March 26, 2009
NATE VID NEWS!
A MESSAGE TO A YOU TUBER FROM THE AUDIENCE OF BUG
Lat night’s BUG 12 The Directors Cut at the BFI Southbank was one of my favourites so far. We showed some wonderful stuff including an animation called Story From North America by talented young animator Kirsten Lepore, Reuben Sutherland’s video for Royksopp’s Happy Up Here, Martin De Thurah’s for Fever Ray, Karni & Saul’s for Flogging Molly, a very funny vid for French band Odelaf’s song Le Café, a jaw dropping skate vid for UNKLE’s lovely track Heaven directed by Ty Evans with Spike Jonez, and various things I made myself and with Garth Jennings who was our guest at the previous week’s show.
One of the standout animated videos we showed was by super smart directing team Walter Robot for Deathcab For Cutie’s Grapevine Fires. I read out some of the comments that had been left by You Tubers including one mini thesis from a chap called NathanY579. You can find the comment if you scroll down far enough but in case it gets removed or whatever, here’s a pic:
Intrigued, I navigated the BUG audience to Nathan’s channel where I found a video he’s posted of himself singing the traditional American song Wildwood Flower. The bad part of me was hoping it would be dreadful and he would be revealed as a colossal ponce, but only the very hard would deny he’s got talent and throws himself manfully into his early Johnny Cash routine. I couldn’t help noticing that someone calling himself devinoxford had left a message on his home page, clearly part of an exchange that had taken place elsewhere on You Tube telling Nathan that:
you’re only a poor musician because you suck, it’s that simple!
to which Nathan replies with an unguarded candor seldom found in You Tube comment sections:
I wasn’t referring to myself and you have hurt my feelings. However you are entitled to your opinion.
When the audience at BUG saw that comment they let forth a loud and sincere ‘Aww’ of sympathy for Nathan’s hurt feelings which spurred me to take it a few steps further and film a message of support on my camera which I have posted below. I’m not suggesting anyone should further hound devinoxford (who as Nathan magnanimously points out is entitled to his opinion) or overload Nathan with commentary to make him even more self conscious than I may have already, but I thought it would be a good chance to reach out to a man admirably unafraid of writing essays beneath Deathcab For Cutie videos and posting vids of himself doing heartfelt Johnny Cash impressions for all the scary internet to see. Good on you Nate! And I’ll see the rest of you at BUG in May.