Jonathan Coulton is funny and talented

July 16, 2010 4:44 AM

Are invites to a Jonathan Coulton shows now a MetaTalk standard? Should the admins outline the policy regarding show invites in the FAQ somewhere? I've noticed that it's fairly common for someone to post a "Hey I'm going to the Jonathan Coulton show tomorrow in __xxx__" thread to MetaTalk. (See below, natch). I don't notice this with other musicians - "Hey I'm going to the Creed show tonight in Topeka, who's with me?" Therefore, using science, I've come to the conclusion that the Jonathan Coulton show experience is, like, a thing. A MeFite thing. So I'm wondering if maybe the policy regarding posts of "hey who wants to go to a show with me" should be set in a bit more stable stone somewhere, or just explained in the FAQ. I'll take my question off the air.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates to MetaFilter Gatherings at 4:44 AM (136 comments total)

Is MetaTalk now the place to post whatever random crap pops into your head while stoned? Because that's what this reads like.
posted by Justinian at 4:46 AM on July 16, 2010 [11 favorites]

I thought so too. But, there is precedent.
posted by purephase at 4:49 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Is MetaTalk now the place to post whatever random crap pops into your head while stoned?

That would make a good MetaTalk post!!!!
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 4:51 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Passive aggressive rhetorical questions, on the other hand, have been a MeTa standard for a long time.
posted by DU at 4:51 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

I dunno, "sneer at other people's meetups" doesn't seem like such a great motivation for a post....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:52 AM on July 16, 2010

Sneering? I like Jonathan Coulton. I like meetups. I just think there should be a clarification somewhere regarding what kind of rendezvouses (rendezvi?) are appropriate for MetaTalk. I was hoping this thread could hash that out. I'm also super high and just wanted to post the first thing that popped into my head this morning.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:00 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

MetaTalk posts go better when one isn't trying to be cute, clever or funny, because none of us are as cute, clever or funny as we think and just wind up embarrassing ourselves.
posted by new brand day at 5:11 AM on July 16, 2010 [4 favorites]

I must have truly been right stoned this morning. Because this was meant to be a serious question and I was hoping for actual answers.

Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you, I guess.

Commence with the recipes.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:13 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Well, isn't the mefisphere cranky today? I think this idea is a little silly, but all the same, Jonathan Coulton is awesome!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:13 AM on July 16, 2010

JC is a nerd performer. MeFi has more than its fair share of nerds. Seems to make more sense than Creed.
posted by i_cola at 5:15 AM on July 16, 2010

I count seven exclusively Coulton-centered meetups in four years. I'm pretty sure he's done more shows than that over the same stretch. I really can't imagine why you posted this, but it's made me feel defensive and angry, and think you're being kind of a dick, which is a shame, because I've always liked your user name.

I just think there should be a clarification somewhere regarding what kind of rendezvouses (rendezvi?) are appropriate for MetaTalk.

The marriage of your spirits here has caused him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in Matt's name
There is Meetup
Oh, there is Meetup
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:18 AM on July 16, 2010

Passive aggressive rhetorical questions, on the other hand, have been a MeTa standard for a long time.

I resent this. My question was not passive agressive rhetorical. It was straight out aggressive.
posted by Justinian at 5:20 AM on July 16, 2010

I really can't imagine why you posted this, but it's made me feel defensive and angry, and think you're being kind of a dick, which is a shame, because I've always liked your user name.

Me too, but I've never liked your user name.
posted by new brand day at 5:21 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Hey guys, no hard feelings. I'm just one of those "problem users" that Matt said the site needs to ask questions in order to improve.

xoxo
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:21 AM on July 16, 2010

What this place needs is more guidelines!
posted by smackfu at 5:21 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Sneering? I like Jonathan Coulton. I like meetups. I just think there should be a clarification somewhere regarding what kind of rendezvouses (rendezvi?) are appropriate for MetaTalk.

