Experimental Film (with Homestar Runner)- They Might Be Giants (official video) TMBG 

When Linnell sings "Yeah! You're all going to be in this experimental film!", I feel so happy to be included.

The joke of the video is mocking thematic symbolism, but hilarious enough, it's also a superb example of it. Strong Sad's world is lonely and dreary, the ATM machine gives him nothing. The cheat's world is childlike and completely separate from what's happening. His friends start slowly invading it, becoming a nuisance. But by the end of the video, they bring mirth and joy to it as the world starts to transform into a blend of Strong Sad and Cheat's world. By the end, the ATM drops giant bags of cash on Strong Sad. The Cheat's innocent, childlike world becomes fused with Strong Sad's cynical, dreary one, making a combination that blends them both. Strong Sad's friends are annoying, but they ultimately bring him joy. The world can be a cold, cynical place, but there's also joy and wonder all around. A Sundance masterpiece. Five stars.

To this day, I still love the contrast between Strong Sad's live action, black and white segments and The Cheat's crudely animated, colorful ones, and how the transitions and the lines between the two become blurrier and blurrier until they're practically indistinguishable from each other. Still one of my favorite pieces of Homestar-related media to date.

Seeing the three of them dancing together at 2:12 after all these years did something to my heart

"Wow, the cheat. The animations you made for this video are so good. Here, have a trophy." -everyonr

The 0.1 second of "bastard wants to hit me" at the end of this video really makes it, imo.

It's been 14 years and I'm still blown away that two indie media legends pulled off this epic crossover.

Every time the chorus kicks in, I tear up a little. Dunno why, but that "Yeah!" reminds me that everything is gonna be ok.

literally the single most nostalgic thing for me personally.

I'm not entirely sure why, but somehow it feels like Strong Sad got a happy ending here.

Go to a TMBG concert with a giant sign that just reads "It's a Lion!"

This was actually the only Homestar Runner cartoon to air on TV.

I remember watching this a ton on the website as a little kid. I loved it, but had no clue who "They Might Be Giants" were. I assumed that they were a made up band. Fast forward several years, I learned about TMBG and enjoyed their music, but by that point I had forgotten about this music video, although I had this nagging sense that the name seemed familiar. Fast forward several years more, I started watching Homestar Runner on RU-vid, and thanks to the comments I discovered that Homestar collaborated with TMBG for some of their cartoons. Finally, after more than a decade I made the connection and came here. I feel like a part of my childhood has closure.

At 1:57 Strongsad realizes that life isn't so bad and everything is going to work out. He takes the plunge and everyone is cheering him on. Sure enough he a higher balance in his account than he ever expected.

homestar runner was the corner stone of my childhood

There's something wonderfully absurd seeing Strong Bad dancing to this song...

I loved that this aired on television meaning that there were thousands if not millions of people who have no context for the visuals.

The earnest exuberance of this song is even more fun because its inherently about a small, personal, perhaps absurd project. Even in the context of the video, its just Strong Sad trying to get everyone involved in a little burst of free expression, however esoteric.

