"Experimental Film" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

. It is the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their 2004 album '' The Spine''.They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

. Retrieved January 23, 2010. The song has been seen by some critics as a return to the band's earlier sound.They Might Be Giants: The Spine music review

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

. Retrieved January 23, 2010. An animated

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was made for the song by internet animators

The Brothers Chaps Matthew "Matt" Alan Chapman (born November 1, 1976) and Michael "Mike" Raymond Chapman (born September 20, 1973), known collectively as The Brothers Chaps, are American writers, voice actors, directors, animators, producers and composers. They ar ...

and featured characters from the animators' internet series ''

Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...

''.

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

. Retrieved January 23, 2010. Though it saw no domestic release, "Experimental Film" was released promotionally in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Subject matter

The song's lyrics are a satire of ''

avant-garde cinema Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

'', 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 and his intention 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 Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

and is ostensibly directed by ''

'' cartoon characters

Strong Sad This article is a list of fictional characters in the Flash web cartoon series ''Homestar Runner'' and episodic video game ''Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People''. Homestar Runner Homestar Runner is the title character of the series. A ...

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 distinctively simplistic style. Initially the video simply cuts between the two, but as the video progresses, they are superimposed and mixed together more and more until the two become indistinguishable. Strong Sad's footage also includes other characters walking onto the set, and he is shown chasing them off of the set and berating them. The video is full of references to other experimental films. In spite of They Might Be Giants originally planning to make a separate video for the "

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

crowd", they have declared the Homestar Runner video to be the song's official music video.Experimental Film (with Homestar Runner)- They Might Be Giants (official video) TMBG on YouTube
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Translation

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

References

External links

Experimental Film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

(song) at This Might Be A Wiki *

(releases) at This Might Be A Wiki
Experimental Film music video at Homestar Runner
* Experimental Film at Homestar Runner Wiki {{authority control They Might Be Giants songs 2004 songs Songs written by John Linnell Songs written by John Flansburgh Experimental film Animated music videos