Huh? Isn't "I like this thing; I bet some of you do to; let's make a meetup out of it!" kind of the standard meetup post? Or should meetups be limited to drinking?
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:25 AM on July 16, 2010

GenjiandProust:

For me, I see a distinction between "Hey who wants to meet up at this thing" vs. "Hey is anyone else going to be at this thing I'm going to tomorrow". I'm being a bit anal, I suppose, but I think there is a difference and wondered if this is something the mods have thought about. Looks like the consensus so far is . . . I'm a dick!
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:28 AM on July 16, 2010

In the novel I'm writing the main character is considering going a Jonathan Coulton gig, what would you ...

That's how all meetup posts should be phrased from now on.

Also, I don't think (A)Ha(W)O is a dick.
posted by Elmore at 5:34 AM on July 16, 2010

I think there's a misunderstanding going on. If I may rephrase the original post:

"I and many other mefites think Jonathan Coulton is awesome, and it's cool to make MeFi meetups around JC concerts. Maybe there should be a...policy about this or something."

I don't really understand what that policy might be, but he's not saying JC meetups are bad.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:37 AM on July 16, 2010

Wh-whaa?

I've never been to a Coulton concert (I like the Portal song, though!) but I think you've really got to be hungry for umbrage to think that a question about whether there's some sort of unspoken "don't post a meetup every time you go to a concert, but [subset of performers] are seen as MeFi-friendly and those are good bases for meetups" is legit.

Hungry. For umbrage.

Seven Couton-driven meetups in four years isn't that many, but what other performer has as many meetups based around their shows? MC Frontalot springs to mind. Maybe Weird Al?
posted by Shepherd at 5:40 AM on July 16, 2010

I just think there should be a clarification somewhere

One thing I've noticed is that MetaTalk has the capability to turn a request for clarification (which is hard to see how it could be at all upsetting to anyone) into some kind of vicious attack. Anytime you ask for a clarification of Metafilter policy, you run the risk of getting the "Why do you hate Metafilter???" response.
posted by Jaltcoh at 5:41 AM on July 16, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'm with Shepherd. Everybody read this and be all calm and stuff (explanation: I got linked to it by StumbleUpon earlyearlyearly this morning and it made my day. Hope it works for you, too).
posted by Mooski at 5:44 AM on July 16, 2010

I am staunchly opposed to clarity, especially of policies. Also, while I'm not exactly hungry I could snack on some umbrage.
posted by DU at 5:44 AM on July 16, 2010

which is hard to see how it could be at all upsetting to anyone

Because the "clarification" is usually a passive aggressive way of saying "I think this breaks the rules" without actually saying that.
posted by smackfu at 5:45 AM on July 16, 2010

I've noticed it too, and, like it always seems like gigfilter to me. Now, granted, it's not self-gigfilter (the obviously not okay kind), but still. Kinda press-releasey, you know? Kinda not what MetaTalk is for.

If it makes me or H&O or anyone else "dickish" for wondering if that's actually the case, well, colour me dickish.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:47 AM on July 16, 2010

In hindsight, I see now how my post could be read as a rebuke of people posting Jonathan Coulton meetup posts and I didn't intend that.

So to revise/clarify the post a bit:

It seems to me that the Jonathan Coulton show last-minute meet-up post is a Metafilter thing. I could be wrong about that. But I've noticed them as an at least relatively frequent occurrence, and so I thought there was a pattern. Maybe I'm just blind to people going to other shows and posting about them and asking if anyone else will be there. I am fully ready to admit that this is just a personal blindspot on my part and that I'm just seeing Jonathan Coulton posts pop out because of some odd, possibly problematic psychological condition.

Secondly, the crux of the post, as I tried to explain to GenjiandProust, is that I think there is a distinction between posts that are trying to organize a meetup (wherever and whenever that may be) and posts that are just asking if other members will be showing up at an event. Like I said earlier, for some reason, possibly specific to just me, I see this as the case with Jonathan Coulton shows. I definitely didn't explain that well in the OP and I should have. That is essentially the question - trying to difference between organizing a meetup vs. meeting people somewhere, and if it matters or not to the other members of the site and the mods.

And then ultimately, I was genuinely wondering if the "Hey is anybody going to the Jonathan Coulton show tomorrow" posts were just a Metafilter thing that I had been missing.

