To Take You Into the Weekend, Me Singing “Redshirt” With Jonathan Coulton and His Band
Posted on February 22, 2013 Posted by John Scalzi 41 Comments
And I’m on key at least 60% of the time!
If you just want to see the part where I fall on my ass, fast forward to 4:15 and wait a couple of seconds. This was during the JoCo Cruise Crazy 3 trip, incidentally.
I had a blast doing this (which I think comes through), although the video reminds me that I am becoming increasingly pear shaped as I go along. I blame the cruise buffet. Yes, that’s it entirely.
Video recorded by Glenn Badsen.
And no, I don’t plan to quit my day job.
I for one will not rest until the Obama Administration releases the memos setting forth its legal justification for this.
That is one SHINY blue shirt.
One word: Tonsure.
They call me Friar Schmuck.
That wasn’t falling on your ass, that was succumbing to gravity with style.
Hey! You can sing! I mean, not even when it’s not like Bob Dylan.
By Jove, you did stay on pitch! Well done, sir!
I thought he didn’t embarrass us, at all.
This makes me so happy.
An excellent performance, sir, with perfect redshirt dance moves. ;)
Yet another reason I regret missing this particular karaoke out of the approximate 5 billion karaoke events that week.
Also, your spontaneous accompaniment to the fellow singing “Rainbow Connection” was quite fantastic and is now one my favorite things ever.
Mango, your shaped more like a mango. It has nothing to do with Churro pancakes.
Damn, you didn’t miss a beat either. Well played.
It’s almost like you planned that
Awesome. Hey, that person whose head we see at the beginning… was that just someone with a cute hairdo, or were they wearing a bear head?
Good thing you are getting pear-shaped. You would have broken more than the fourth wall. :-)
Nice dance moves and “pear shaped” is just another way to say aging
Well done, sir.
Not a bad showing. You have a pleasant speaking voice, too. Ever thought doing an audio book?
The ship hit the iceberg at 4:17, am I right?
That had to be so much fun. And dang! that is a good song.
Scalzi kept the beat. I’ll bet this wasn’t his first rodeo.
I play drums, you know.
Ass-splat aside just one more reason for me to regret not being there. Perfectly lovely voice and the enthusiasm was exquisite.
I came for the singing but I stayed for the dance moves!
What? It wasn’t planned, the fall? I thought that’s when the monster alien is supposed to be eating you. What was strange was the jumping. Did you have to go to the bathroom or something?
Thank for this. I have spent some time over the last week trying to wrap my mind around the insane at RSHD’s website, and I think my mind was about to break. He is perhaps the most arrogant and narrow minded blogger I have ever read.
Just tell people “I’m not out of shape, I’m Pyriform.”
I’m not familiar with the musicians, the cruise, or the song, but I just smiled for six minutes thanks to this video. Totally 100% awesome.
Have you considered a treadmill desk? I set one up, and it’s working well. Although, so far I’ve been using it when doing passive things like reading, not writing or coding. Easy way to get your “10,000 steps a day” in just 2-3 hours of walking.
My treadmill desk consists of a LIfeSpan treadmill and some wire shelving from Home Depot. The treadmill is just the treadmill and a control panel at the end of a cable. There’s no upright structure as is usually the case.
I bought an elliptical in 2011, but have used it less than I’ve used the treadmill in the brief time I’ve had it.
This weekend I’ll find out if I can play Baldur’s Gate while walking.
Is this like the Web 2.0 version of showing vacation slides?
Also, what Mary Robinette Kowal said, you’re making audible progress before our very ears.
I do, however, feel the most important moment of the performance is being tragically overshadowed by your grand decent to ground level. I refer, of course, to miming squeezing the giant “pair” which “they” are to grow. That was a nice touch…you know what I mean!
katyasozaeva: That is indeed Alice “Bear hat” Lee wearing a bear hat.
You were awesome! I’m glad the video recorded ok. I lost one of that night somehow.
Pear shaped, or weeble shaped. Which sort of proves that weebles wobble and they do fall down.
Oh, dude, you *literally* fell on your ass! I thought that was, like, a metaphor or something.
Bless your heart. Bless your ass. It does look like you were having a good time.
Here, go listen to some music. *g* http://youtu.be/hl0bsnjjDIU
No, I didn’t know you played drums.
I know pear-shaped people who would like to be shaped like you. Don’t worry about it.
At “almost 50” I can tell you it just sort of happens.
Forgive me, John: that was not “falling on your ass”; that was a flooring malfunction, or a shoe malfunction, or something. You cannot fall on your arse while continuing to hit every fricking note dead solid perfect.
Let the record note that you can be – and are – every bit as manic, jumped up and lovable even when you are not in Performing Monkey mode. Guess you will need to come with another reason to hand out when you want some downtime…
I already knew I loved how you think. I knew I enjoyed how you write. But you know what I love the most? I love how much freaking FUN you have doing just about everything and how you just embrace what’s in front of you and go for it. Package that, my friend. Awesomeness in one pear shaped package. Hope the rest of your cruise was unimpaired by ass bruising. ;)
You guys were having way too much fun with a song that has such depressing lyrics. Of course, Coulton put a catchy tune on it to make up for it.
And, yet again, I am bummed about not being on that cruise.
Re pear-shapedness: Dunno about you, but i was born quite pearlike – big big head, tiny little torso etc.
It’s just that the pear has inverted these past decades, and people who refer to “the big end” aren’t talking about my cranium anymore. Dang.
The hell, John. Not bad for a front man. Nervous, sure, but that was a fair amount of performing as well. I don’t mean the Fall either. That’s on a ship so big you can’t get a reference for the horizon, and with all the rocking and rise and fall it’s enough to bring anyone falling who’s not careful. Just please don’t tell me the ship was docked when you had the gig…
In any case, looks like you had a blast.