Help Explain Total Eclipse's "Glee Club of the Damned" and Dr. Horrible's "Dead, Not Sleeping"?

July 4, 2009 6:47 PM

Could someone explain to me two references I don't get? In Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, Billy receives a letter from "Dead, Not Sleeping" (clip). Is that a reference to something? Also, in the Total Eclipse of the Heart "literal" video I posted to Mefi, there's a lyric that says: "And I've joined the Glee Club of the Damned (reference joke!)" (clip). What's "Glee Club of the Damned" a reference to? I presume it's a reference to something since they outright say it is ...
posted by WCityMike to grab bag (19 comments total)

What's "Glee Club of the Damned" a reference to?

I don't think it's a reference to a single discrete thing -- I think it's just a riff on "glee clubs as a concept + all these people look like they're creepy = voila, 'glee club of the damned'."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:51 PM on July 4

I always assumed that "Dead, not sleeping" was a homage to the Monty Python dead parrot sketch.

Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
Owner: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.
posted by Captain_Science at 7:09 PM on July 4

Well, for Glee Club of the Damned...

The children in the movie(s) Village of the Damned have oddly glowing eyes, like the choirboys in the scene.
posted by bunnycup at 7:17 PM on July 4

I think the "reference joke" line from the Total Eclipse of the Heart "literal" video is an [insert reference joke here] kind of thing. Maybe.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 7:44 PM on July 4

Yes, Children of the Damned was how I took it.
posted by rokusan at 7:44 PM on July 4

There we go. Thanks to you both.
posted by WCityMike at 8:13 PM on July 4

I like to think the "dead, not sleeping" is a reference to Terry Pratchett's fantastic Discworld series of fantasy parody books. In them, Granny Weatherwax, a country witch, has the ability to Borrow, basically inhabit the mind of an animal. However, when she's borrowing, her human body is left behind with no mind, and appears to be dead. Enough people have stumbled upon her in this state that she wears a sign around her neck, inscribed with "I ATEN'T DEAD".

But, I'm probably wrong.
posted by Hargrimm at 8:37 PM on July 4

I also took it to be a riff on Internet users who would be following Billy's blog. Akin to xkcd's recent commentary on 4chan: the darkest place on the Internet. Obviously people interested in following an aspiring villain's blog are going to be the dark, brooding types. Consequently they will choose dark, brooding usernames like deadnotsleeping.
posted by greekphilosophy at 8:46 PM on July 4

The "dead, not sleeping" line goes back much further than pTerry or Python - it's a riff on "not dead, just sleeping", which was once a common epitaph.

Or as Spike Milligan put it, upon encountering it on a woman's gravestone: "She's only foolin' herself!"

(And that line itself is riffed upon in one of pTerry's "Witches" books, IIRC...)
posted by Pinback at 9:33 PM on July 4

Darnit, someone already came in with the Monty Python explanation. So I'll just leave a link where you too can own a (non smelly, plush) dead parrot.
posted by batgrlHG at 12:46 AM on July 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

As Pinback points out, the not-dead-but-sleeping reference predates Monty Python considerably-- I think the original source may be Mark 5:39?
posted by Bardolph at 7:34 AM on July 5

What Pinback said.

There's a gospel song called "Mother's Not Dead, She's Only Sleeping". Several variants and artists exist.

Similarly, Pilobolus have a number called, "Molly's Not Dead"
posted by IndigoJones at 7:44 AM on July 5

The Stanley Brothers do a version of "Mother's Not Dead" here.

I also remember a version with the lyrics "Molly's Not Dead", but it's not the Pilobolus one. Wracking my brain to try to remember what it was.
posted by trip and a half at 8:27 AM on July 5

Er: 'racking' my brain.
posted by trip and a half at 8:35 AM on July 5

Er: Also, Bill Monroe is credited as the original artist for the Stanley Brothers' version. I'm going back to bed now.
posted by trip and a half at 8:39 AM on July 5

Let's not forget "dead C'thulhu waits dreaming".
posted by acrasis at 8:56 AM on July 5

The epitaph "not dead, but sleeping" was common as far back as the 17th century.

There may also be a reference to Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"--

I had asked him, it will be remembered, if he still slept. Now he said:

"Yes;—no;—I have been sleeping—and now—now—I am dead."
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:17 AM on July 5

I wrote to the creator of the Total Eclipse literal video, and he wrote back:
"Hi, guys!

The Glee Club of the Damned is indeed a reference to Children and/or Village of the Damned, and I used the backing vocals to drive home that I was obviously(?) using yet another pop culture reference. Ironically, this is not the first time I've been asked about "reference joke", making "Glee Club of the Damned" the least obvious reference in the whole video! (Not that I myself have seen either of those movies, mind you.) XD

I'm honored that my video is mentioned in the same breath as "Dr. Horrible". On a related note, Felicia Day mentioned this video on her Twitter account (back on June 4)! Thanks to her, and to the rest of you for watching, sharing (and holy cow, did you share!), and most importantly, enjoying! I hope to flip you more slo-mo birds of laughter in the future.

-David (dascottjr)"
posted by knile at 6:18 AM on July 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wow, thanks, knile! That's above and beyond.
posted by WCityMike at 3:29 PM on July 6