I could have worded it better and wish I had spent a bit longer editing the question to be more clear. Apologies again for any offense.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 5:48 AM on July 16, 2010 [3 favorites]

while I'm not exactly hungry I could snack on some umbrage.
posted by DU at 8:44 AM on July 16 [+] [!]

Have I got the recipe for you!

2 cups watery discontent
3 Tbs fresh chopped umbrage
2 tsp chopped spleen
1 medium root of discontent, grated

Mix everything together and go fuck yourself.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:51 AM on July 16, 2010 [28 favorites]

I don't think you're a dick either. It was just a question!
posted by sallybrown at 5:52 AM on July 16, 2010

Because the "clarification" is usually a passive aggressive way of saying "I think this breaks the rules" without actually saying that.

And then someone can come in and says "this does not break the rules" or "this breaks the rules" and everyone can quit peeing their pants about it. I've never understood why MeTa gets to be where people are allowed to act like dicks.
posted by soma lkzx at 5:53 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Darnit, that was supposed to be pickled spleen. That'll never turn out right.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:54 AM on July 16, 2010

trying to difference between organizing a meetup vs. meeting people somewhere, and if it matters or not to the other members of the site and the mods.

Not to this one. I would imagine those sort of distinctions will matter even less to the community as a whole in the wake of IRL.
posted by edbles at 5:54 AM on July 16, 2010

I can hardly wait for IRL to come out of beta, so I don't have to see stuff like this in MeTa any more.
posted by yhbc at 5:56 AM on July 16, 2010 [3 favorites]

Thanks, AHWO, for the clarification. I'm not sure I agree with the thrust of your post on the merits, but at least it no longer feels like an attack on my JoCo fandom (which I freely admit is nerdy and intense).

I would point out that danb's post below doesn't really meet either of the criteria you mention. It isn't last-minute; the show is a week from today. Also, he doesn't just ask if people are going to the show, but rather whether they would like to do something in conjunction. And he doesn't state it explicitly, but I think it's always been understood that you need not be attending the show to attend the meetup--it's just a welcome occasion.

So I continue to feel that the phenomenon isn't problematic or in need of clarification (or even particularly a phenomenon) but I am feeling a lot less angry and defensive. Hooray for reasonable people discussing reasonably!
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:56 AM on July 16, 2010

For me, I see a distinction between "Hey who wants to meet up at this thing" vs. "Hey is anyone else going to be at this thing I'm going to tomorrow".

Nonrhetorically, what is the distinction? Regardless of the words people use, it's pretty obvious they're trying to make a meetup happen. What is the difference in your mind?
posted by 23skidoo at 5:58 AM on July 16, 2010

rendezvi?

No.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 5:58 AM on July 16, 2010

*blows the conch shell*
posted by new brand day at 5:59 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

There are a bunch of things that MeFites do on their own that provoke (perhaps poor word choice, but I've got about 8 hours of sleep... in the past 3 days) meet-ups. Any kind of convention involving comic books or video games is certainly on this list. It's really just a function of "We are users on this site and have other overlapping common interests off-site and let's combine them for some great tastes that taste great together."
posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:01 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nonrhetorically, what is the distinction? Regardless of the words people use, it's pretty obvious they're trying to make a meetup happen. What is the difference in your mind?

In general? One of the two requires a ticket. The show might be sold out. It might be expensive. A show is about listening to a performer, a meetup is about conversing. I don't know. "Would anyone like to meetup?" - the focus in on the meetup, and the question is who else would like to meetup. "Is anyone going to the show?" - the focus is on the show, and the question is whether or not other MeFites will be there.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 6:02 AM on July 16, 2010

I admit, I don't really understand what's going on in this post, or much care to, but I'm excited about being called out!
posted by danb at 6:02 AM on July 16, 2010

Secondly, the crux of the post ...

Is that you are/were high. Right?

I've never heard of Jonathan Coulton before now. I thought he was that BBC guy.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:02 AM on July 16, 2010

I've never understood why MeTa gets to be where people are allowed to act like dicks.

