ;)

[ edited by Saje on 2008-02-13 19:46 ]

Saje | February 13, 22:44 CET

If I bought her a ticket, would she turn down the opportunity to see a screening of Serenity for Equality Now?? Or would she hit me with that "mean left hook"? Hmmmmm.......

jperiodrperiod | February 13, 22:46 CET

No need to sign your post, J.R., the site does it for you. This may yet go down in history as another day when "missed the point" gets redefined :)

zeitgeist | February 13, 22:55 CET

It's long been my belief that a humor piece should be... ya know, funny. Call me crazy, but... you gotta aim your darts sharp and true or it just does not work. (And when you try and get your stuff to go viral by saying "spread it like the plague" it's just kinda *eeesh*)

Sorry, I'll put my sense of humor up against anybody's else's - I'm all about the helpless laughter - but it just seems kinda high school drama club sad, which is the opposite of funny - except for after about a hundred years, and then it's comedy gold.

So maybe we should wait about a hundred years and see if it's funny then.

QuoterGal | February 14, 00:47 CET

Sense of humour smackdown ! Next up: Buffy vs Batman (don't write him off, he has a suit made entirely from irony).

Wonder how that'd work. I mean, if you laugh at anything does that mean you have the nuke of senses of humour ? Sort of the Yukkest Uppest ? Or do we award more points to comedy surgical strikes ? Like an SAS of laughs ?

Also, I think there should be categories to make it fair - you can't put Oscar Wilde up against Charlie Chaplin for instance, they're entirely different weight classes.

Saje | February 14, 00:59 CET

Reminds me of this Onion article:
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television

But yeah. I try to see it as tongue in cheek, and instead it just seems inaccurate and unnecessarily mean. And I think she should consider watching "Jaynestown" if only to hear an acoustic ballad that's actually catchy and funny at the same time.

jkalderash | February 14, 01:02 CET

Saje: "Wonder how that'd work. I mean, if you laugh at anything does that mean you have the nuke of senses of humour ? Sort of the Yukkest Uppest ? Or do we award more points to comedy surgical strikes ? Like an SAS of laughs"

It's tricky - does the pickier, more sensitive comedy palate rate higher than one blunted by too many "Married With Children" episodes? Or should it be just the opposite - does being too discriminating just put you out of the running entirely? What if you can't perceive humor where others can - is it like being color-blind? And is it quality, or quantity?

Oh, there absolutely must be categories. And %&^%$#(*& frakkin' award shows.

(Have I mentioned how deliriously happy I am that the strike is over - ratification presumptuous - and that writers can breathe a little easier and rest their footsies and knees and then get back to writing? Well, I am. And I need like to get back myself to my other life - the one where I'm not up all night reading the Interwebs and writing caustic letters and in which I help my partner actually make money in what we laughingly refer to Our Business?)

QuoterGal | February 14, 01:36 CET

Zeitgeist: This may yet go down in history as another day when "missed the point" gets redefined :)

Yes. Quite.

Anyone else want a Farscape xmas tree ornament now?

curlymynci | February 14, 01:56 CET

It's tricky - does the pickier, more sensitive comedy palate rate higher than one blunted by too many "Married With Children" episodes?

Wait a minute, is there such a thing as too many 'Married With Children' episodes - isn't that like too much good ?

... i've just disqualified myself haven't I ? I'll get me coat.

Yesss, categories, lists, %&^%$#(*& frakkin' awards, we neeedss them, preciousssess. Course QuoterGal, the problem is, by categorising are we claiming one type of humour is better than another ? So aren't we already privileging one over another, otherwise why not just have one level playing field (possibly with a pit in the middle that people can hilariously - or is it ? - fall into) ?

I think i'd rather laugh at anything than nothing. But then, if you laugh at everything, doesn't laughter itself become meaningless ? And doesn't that then render everything itself meaningless ? And what about meaninglessness itself ? Or itselfness itself ? I think it may have been Buster Keaton, giant of the silent era, that said " ". Eloquently put, possibly.

(yep, it really is great news that the strike's over and also, caustic but good BTW. Play guitar hero all day indeed, sheesh. I mean I haveta fit work in too ;)

Saje | February 14, 02:24 CET

Mildly amusing but far too much of it was repeated ad infinitum - editing would have improved it considerably. Broad-spectrum joshing of fandom in general, and Whedon fans are rabid and proud of it, so it makes sense we'd be a target. Can't say I'll bother to go back and re-listen, but it raised a smile.

Gill | February 14, 04:19 CET

I'm with QuoterGal. Funny trumps lots of stuff, including poor taste, etc.

Reminds me of when I saw "Noises Off" in NYC and simply hated it. My colleagues said "I guess you just don't like English humor." I replied, "I love English humor...my bookcases are lined with Wodhouse, Waugh, Ayckbourn, the Yes Minister books...some of my all-time favorite TV comedies are English...this damn thing just wasn't funny."