Strong Sad is the youngest of the Brothers Strong. He stands somewhere between Strong Bad and Strong Mad in height, and has large, elephant-like feet he calls "soolnds" (which, in the past, poachers have apparently offered thousands of dollars to obtain). His body is round and two shades of grey - a lighter grey from the waist up, a darker grey from the waist down. For some reason, however, Coach Z thinks he is yellow. Strong Sad's body makes the sound of an inflated rubber ball when hit - and according to Strong Sad, it is hit often. In One Two, One Two, Strong Sad hits his belly rhythmically, as one of the selectable tracks. His head is white and has an odd lump on the top, referred to as a "disturbing soft-serve flip" by Strong Bad in keep cool (a trait shared by Mr. Bland). In replacement, Strong Bad claims that Strong Sad might not have any teeth, but Strong Sad was seen brushing his teeth in narrator and concert, and his skull was shown to have teeth in Doomy Tales of the Macabre. What's more, in Strong Bad Classics!, Strong Sad implies that his wisdom teeth regenerate on an annual basis. He is usually very calm and soft-spoken, although he has become hyperactive on occasion (at least once under the influence of caffeine), and he has also temporarily (albeit involuntarily) become a boisterous radio DJ once or twice. The phrase "covered bridges" seems to be able to put him in some type of trance, as seen in "Fall Float Parade". He also has some sort of reaction to sunlight overexposure, causing him to become uncharacteristically happy, even if he did not enjoy it (at one point, he actually asks to be shot). Despite his pale skin, he has apparently never been sunburnt, though he became moonburnt on at least one occasion. Once, Strong Sad's main defining characteristic was his chronic depression, which overshadowed his high levels of intelligence and creativity. He has even been quoted saying "Each day, we die a little more." several times. Lately, however, he appears to have recovered and rarely expresses sadness (which he acknowledges in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2 and attempts to fix). His many interests include listening, books, listening to books, calligraphy, safety, being alone, arts, crafts, and arts b/w crafts. He has outstanding penmanship, often writing poetry, which he then recites at his own "poetry slams". Strong Sad is seen using both his right and left hands to write and play the guitar, implying that he is ambidextrous. He has been seen practicing T'ai Chi. Strong Sad also enjoys playing board games, and he seems to enjoy going to science-fiction and fantasy conventions, as seen in different town and Trogdor Con '97. He has an iPod, and he occasionally updates his blog from time to time. Strong Sad's highly philosophical view on life has creeped out other characters more than once, most notably Strong Bad and Marzipan. Strong Sad may have a crush on Marzipan; he has occasionally lied to Marzipan just so he could spend time with her, as in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 10.2. However, he might just be trying to make friends with anyone he can. Strong Sad has a love-hate relationship with his brother Strong Bad. It appears that the two got along quite well when they were younger, but nowadays, Strong Sad suffers almost constant abuse from Strong Bad. In particular, Strong Bad has quite a list of names he has used to insult Strong Sad. Strong Sad has also been the subject of numerous practical jokes by Strong Bad, Strong Mad, and The Cheat, ranging from presumably being drilled a new navel by Lil' Strong Bad to being used as a stunt double for the Dangeresque movies, to even having wildebeest pheromones washed into his laundry. In turn, Strong Sad holds a very low opinion of his brother and considers him to be a clueless weirdo. However, evidence from Strong Sad's Secret Styles suggests that even though Strong Sad insults Strong Bad, he also looks up to him and misses the days when they got along. He seems to retain some degree of brotherly love toward Strong Bad: when the Tandy 400 exploded in the email gimmicks, Strong Sad sincerely asked Strong Bad if he were all right, and wrote a letter wishing him well while Strong Bad was incarcerated. However, he also stated that his brother's absence caused him to feel far happier with himself than usual, and that he turned Strong Bad's computer room into his tai chi space. He was also eager to help Strong Bad with his 150th email in Sbemail 150?!?, and even managed to provide the background music for Strong Bad's email intro in alternate universe. Strong Sad's troubled relationship with Strong Bad seems to have affected his social interaction habits with the rest of the community of Free Country, USA. He is generally reclusive and has only a few friends - his best friend appears to be Homsar, and he plays Jenga with The Cheat on Tuesdays. Early in the site's history, Homestar Runner even counted Strong Sad as a friend, and still shows some signs of friendship towards him. He is often overlooked and ignored when he has an idea, and he is sometimes even believed to be dead. Despite all of this, he serves as a loyal officer in the Homestarmy, temps at an unnamed computer company with Strong Bad and Homestar, and even has a Strong Sad Lookalike Contest held in his honor/insult each year. Due to Strong Bad's persuasion, Strong Sad never celebrates Decemberween; he spends the whole day locked inside the bath tub. Strong Sad also had an imaginary friend when he was young, named Scotty Titi. Strong Sad seems to be the most rational of the characters, and often seems to react perplexedly to the others' cartoonish antics. He can often be found patiently correcting another's apparent mistakes, such as in Trogdor Con '97 and technology, or being entirely uncomprehending of the nonsensical events around him. He was even featured as the sole "Bear Holding a Shark Skeptic" in myths & legends. A stickler for correct, and often antiquated, pronunciation and grammar, Strong Sad frequently takes to nitpicking other characters for even minor pronunciation mistakes (such as machete), and himself takes great care to pronounce many such words correctly, even if the result is odd-sounding or dated (such as macabre). He also claimed to have both practiced on and worked at the dictionary. While generally he seems to view this as helping others, none of the characters he's corrected have ever been anything other than annoyed with his nitpicking - for instance, when Strong Bad told him to stop it with his "try-to-pronounce-foreign-words-authentically-but-not-do-a-very-good-job-of-it" - something Strong Sad seems to fail to recognize. His reaction to the mispronunciation of 'pseudonym', as referenced below, may tie this feature into the bossier and more aggressive side of his personality. As just noted, there seems be more to his story than depression and whining, as Strong Sad has done things that are not in line with his usually calm temperament from time to time. He threw snowballs (saved in the freezer since he was eight) at Strong Bad, has been physically violent, flipped out on Homestar when he could not pronounce "pseudonym" correctly, and had a long bout of maniacal laughter when it was revealed that he was behind the whole DNA Evidence event. Also, when he was coerced into being the security guard in Baddest of the Bands, he tasered Strong Bad whenever he annoyed him. He also states in his blog that his resolution for the new year is to not feel so bad about wanting to hit Homestar so much, which is another example of his violent self. Strong Sad listens to the following musicians/music groups, according to his blog: Angelo Badalamenti, David Bowie, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Brian Eno, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jerry Goldsmith, Mr. Mom - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Peter Murphy, Pet Shop Boys, The Promise Ring, The Smiths (probably Morrissey as well), Matthew Sweet, They Might Be Giants, Thursday, Suzanne Vega, Tom Waits, Butch Willis, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Judging from the "Boys Don't Cry" silhouette poster of Robert Smith on his wall, Strong Sad also apparently listens to The Cure. Also, some of his Halloween costumes suggests that he enjoys Talking Heads, The Misfits and Devo. He is also known to listen to sloshy, as seen in concert, Sloshybowl, Record Store Day, and Fan Costumes 2015. In Record Store Day, he not only camped out outside Bubs' Concession Stand for the band's latest single, but it is implied that he stole one of their records from a band member's girlfriend's garbage. Strong Sad has often been identified as a lurker, or has been associated with lurking.