Because that's what it's for.
posted by smackfu at 6:05 AM on July 16, 2010

"Would anyone like to meetup?" - the focus in on the meetup, and the question is who else would like to meetup. "Is anyone going to the show?" - the focus is on the show, and the question is whether or not other MeFites will be there.

Oh, I get it now. The Coulton show is incidental; I was trying to organize an actual meetup -- that's what the "maybe we should do a thing" bit is about. In hindsight, maybe that was too coy-sounding to be obvious (though it does seem like people are understanding my intentions in the thread itself). I'm not insisting that people buy tickets and we hang out at the show or something. I just happen to know there are a good number of Coulton fans on Metafilter and we might be in the same area at around the same time. Sorry for the confusion.
posted by danb at 6:07 AM on July 16, 2010

Misunderstandings aside, this MeTa seems like another example of the increasingly common MeTas in which posters couch complaints in a Seinfeld routine of "What is the deal with X" where X = going to Coulton shows, using periods in obit threads, etc.

I am going to propose a follow up to Haddock's Law, Haddock's Law of MeTa: If you can't write a short declarative (and rational) sentence about why something on the site is bad or broken, please don't write a long rhetorical irrational paragraph about it, either.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 6:08 AM on July 16, 2010 [4 favorites]

So to revise/clarify the post a bit:

Well, that seems a little more reasonable, but how would you have framed the original post? I can think of a lot of events, maybe not as frequently mentioned on MeFi, where the only way to build a meetup would be to say "I am doing X, is anyone else interested?" Not too long ago, I was all "Hey, I will be in Kyoto and Osaka, who wants to meetup?" Japan gets mentioned on the Blue a lot, should I have kept it to myself? It's not like flying to Japan is cheap, either. Sure, some MeFites already live there, but some MeFites are, apparently, also going to this show, so I am still confused. Is the problem that the first post was badly worded or that it shouldn't have been posted in the first place?
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:08 AM on July 16, 2010

I've never understood why MeTa gets to be where people are allowed to act like dicks.

One of its functions is to be a sort of release valve, so that if people MUST act like dicks, they do it here, as opposed to elsewhere on the site. The counterpoint to this is that nothing much is deleted from MeTa, so if you act like a dick, it's there for everyone to see and in a community that can be pretty off putting.

That said, people don't get to be total dicks. Mods can, have and will speak to someone both publicly and privately if their behavior becomes too negative.
posted by new brand day at 6:11 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'll take my question off the air.

Liar. You didn't hang up the keyboard.
posted by carsonb at 6:12 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Secondly, the crux of the post, as I tried to explain to GenjiandProust, is that I think there is a distinction between posts that are trying to organize a meetup (wherever and whenever that may be) and posts that are just asking if other members will be showing up at an event.

I do not think you are crazy to see that distinction, and while I'm not gonna go review the literature re: previous Coulton-related meetup-type-posts in Metatalk I think it's an understandable thing to have noticed and wondered about.

The short version is: that general sort of "I'm going to a show, who wants to come" thing has never really fallen toward the platonic ideal of a meetup proposals, and so, yeah, generally speaking we don't see a lot of those and have probably removed some of the odder ones over the years (and folks have probably pushed back a little on the not-as-odd ones in-thread if they didn't get closed/deleted).

But situations where there's a little bit of extra nerd appeal beyond Here Is A Show tend to get a little more clemency probably—Coulton, Frontalot, those sorts; convention- or conference-type things with a nerdish or internettish bent; and so on—and so it's not hard to find sort of exceptional seeming things in the archives.

It's not something we intend to harden into a policy clarification in the FAQ, I don't think, so much as one of those weird grey areas that comes up infrequently enough that we're just gonna treat the odd occasional incident as it comes along.

But more to the point, this is part of why we built IRL and are excited to finish polishing it up to get it out of beta. Metatalk has always been an uneasy home at best for non-traditional meetup type events, and being able to have a proper unambiguous point of organization for the whole panoply of possible reasons to get together will be really nice for stripping away that uneasiness.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:14 AM on July 16, 2010

Maan, maybe it's because I'm high, but I don't like all these people calling each other high like it's a bad thing. You know we get thrown in jail and have our families ripped apart just because of who we are, right? And all this 'man, you must be high to post that shit' stuff just perpetuates the systemic o....hey, doritos.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 6:16 AM on July 16, 2010 [6 favorites]

wait is this the thread where we're all supposed to be high?
posted by The Whelk at 6:19 AM on July 16, 2010

I've never heard of Jonathan Coulton before now. I thought he was that BBC guy.