This thing simply wasn't funny, either, and it was smirkingly smug at the same time. Not a good combination.

Chris inVirginia | February 14, 04:27 CET

Yah, I too, am generally all about the funny -- this just lacked it (and had that extra helping of smug, as Chris observed). Just pointing out that fandom can be wacky isn't actually a joke so much as a statement. And then to so completely miss the mark when trying to expand on that, especially when we fans do tend to offer quite so many targets, both large and small... Eh. If I'm just not passing the humor test, as some here may hold, just make me the promise that I don't have to repeat this class in summer school. ;-)

RambleOn623 | February 14, 05:17 CET

I listened to a short bit of it. Not my kind of humor. Chris, I saw the original production of Noises Off in NYC with Victor Garber. Broad farce, a lot of physical humor which I enjoyed, but his performance was overwhelmingly funny, to me anyway. Though I can understand how it would not have been everyone's cup of tea. Maybe if the song had had Victor. Hmmmm...

[ edited by Tonya J on 2008-02-14 03:02 ]

Tonya J | February 14, 06:01 CET

Last time I sat and listened to the trees tell a story they flubbed the act breaks.

RhaegarTargaryen | February 14, 06:42 CET

I understand that she might've been trying to be some sort of ironic, or tongue-in-cheek, or funny, but it wasn't for me. It just... felt too crude, too poorly written, and it just... it wasn't interesting to listen to in any sense of the song- lyrics, composing, vocals, "humor". It was just irritating.

cookiepartier | February 14, 07:40 CET

Tonya, this was the Peter Gallagher/Patti Lupone revival, and it was simply awful.

I love comedy in the theater. Nathan Lane in A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to the Forum nearly split my innards.

A splendid production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, transplanted to a 50s era beachside resort, by the Shakespeare Theater in DC still makes me laugh, years later.

A beautiful and grimly funny production of Harry Kondoleon's Christmas on Mars in DC 22 years ago still makes me laugh even as it makes me cringe.

Again, for something to be funny, it has to be funny.

The song is just not funny.

Chris inVirginia | February 14, 07:41 CET

Chris inVirgina: "Tonya, this was the Peter Gallagher/Patti Lupone revival, and it was simply awful."

Last time I saw Patti Lupone, she was busy chewing the scenery as the Old Lady in Candide in that New York Philharmonic production with Kristin Chenoweth.

*shivers*

I love that music, and Chenoweth nailed it, but I truly thought Lupone was gawdawful, and I don't say that easily or lightly - this thread to the contrary.

Chris inVirgina - if I remember certain scenes from The Norman Conquests, especially those featuring Fiona Walker, Tom Conti, or Penelope Keith, I can start laughing in public and not be able to stop. It can be embarrassing, since I like to torture myself by thinking about funny stuff when I'm not supposed to laugh.

Well, thanks for coming with me off-topic. I now return you to Skinny White Singing, already or still in progress,,,

QuoterGal | February 14, 09:38 CET

I listened to the whole thing but didn't find it humourous. What I did hear was that for someone who was singing about obsessive fans, she made a lot of 'geek' references, so I assumed she was singing with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek. Mentioning not only Dr. Who (and House) but the TARDIS, Torchwood, Babylon 5 and calling us Browncoats are all things that, in my experience, are familiar mostly to sci-fi fans and not the general public, especially ones who don't watch TV.

samatwitch | February 14, 09:51 CET

I think its at 7 minutes running in the background...so still in progress QuoterGal, maybe funnier if it was more interesting visually. Saje I will take an hour of the Golden Girls and you get an hour of this SWC running in a loop and then we compare notes on subjective humor. Cheers ;)

I can picture and hear James Earl Jones on the picket line. That splendid voice rumbling deep into the earthquake fault line running under FOX studios. He says, "Earth going to swallow you whole without a fair deal". The FOX studio walls start to crack, lines running like a growing tree of life, from the roots to the tips of branches, concrete falling off, exposing the underlying structural corruption. Not Morgan on the picket line,no no, that is "two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate...GO WGA." Better then Woody Allen but not... whoa... sorry too much Valentines Day chocolate.

Tina | February 14, 12:16 CET

It made me laugh at myself, so I kind of liked it. She has a great voice, too.

ewiggy | February 14, 13:33 CET

Saje I will take an hour of the Golden Girls and you get an hour of this SWC running in a loop and then we compare notes on subjective humor.

Assuming we both survive the experience ;-).

Saje | February 14, 13:47 CET

Chris inVirginia, have you seen the movie "Noises Off" (1992), it has Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Christopher Reeves, and John Ritter (including some other highly talented and recognizable stars), it is still very "slapsticky" but the performances are fabulous!
I unfortunately went to see the play at DC's Arena Stage and was horribly disappointed by how lackluster everyone's performance was.

fromthecrypt | February 14, 22:23 CET

February 13 2008