Song with a music video of surreal stop motion?
June 6, 2017 8:20 AM Subscribe
Please, all-knowing people of MetaFilter, help me answer a question that's been bugging me for almost a decade now: what the hell was that song?
Here's what I know:
* I saw it at a New Year's Eve party, which was at the earliest Jan 1 2008 and at the latest Jan 1 2010.
* A video editor friend of mine showed it to me on YouTube, so it could be from a small or local band. We live in San Francisco.
* It was a slightly strange, bouncy indie song.
* The music video featured either simple paper cutouts or felt shapes animated across a flat surface, like a dancing children's book.
Things I'm not sure about, but which could be true:
* I think the vocalist was male but high pitched.
* I think the lyrics were surreal and disjointed; I'm sure they were repetitive.
* I think there were figures of a boy and a girl against a blue background at some point.
* I think the backing music was acoustic guitar/ukelele, and it might have been slightly detuned. I remember listening to Bishop Allen later and thinking that it was like this band. (For all I know it was in fact Bishop Allen, but I've searched their music video catalog and not found this song.)
Does any of this ring a bell for anyone? This is a very long shot, but I've periodically tried to search for it and never been able to find it and figured I'd try the collective wisdom of the internet.
Here's what I know:
* I saw it at a New Year's Eve party, which was at the earliest Jan 1 2008 and at the latest Jan 1 2010.
* A video editor friend of mine showed it to me on YouTube, so it could be from a small or local band. We live in San Francisco.
* It was a slightly strange, bouncy indie song.
* The music video featured either simple paper cutouts or felt shapes animated across a flat surface, like a dancing children's book.
Things I'm not sure about, but which could be true:
* I think the vocalist was male but high pitched.
* I think the lyrics were surreal and disjointed; I'm sure they were repetitive.
* I think there were figures of a boy and a girl against a blue background at some point.
* I think the backing music was acoustic guitar/ukelele, and it might have been slightly detuned. I remember listening to Bishop Allen later and thinking that it was like this band. (For all I know it was in fact Bishop Allen, but I've searched their music video catalog and not found this song.)
Does any of this ring a bell for anyone? This is a very long shot, but I've periodically tried to search for it and never been able to find it and figured I'd try the collective wisdom of the internet.
High pitched male vocals? Surreal and disjointed? Paper cutouts?
Could it be Rubbernecker by The Danielson Family?
posted by sleeping bear at 9:21 AM on June 6, 2017
Could it be Rubbernecker by The Danielson Family?
posted by sleeping bear at 9:21 AM on June 6, 2017
Sounds like the fan video for Grizzly Bear Two Weeks.
Sorry for the rough link: https://vimeo.com/5904993
posted by teamnap at 10:52 AM on June 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sorry for the rough link: https://vimeo.com/5904993
posted by teamnap at 10:52 AM on June 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Came here to suggest the Grizzly Bear vid!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:58 AM on June 6, 2017
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:58 AM on June 6, 2017
Response by poster: Arrgh, now I'm starting to wonder if I wouldn't recognize it if I saw it. Rubbernecker is closer than Two Weeks (also both of them are awesome), but what I remember is like an extremely lo-fi version of the symbolism/single-shot panning/mixed media vibe of Two Weeks. I even remember fish and birds like in that video, but... lower fi. Way less nice.
I'm wondering if it might be another Danielson Famile video. I'll check around. Thanks.
posted by peppercorn at 1:33 PM on June 6, 2017
I'm wondering if it might be another Danielson Famile video. I'll check around. Thanks.
posted by peppercorn at 1:33 PM on June 6, 2017
Boy Least Likely To? They're a good match to the musical style and other artists you mentioned. Although the original album art has a blue and yellow paper cutout vibe, I'm not seeing a matching video. However, the music might ring a bell:
I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star (fan video, 2006)
posted by redsparkler at 7:24 PM on June 6, 2017
I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star (fan video, 2006)
posted by redsparkler at 7:24 PM on June 6, 2017
Sorry for the no link, as on phone, but I swear that must be it!
posted by jojobobo at 1:50 AM on June 7, 2017
posted by jojobobo at 1:50 AM on June 7, 2017
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posted by Dressed to Kill at 8:50 AM on June 6, 2017