God imagine how magical it must've been to see this on MTV and for it to be your introduction to HR

I love this song. It’s a shame it’s so short, though. My favorite part is when Homestar, Strong Bad, and Strong Mad are dancing. That part just really warms me up for some reason. I think it’s because Strong Mad looks so darn happy. I checked out some other TMBG songs because of this. I was surprised to find out they did some songs for Tiny Toons, and even Mickey’s Playhouse!

...Why does watching this again make me want to cry? Is it purely the nostalgia? I dunno. It always made me feel something for Strong Sad. I think it was sympathy? Between the video and the tone of the song, something resonated with me.

This is the song responsible for showing me a world outside of classic rock in 2004. I thought they didn’t make good music anymore and then I saw this on HR and discovered indie rock and grew from there. Thank you TMBG

the warm sound of this track plus all the homestar runner stuff associated with it makes me so emotional for some reason, it's like, i don't know if HSR is ever gonna come back, strong bad and all them were icons from my childhood and this song kinda takes me back to a happier time while also hitting me with the realization that i can never truly go back

0:55 I love that they added the little seam in the middle where they would’ve joined the two pictures even though this is a cartoon. Great subtle humor.

I just realized Homestar Runner only has one degree of separation from Looney Tunes. That's pretty awesome.

There's something real special about this particular toon in the way that, like... There's no point where any of the characters turn around to say a punchline. The Experimental Film here isn't played up like a joke, outside of the visuals being inherently kinda funny ('It's a lion!'). Everyone's kinda breaking kayfabe to Be In This Experimental Film. The Cheat's just animating whatever he wants to try and knit together the weird non-story Strong Sad shot entirely in black and white, but it never feels like it's at his expense. They showed up with their own dumb ideas on how to contribute without really making fun of the product, i.e. Homestar wanted his turn playing space invaders on Strong Sad's weird new 'Nimtenno Machine', Strong Bad and Strong Mad were like 'well there's an ATM, so obviously we can rob it at some point, that sounds like fun'. And ultimately everyone is actually perfectly happy to dance for the little brother's weird little deal he signed on for with this band none of them had probably ever heard of before that afternoon. It just feels real good. It's wholesome.

I hope we get another Strong Sad/The Cheat collab someday. It's like complimentary colours - they're such opposites that they go together perfectly

I think this is the most happiest Strong Mad has been in 23 years! Edit: I think this is pretty emotional. I wouldn't doubt this could be a cure to depression. If your not happy when this song plays, nothing else can make you happy.

2:11 just makes me oddly happy whwenever i see it

Lyrics The color of infinity Inside an empty glass I'm squinting my eye I'm turning off and on and on and off the light It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about and which I'm still figuring out what's going to go in my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's I already know the ending It's the part that makes your face implode I don't know what makes your face implode, But that's the way the movie ends And in my experimental film Which nobody knows about but which I'm still figuring out Your face implodes at my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's The color of infinity Inside an empty glass It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about and which I'm still figuring out What's going to go in my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's Yeah! You're gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's

At least 70% of why I love this band is Linnell's vocal melodies. Another great example right here!

This was the song that got me back into TMBG. When I first saw this on Homestar Runner, I thought "Oh, yeah, they're the guys who sang Dr. Worm! I completely forgot about them."

Man I miss Homestar Runner. This was so fitting for Strong Sad when it came out, and an awesome song to boot.

