Thursday, July 17, 2008

A great theme for an utter Gong Show...

Most people who came of age during the mid- to late '90s can appreciate a good bit of culture jamming. Logan Aube's effort to sabotage the CBC's lamebrained Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge is much appreciated.

One almost has listen to it to believe it, but once you do, you might agree that Aube's creation, Hockey Scores, is what a crown corporation's highers-up deserve for escalating a legal fight with an 80-year-old woman.

Aube's plan, as described in further detail by Torontoist, was to first create the most wretched theme possible, some sort of bastard musical offspring that even Bjork or Yoko Ono would admit was unlistenable. Step 2 was to get people of a certain deviant mindset to vote for his song "mostly comprised of cat and sheep sounds, baby cries, and gunshots/explosions -- and it's working.
"Aube created "Hockey Scores" as a joke, then posted a thread in the Something Awful forums last Thursday, asking for the goons there to help make it popular. (There, he more honestly described the song as "mostly comprised of cat and sheep sounds, baby cries, and gunshots/explosions.") A week later, with a spectacular animation on YouTube and an advocacy group on Facebook to further the cause, "Hockey Scores" is dominating the competition: almost every other theme uploaded can't get a rating higher than two out of five, and commenters on Aube's theme—those not in on the joke—are understandably confused, distressed, and furious.

"Sadly, Aube's submission almost certainly won't win the contest's $100,000 (plus 50% royalties) prize and serve as Hockey Night in Canada's next theme—semi-finalists, announced on October 4, are not selected solely by popularity and are vetted by a producer and judges—but it's certainly a valiant effort. Even the CBC seems to think so: when "Hockey Scores" was briefly taken down on July 12, the CBC sent an e-mail to Lowgain clarifying that the move was a mistake on the part of a third-party moderator, and that Aube should 'expect no further trouble with your most excellent submission.' " -- Torontoist
Well-played, sir. Should we start a legal defence fund for when the CBC initiates a lawsuit against Mr. Aube for making a mockery of their wholesome, grassroots song contest? (Some people didn't get the joke, but like a character in JPod mused, only about 20 per cent of people get irony.)

Here's the YouTube clip, via Mirtle.

6 comments:

Raphael Alexander said...

If you read my article I wrote very clearly:

No, the most incredible thing is the power of groupthink when it comes to sabotaging and punishing the CBC for their sacrilegious loss of the 1968 masterpiece by Dolores Claman leading to the inevitable freeping of the worst theme on the site:

I suggested it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the CBC. But then again there's no accounting for the travails of human stupidity.

sager said...

Actually, Raphael, I was alluding to your commenters.

Better luck next time!

P.S. Real writers don't use phrases like "travails of human stupidity."

Raphael Alexander said...

Guess I'll have to keep my day job, eh sager?

sager said...

I'm sorry, you were under the impression I had time for a petty pissing match with you?

Let it go. There might not have been any confusion if you knew how to express yourself better in the first place. In the grand scheme, it's not that important, especially not on a Saturday night.

Megan said...

This song SCREAMS hockey. There could be nothing more perfect.

sager said...

Megan, you could rule the world!