Brace yourself, because there’s really no way to prepare you for how terrible this song is.
The lyrics are a bit difficult to figure out using, you know, your ears, so watch this in fullscreen mode so you can read them.
And no, this isn’t a joke. It’s a serious song made by serious #GamerGaters on 8chan. See this thread, or the GamerGareSings Twitter, for more details.
They are hard at work on more of these. A lot more. Here are a couple of works-in-progress. Put them in your ears if you dare.
Do they have a GamerGate version of Bohemian Rhapsody? Why yes, they do.
Do they have one dedicated to their imaginary girlfriend, Vivian James? Why yes, they do.
Wash all of this out of your brain with some awesome music from Kiss!
If only Kiss really did sound like this. If only the GamerGaters sounded like this!
If anyone’s gone One-Winged Angel final form amongst the critics of GamerGate, it’s Brianna Wu, who’s put up an $11K bounty for any actionable info leading to prosecution re: threats made by GGers.
This is a woman you do. not. fuck. with.
“we’re not even angry”
There is no way I can express how hilarious this is (and how alienated it sounds) through conceptual language.
But in my head this as always been their (un)official anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpsbj0OoeNo
Apparently, some people are not the heroes of their own stories. But why would you want to be the cackling villain? They probably saw Watchmen and thought Rorschach was the hero.
Hurm.
I honestly think they just don’t understand context. Or subtext. Sometimes not even text. They chose the Portal song because it was well-known, and because the song was triumphant like they want to be.
Either that or they think every villain is just an anti-hero in disguise.
I don’t care what they say, this will always be #GamerGate*’s theme song in these ears:
http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=4rT3KsN_H6g
*and MRM
Honestly, the part that sleeves me the most (that hasn’t been mentioned much) is how they mention the doxxing then turn around and treat it like a huge mistake… Despite the fact they *keep doing it*. It’s just… Wtf. At this point no matter how you slice it there’s no way in hell it’s a “mistake” when it happens.
This song is pretty funny if you ask me. Seems to be a lack of humor here lol…
I don’t think “We are fucking pathetic” would go over so well as a lyric suggestion
I don’t think they can distinguish between villain and anti-hero. That sort of analysis is way above their paygrade.
The lyrics even talk about them pretty much being shut ins. What would happen to them if there was, say a solar flare serious enough to damage infrastructure and shut down electricity, cell phone towers and the internet. It would be hard on everyone in the industrialized world, but they would just be unable to cope. I’m just picturing them wandering the streets in a daze clutching their console of choice periodically yelling out “hashtag gamergate! Whore!” at passers by. Or coming up to strange women in public places and telling them to “go make their games.”
I mean “go make your own games.”
Well, if they do go out of their houses, Kendra Wells has prepared a Guide to Female Body Language for them:
https://twitter.com/buonasahra/status/531524798829314048
A person mentioned him, but I wanted to give an additional shout-out to Jonathan Coulton who wrote the Still Alive song that the gators are spoofing. I know him mostly from NPRs Ask Me Another quiz show, but he does a lot of funny stuff.
Once again, they willingly put themselves the role of the bad buy.
Batman villains. Demons in flames. Skulls. A psychopathic AI. You’d think they’d occasionally want to paint themselves as the hero, wouldn’t you?
@Andrew_Johnston
If I may be so bold, I offer this as an addendum to your statement about #GamerGater’s understanding of the games they play.
h/t to SteampunkKanye on PixieJenni’s GamerGate blog: pixietalksgamergate.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/anti-gamergate-answers-part-2/
I have encountered this in direct conversation. A GamerGater told me that games (he later extended it to all art) cannot be political (he then walked that back when called on it), then said that the aesthetics are not as important as the system and controls.
SteampunkKanye has a long reply, but I must say it is the finest analysis of the failings of GamerGate I have seen yet.
Kagato – pfft! Who ever heard of a HERO getting the girl and saving the day?
Wait, what?
I’m starting to think that some of these beezers were actually bullied in high school, but not for the reasons they think.
Bunch of white-knighting betas, the lot of them.
@magnesium
Well, you’re talking about the people who proclaim, unironically, that Bane is a good mascot. And who talk like monologuing supervillains. And who have skulls all around. I think they kind of want to be the baddies.
Thanks to Gamergate I actually got the song reference! In the last few months I’ve paid more attention to video games than I have the entire rest of my life combined, and I’ve started spending money to buy them. I had no idea what modern games were like, but they’re awesome! Like Portal, which I just finished a couple of days ago. I also played Gone Home after reading about it in the New York Times’ opinion piece on GG, but knowing nothing else about it, and squealed out loud when I found the riot grrrl cassettes.
OK the youtube comments on the first Cronenberged song is hilarious.
They are moved to tears by this. I’m. What?
They’re reveling in the idea (erroneous or not) that their “enemies” are exhausted and afraid of the constant harassment.
A making of vid? Like a video of gaterbro breathing into his mic and running a filter? Exciting.
Again, they are moved to tears by this. But really it’s the “tumbleristas” that are silly emotional creatures.
Yes, any dissent is clearly “shills.”
Logic and reason! I am so pumped bro! I am SWOLE on LOGIC!
That was the other thing that struck me about the message of the video: the only action they mention taking is sending emails, and the only result they talk about is advertisers. No mention of editorial policies, or changes to content, or anything substantive.
Causing (potential) financial difficulties for their opponents is success in itself, in their book.
Gussie – in tabletop RPGs (e.g., D&D), players who emphasize system are sometimes derisively called ‘minimaxers’. They study the rules and tables, and wind up with a left-handed elven bowmaster, not because they like the character, but so he* can wreak max damage on opponents.
*Minimaxers are even more usually male than other players, in my experience.
Gussie Jives sez:
Is it even possible for art not to be political? Also, what did he mean by “aesthetics”? I don’t get how that would connect to GamerGate unless he’s using some special meaning of the word he invented to defend things like sexual objectification of female characters.
@ A. Noyd – well, GG does seem to have come up with new definitions for ethics and journalism, so why not aesthetics?
Sylviaplant, to be fair, I’ve felt like weeping over some of this stuff (of course, that’s more in the ‘I weep for humanity’ kind of sense in that there are seemingly so many people lacking perspective, compassion, and, yes, ethics that they believe doxxing and sending rape and death threats are appropriate ways to express their displeasure).
Darn Gaters, I’ve worked in various service industry jobs most of my life. I don’t need anything else lowering my faith in humanity.