This is a fucking tragedy. What kind of internet let's this happen to a person? Also start with Code Monkey if you're at work, it'll make you feel better.
posted by edbles at 6:25 AM on July 16, 2010

MetaFilter: I've always liked your user name
posted by spinturtle at 6:29 AM on July 16, 2010

My only experience with him is from the audiobook of that dumb John Hodgman book.
posted by smackfu at 6:29 AM on July 16, 2010

This was good!

WE'RE NOT RUNNING OUT OF METATALK

IT'S OKAY, CALM DOWN EVERYONE, HAVE A BEER

(if it's breakfast time where you are, have a coffee with whisky in it, it's breakfast because it's coffee, see?)
posted by internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 at 6:34 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

OMG did you guys see that Oatmeal about the xkcd strip about the Cracked list of wacky things about the iPhone 4, and one of them was an app where you could mash up Jonathan Coulton songs with Lady Gaga and the Old Spice guy and the Muppets?

I HATED IT
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:34 AM on July 16, 2010

I HATE THAT YOU HATED IT.
posted by edbles at 6:36 AM on July 16, 2010

I LOVE TO HATE HATE.


wait.
posted by The Whelk at 6:37 AM on July 16, 2010

that general sort of "I'm going to a show, who wants to come" thing has never really fallen toward the platonic ideal of a meetup proposals

But again, as danb has pointed out, his post is not about going to the show per se; the show is the occasion for a separate, no-ticket-required meetup nearby.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:37 AM on July 16, 2010

Also, don't drink, it is bad for you.
posted by internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 at 6:39 AM on July 16, 2010

HEY I'M GOING TO A NICKELBACK SHOW TONIGHT IN FARGO WHOS WITH ME
posted by kingbenny at 6:42 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm reading Talking Points Memo right now, who wants to join me?!
posted by new brand day at 6:44 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm faxing things!

IT'S THE BEST

TRY IT
posted by internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 at 6:48 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

FAX THE BEAT AROUND!
posted by The Whelk at 6:49 AM on July 16, 2010

But again, as danb has pointed out, his post is not about going to the show per se; the show is the occasion for a separate, no-ticket-required meetup nearby.

Yes, agreed, I'm just trying to address the general point of friction re: the paid-event-as-impetus-for-meetup phenomenon, not trying to address any specific meetup proposal past or present.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:50 AM on July 16, 2010

Who?
posted by koeselitz at 6:58 AM on July 16, 2010

I like sweet potato pie. I never knew that until recently, because my mother always put pineapple in it (because her mother always had), and since it was the 60's, my father didn't cook unless it was a barbecue.

Then a friend invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with members of her family who were coming into town from New Orleans, and who were cooking mightily for several days beforehand. Sweet potato pie, it turns out, can be yummy.
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:02 AM on July 16, 2010

wait is this the thread where we're all supposed to be high?

I'm on the third floor, can I play?
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 7:10 AM on July 16, 2010

Just hanging out until the sidebar announces Mr. Coulton's arrival.

I can wait all day if I have to.

Or the strong selection pressure of Jonathan Coulton shows causes mefites to evolve into their only little subspecies of humanity. That one will probably take a bit longer.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:19 AM on July 16, 2010

So, this Jonathan Coulton guy, he's having a meetup? I've never heard of him before.