This song introduced me to They Might Be Giants back in the day. Thank you Homestar Runner for showing me this sweet band.

I love this so much. The stuff strong sad's filming is exactly the stuff he'd want to film, the way the music talks about being hyped for a project with more movies seen and passion than a concrete vision, the visual gags in the animation, the way the tone lightens up in the video as the music gets brighter and more pumped up, god it's so good

So cool of TMBG to work with the Homestar Runner guys. Whenever they work together it's always good stuff.

This isn't the first TMBG song I ever heard, but it's the one that never fails to make me happy and want to dance.

IDK what made me think of this, but I recently started re-watching a bunch of homestarrunner videos on youtube. Then I remembered this song - and now it's stuck in my head. I was obsessed with homestarrunner back when I was in middle school when they first came out. I wrote so many emails to strong bad but they never answered any of them, lol.

This came out about the same time I started film school. I will always associate this song with that period of time. The good, bad, and indifferent. Really, The Spine was kind of my album for that period of time in my life.

Though the flash version of this on Homestar Runner may have better video quality (and it doesn't have that little clip of whatever other music video at the end), this RU-vid version has much better sound quality! Thank you, RU-vid!

I was about thirteen and my dad had showed me Doctor Worm because it was on the radio around when I was born. I remember this song coming on and it absolutely describing exactly how I felt about my life stretched out ahead of me with all of my friends and hopes and dreams and how much I wanted to create and make things with people and show the world. This song is incredible.

I remember watching this with my dad when i was reeeaaaaallllly little. this was one of his favorite bands, he always made sure to see them when they came into town haha. now im 21 after he passed a few years ago, and getting into homestar runner, and seeing them in a TMBG music video gave me such strong whiplash and nostalgia haha thank you for all the amazing tunes guys

I watched this when I was 12 years old and felt like I didn’t understand any of it. Now I know it’s because I wasn’t supposed to

Oh man. This music video has it all. Television has never Johned so Linnell.

Only one of the best crossovers ever Nostalgia to the max

I was going to say childhood memory unlocked, but I think this was more my teen years... regardless, loved this then, love it now. ♥

"Ey pretty good jorb there, hamstar. De 'alf-second clip of Bastard Wants To Hit Me glued to de end is a nice toach." "There's a Bastard Wants To Hit Me clip glued to the end? Getitoff getitoff getitoff getitoff"

This has to be one of my favorite songs of all time.

Honest question: Why does this song make me cry?

Homestar Runner + TMBG = Nostalgia

I loved Homestar Runner and TMBG, I remember being so hyped seeing this when it first came out. Still listening in 2022.

I can't believe it's been 20 years since this was originally put out. This song was my childhood.

I got into a Wikipedia hole and somehow stumbled upon TMBG. The name seemed familiar so I tried to see which song I knew. Saw this was a collab and looked it up. All the good memories from all those years ago came flooding back. I let my brother listen to this without knowing what was playing. He looked confused and despite 17 ish years, he started just singing the lyrics perfectly. It was so funny to see the clear confusion but also clearly knew somehow still remembered the lyrics. Thank you TMBG for taking us back with this song today.

This experimental film: Even though I can’t explain it, I already know how great it is. 😌

So manny memories of biking across and around the campus of UW-La Crosse listening to this track, as well as the rest of The Spine.

.... How is this better then 90% of music produced today?

I always wondered if there was more symbolism here for how homestarrunner got started. The anxiety at the ATM, the jumping in of investing in the idea, the full color dance being the site's debut, strong bad dancing right before the ATM drops bags of merch cash on strong sad to signify when they started getting really popular, its a lion being said by the crowd because they understood and approved of what the chaps made.

I'm gonna cover this song too, now that I remembered what your lawyers tried to do to me! I'm gonna form a TMBG cover band and call it "WE'RE NOT GIANTS."

This is the moment where my two favorite things merged. Had been listening to TMBG for years already, mostly from their kids albums when I was young, and then their popular stuff. Then Gravity Falls aired, and I guy named Douglas MacKrell pointed me to a site called Homestar Runner to find the origin of a gag. The day I went to the site was the day they came back. Binged the sbemails, then shuffled through random toons they made. Found this one, and the rest is history.

The colour of infinity Inside an empty glass I'm squinting my eye I'm turning off and on and on and off the light It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about and which I'm still figuring out what's going to go in my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's… I already know the ending It's the part that makes your face implode I don't know what makes your face implode, But that's the way the movie ends And in my experimental film Which nobody knows about but which I'm still figuring out how Your face implodes with my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's… And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's… The colour of infinity Inside an empty glass It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about and which I'm still figuring out What's going to go in my experimental film Yeah! You're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's gonna… Yeah! You're gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's… Even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's…

We miss you Homestar, we all want you back.