Also, any one else think Sys Rq is a little dickish?
posted by cjorgensen at 7:20 AM on July 16, 2010

Jonathan Coulton needs a haircut.
posted by desjardins at 7:22 AM on July 16, 2010

I accidentally went to a Jonathan Coulton show as part of MaxFunCon. I was creeped out by the people who came to see him specifically.
posted by mullacc at 7:25 AM on July 16, 2010

I'm always on the third floor...if you know what I mean





I mean that I live on the third floor of a walk-up
posted by internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 at 7:27 AM on July 16, 2010

I would like to know why there are no meetups in my area involving doobies, Michael Bolton concerts, et. al.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:31 AM on July 16, 2010

Michael Bolton concerts

because we care about your immortal soul Meatbomb
posted by The Whelk at 7:34 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm 12 and what is this?
posted by Threeway Handshake at 7:35 AM on July 16, 2010

Sorry I didn't mean Michael Bolton... that guy that is on the constant video loop at the electronics shop in 40 year old version he rocks. What's his name again? When is he touring and who is with me?
posted by Meatbomb at 7:36 AM on July 16, 2010

version=Virgin

I wish I was high it takes the edge off listening to Michael Bolton OK I'll shut up now.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:37 AM on July 16, 2010

I'll go to a Vanilla Ice book signing with you. We can go see Eclipse together if you want.
posted by anniecat at 7:37 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

We have reached the 4th floor people.
posted by The Whelk at 7:37 AM on July 16, 2010

I'm on the fifth floor. You guys might want to take the elevator if you're as out of shape as I am - those stairs are brutal.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:41 AM on July 16, 2010

Not as brutal as listening to Michael Bolton stone cold sober, please somebody send me a small bag ASAP.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:42 AM on July 16, 2010

Wait, shouldn't it be "I'll take my answer off the air"? Answer vs. Question
posted by Xalf at 7:46 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sorry I didn't mean Michael Bolton... that guy that is on the constant video loop at the electronics shop in 40 year old version he rocks.

HAHA, Michael McDonald?
posted by sallybrown at 7:51 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Meatbomb, requesting help bagging up Michael Bolton parts is not kosher for Meta.
posted by Babblesort at 7:52 AM on July 16, 2010

Clearly, you weren't smart from the very beginning.
posted by The Whelk at 7:53 AM on July 16, 2010

I WOULD SLEEP WITH A 40 YEAR OLD VERSION

No, wait. That's not right....
posted by zarq at 7:54 AM on July 16, 2010

Meatbomb, requesting help bagging up Michael Bolton parts is not kosher for Meta.

Everyone knows Michael Bolton is treif.
posted by sallybrown at 7:55 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Meatbomb, requesting help bagging up Michael Bolton parts is not kosher for Meta.

Besides, you can't separate the man from his cheesy exterior, so....
posted by zarq at 7:56 AM on July 16, 2010

*bows to the genius that is sallybrown*
posted by zarq at 7:57 AM on July 16, 2010

I WOULD SLEEP WITH A 40 YEAR OLD VERSION

No, wait. That's not right....

Don't got there, it's not worth it, they all have system upgrade baggage and it totally harshes the vibe.
posted by edbles at 7:58 AM on July 16, 2010

*curtsies to zarq*
posted by sallybrown at 7:59 AM on July 16, 2010

SICK OF ALL THE TWILIGHT HATE


RECIPE

Two (2) naked men with hair who are so romantic and manly
One (1) amazingly brave and strong feminist heroine
Pinch of people who breathe and you can see their breath and it is romantic and eerie
Three (3) ounces of FUNNY
Stir with an original plot and healthy relationships

Bake at HIGH HEAT for MAXIMUM HOTNESS
posted by internet fraud detective squad, station number 9 at 8:00 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

40 YEAR OLD VENISON.
posted by The Whelk at 8:00 AM on July 16, 2010

I've never heard of Jonathan Coulton before now. I thought he was that BBC guy.

No introduction to Jonathan Coulton is complete without his folk version of Baby Got Back.
posted by zarq at 8:04 AM on July 16, 2010

40 YEAR OLD VENISON.

Oh, deer.
posted by zarq at 8:05 AM on July 16, 2010

Does Jonathan Coulton do that "If I had a million dollars" song?
posted by vincele at 8:05 AM on July 16, 2010

"Creed show tonight in Topeka"

So you're the one!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:13 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Does Jonathan Coulton do that "If I had a million dollars" song?

NO COCK BURN ROCKET LAUNCH MEETUP JIG
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 8:22 AM on July 16, 2010

If I hear Ya Mo Be There one more time...
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:26 AM on July 16, 2010

Did we get to part where I get to be the cranky old guy who says, You kids get off that computer, and go outside and play! You need fresh air, not LULz, or whatever-ya-call-'em! Go on now! Shoo! Darn kids and your FaceyFilter thingys!
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 8:26 AM on July 16, 2010

Stop hastening entropy.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:40 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I just bought a Jonathan Coulton album because of this thread and IT BETTER BE GREAT OR I WILL HATE YOU ALL FOREVER!!q!
posted by slogger at 8:48 AM on July 16, 2010

OK, seems like as good a place as any to announce this: I will be doing my laundry at about 3pm ... who's with me?
posted by madamjujujive at 8:49 AM on July 16, 2010

OK, seems like as good a place as any to announce this: I will be doing my laundry at about 3pm

Oddly, so will I. Come down to Providence, let's have a meet up!
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:50 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

I just think there should be a clarification somewhere

This is fine. You are all fine. Is that clear enough?

I'm talking about the very unsexy digital divide at the HOPE conference in Manhattan tonight for 15 minutes. Around 8. I expect none of you to be there.

But like cortex said, these edge cases are why we're spending the time getting IRL working. As far as I personally am concerned, it's important that internet communities have options for converting people from internet-friends to real-life-friends if that's something people would like doing.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:01 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wouldn't it be great if a bunch of us showed up at the HOPE conference with signs and "I ♥ jess" t-shirts?
posted by yhbc at 9:09 AM on July 16, 2010

So I'm listening to this Jonathan Coulton album for the first time and it's really fucking nerdy. I mean like really, really fucking nerdy as all fucking hell. Like singing about fucking math and dragons and shit. WHAT KIND OF FUCKING NERDS ARE YOU PEOPLE??? HAVE I BEEN HANGING OUT WITH DORKS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS?!?!?!
posted by slogger at 9:25 AM on July 16, 2010 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: like singing about fucking math and dragons and shit
posted by killdevil at 9:32 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

So, last night I bought tickets to Arlo's show at the Ark on Oct. 18th, anyone want to make this a meet-up?

seriously... for real...

those who don't know who Arlo is or where the Ark is need not respond
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

So anyone going to go see Chromeo on the 29th in New York? I haven't bought tickets yet and I'm kind of on the fence because I haven't been paying attention to what they've been up to lately. There's always Gogol Bordello on the 30th.

Or you can always just eat tacos with me in my new neighborhood in Brooklyn. *makes phone motion* Call me.
posted by kkokkodalk at 10:04 AM on July 16, 2010

I just bought a Jonathan Coulton album because of this thread and IT BETTER BE GREAT OR I WILL HATE YOU ALL FOREVER!!q!

This is an odd choice given that has all of it streaming free at his website. Now go listen to Code Monkey, Better, Future Soon, and Re: Your Brains. (I mean once you love him like we do you should give him moneys totally, but for anyone who wants to just check it out there are other options beyond hating us forever.)
posted by edbles at 10:14 AM on July 16, 2010

Shit, ten dollars later and now you tell me. Thanks a lot, edbles.


No, really, thanks! That's awesome!
posted by slogger at 10:20 AM on July 16, 2010

Heh, I didn't know much about Jonathan Coulton before cortex came to town last year and DaShiv busted out the Rock Band and all the MeFites in my house went a little nuts playing his song.
posted by carsonb at 10:31 AM on July 16, 2010

busted out the Rock Band

We make all JoCo sets in my house it goes like this:

Me on Re: Your Brains.
Other girl roommate: Still Alive
Boy-roommate: Skullcrusher Mountain.

There are callbacks. It's fantastic. Be jealous.
posted by edbles at 10:39 AM on July 16, 2010

Everyone needs a hug.
posted by fiercecupcake at 10:56 AM on July 16, 2010

He's the guy with that brains song, right? I love brains! I mean, uh....