When this dropped I remember watching it thinking... What is this? But man... it made me feel so good I kept coming back to it. 20 years later.... I'm still coming back to it.

Just saw this song was made in 2004, no wonder it reminds me of my highschool years. I found it in an Ed Edd & Eddy musical video, and just brought me so much nostalgia from those times I had to look for it once more.

I remember the day I logged on HSR and saw that my favorite band and my favorite web cartoon series had fused for a brief moment and it was great. It's still great!

This collab Homestar Runner did is how I know They Might Be Giants.

Core memory unlocked.

this is the best song with homestar homestar runner has been my favoritest show in the world and its my childhood for 10 years im so happy its here

I totally forgot about this song. I love it so much. I had no Idea it was TMBG. They're quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite bands. The mix of nostalgia and amazing music feels so good.

Looking at this video over 13 year later, and recognising all the little references to experimental films in it; and dabbling in experimental film - I've come to the harrowing realisation that I am now Strong Sad. And that's terrible.

The ending made my face implode

Strong Sad + The Cheat + TMBG....dude...it's just epic win... This is one of my favorite songs to sing.

This one reminds me of good times!

I... love... this... song... so... much...

I start getting into both homestar runner and they might be giants and here i am. How cool

2:11 I’ve always loved how happy Strong Mad is here. Just dancing with his buddies to a fun song

I remember finding this video buried on the then-contemporary flash-based HSR website back in the day, through all manner of trapdoor site navigation intralinks to the point that it felt like an easter egg. It's actually why I bought this album.

If there's one thing worth taking away from my years of middle school Homestar fandom, it's this. This and Trogdor.

When this first came out I would open a new window and play it on repeat in the background.

It's so surreal having this recommended to me after a good 10-11 years. Last time I listened to/watched this I was falling asleep in a highschool web development class, sharing a pair of earbuds with a good friend

So, given that The Cheat gets details wrong every once in a while, does that mean that the little skull guy on the old-timey bike is actually the Skullivan?

On a Homestar binge and remembered they did this.

And Thus my high school self was encouraged to pickup a TMBG album!

The color of infinity Inside an empty glass I'm squinting my eye and turning off And on and on and off the light It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about And which I'm still figuring out What's going to go in my experimental film Yeah, you're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's . . . I already know the ending; it's The part that makes your face implode I don't know what makes your face implode But that's the way the movie ends And in my experimental film Which nobody knows about But which after figuring out Your face implodes at my experimental film Yeah, you're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's . . . Even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's . . . The color of infinity Inside an empty glass It's for this experimental film Which nobody knows about And which I'm still figuring out What's going to go in my experimental film Yeah, you're all gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's gonna . . . Yeah, you're gonna be in this experimental film And even though I can't explain it I already know how great it's . . . Even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it's . . .

I sure miss Homestarrunner.

i actually cannot stop listening to this help me

despite this being a very Strong Sad heavy video, I felt nothing but pure joy watching it with a big stupid grin on my face...

Oh my god I haven’t heard this song in like 15 years at least! I completely forgot about it but I used to listen to it all the time when I was a teenager! What nostalgia! 🥲

The version on the Fenway Park organ is great!

Two great things in one

This is so awesome that I literally jumped for joy. I actually jumped up and down and ran in circles because I was so excited by how AWESOME this is. This is probably the ultimate Awesomeness Crossover Event. Also, it exists as further proof that the citizens of Free Town, USA exist in a parallel, but close-by and sometimes accessible, universe to the one in which most of us RU-vidrs live. Basically, just, THANK YOU FOR CREATING THIS SHINING JEWEL OF GLORIOUS AWESOME INTERNET AWESOMENESS!

I can pinpoint the most excited I’ve ever been - it was when I was 12 years old, the day this video came out.

I was introduced to TMBG at a young age, but lately I've been finding them in places that I never would have guessed. I knew Malcolm in the Middle, but they did a soundtrack for Coraline that got mostly scrapped, Sensurround was in the 1995 Power Rangers movie, and now this. Maybe the universe might be giants, on an atomic level.

MY 2 FAVORITE THINGS IN ONE THING!

Please make a karaoke version of this. Just had fun doing "Istanbul".

This goes down as my favorite Homestar Runner animation of all time.

The voices from my teenage years. These guys never get old!

I still remember every lyric of this song and even then this makes my goddamn day.

2:58 made my face implode

Is this TMBG crossing over with Homestar Runner?! I think this is one of the best things I have ever seen.