Look over there! No one's gonna eat your eyes!
posted by Night_owl at 11:22 AM on July 16, 2010

I am driving to California soon. Who is with me? (I am not very nerdy.)
posted by Cranberry at 11:43 AM on July 16, 2010

I feel the need to say.

I'm not actually, nor ever have been, going to a Nickelback concert.

.
.
Not that there's anything, um, wrong with that.
posted by kingbenny at 12:28 PM on July 16, 2010

Jonathan Coulton is basically Josh Millard for squares.
posted by koeselitz at 1:26 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

And just for the record, I now totally <3 Jonathan Coulton. Thanks MeTa 19585 and (A)Ha(W)O!
posted by slogger at 2:37 PM on July 16, 2010

And just for the record, I now totally <3>

Awesome! Let us know next time you head to a show!

sorry
posted by danb at 5:29 PM on July 16, 2010

Jonathan Coulton is basically Josh Millard for squares.
posted by koeselitz at 4:26 PM on July 16

boom. headshot. utter decapitation.

so true. i wish we could swap human being's lives because cortex is 10x funnier than jc and deserves famous yaley buds who take him on book tours and coulton is nice and would make a perfectly good mod.

also i would swap jay leno with scott aukerman (and polanski for zizek just to see weird shit happen
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:17 PM on July 16, 2010

there exists 11 people who should be super-famous and well known but are instead only famous on the internet.

There selflessness keeps the world from destruction.
posted by The Whelk at 8:20 PM on July 16, 2010

thier*
posted by The Whelk at 8:20 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nah, there are no qutbs on the internet.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:34 PM on July 16, 2010

*gurls
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:36 PM on July 16, 2010

Ain't nobody who is where they are who shouldn't be there.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:38 PM on July 16, 2010

Nah, the biggest difference between me and Coulton is that he has genuinely worked his ass off on this whole music thing. He's a smart, talented, funny musician, but beyond that he's done a shitload of work and I couldn't be happier about the fact that it has translated into success for him.

I still want to kill him and skin him and steal his career, but in the nicest possible way.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:56 PM on July 16, 2010

we can make this happen, i know a secret room.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:58 PM on July 16, 2010

And in the mean time I have been unduly lucky in landing a job that I love that allows me the free time to do as much music as I want. I write and record far less than I ought to, and that is no one's fault but my own.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:00 PM on July 16, 2010

maybe thats why youre funnier, you dont waste all that time learning how to play good which let's be honest is probably just leading to less funny for mssr. colton as well as other excellent comedic singers like early 90s weird al and leonard cohen.

and where is that 'Metafilter is just a front for cortexs musical career' guy when you need him?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:10 PM on July 16, 2010

So I'm listening to this Jonathan Coulton album for the first time and it's really fucking nerdy. I mean like really, really fucking nerdy as all fucking hell. Like singing about fucking math and dragons and shit. WHAT KIND OF FUCKING NERDS ARE YOU PEOPLE??? HAVE I BEEN HANGING OUT WITH DORKS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS?!?!?!

I'd favorite this, but I listen to metal - which include artists who howl and screech about Physics. In Swedish. Not to mention dragons - a whole hell of a lot of them.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:40 PM on July 16, 2010

One (1) amazingly brave and strong feminist heroine

I....uh....is there something called Twilight that doesn't feature Bella? That one you have sounds kind of interesting.
posted by jacalata at 11:04 AM on July 17, 2010

You know, it occurs to me that Twilight could instantly be made infinitely better by simply switching out Bella for Bela Lugosi.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:18 AM on July 17, 2010

(Though this would also do the trick nicely.)
posted by Sys Rq at 11:19 AM on July 17, 2010

Coming in late, I'm not sorry to see the original question addressed. I hijacked a Houston meetup thread to catch people at a (non-JoCo) show a while back. I felt kind of bad about sticking my nose is, but they were already talking about meetups in the same time period, and I was hoping someone would share my taste in music.

I'd love to see aftershow meetups as an IRL category.
posted by immlass at 11:41 AM on July 17, 2010

I don't know. Cortex is kind of famous. I came across this a couple of days ago.
posted by Sailormom at 11:46 AM on July 17, 2010