xkcd

by **rigwarl** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:44 pm UTC

Sure, some pop culture was referenced, but the joke is still typical xkcd-theme.

Can someone explain why so many people think referencing pop culture here less xkcd-ian than the following? I don't get it

http://xkcd.com/805/
http://xkcd.com/846/

by **Elipongo** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:54 pm UTC

rigwarl wrote:Sure, some pop culture was referenced, but the joke is still typical xkcd-theme.

Can someone explain why so many people think referencing pop culture here less xkcd-ian than the following? I don't get it
http://xkcd.com/805/
http://xkcd.com/846/

I concur. Methinks some people are working their way towards being grumpy old men or cat ladies. Now shut off that loud noise you call music and get those kids off my lawn! LOL!

by **Menacing Spike** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:46 pm UTC

Gracana wrote:I'm an angry nerd and I hate pop culture!

Now nobody else has to say they didn't like this.

YOU CANNOT STOP ME

I DIDN'T LIKE THIS COMIC

by **philsov** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:53 pm UTC

Can someone explain why so many people think referencing pop culture here less xkcd-ian than the following?

It's not!

But the difference is the source of the reference, I think. Apparently it's "good" when Randall makes a reference to something the reader can't identity, needs to google it or come to the forums for an explanation, and it turns out to be some 18th century mathematician's theorum or equally obscure and nerdy reference. But it's "bad" when Randall makes a reference to something the reader can't identity, needs to google it or come to the forums for an explanation, and it turns out to be so... pedestrian that a twelve year old would get the joke but they do not. (Or they're in some sort of paradise location that is immune to American pop music)

Though I still strongly dislike LMFAO (meta joke, to be the girls response? Onto xkcdsw!) for the Party Anthem song, as they have "WOO!" as a major background lyric, which grates me in like three different directions simultaneously.

by **San Fran Sam** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:00 pm UTC

eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

They aren't. It's just that BBC America tends to show only (what they consider to be) the best of them. Look up any young British actor at imdb and see all of the TV series they have been on that have never been broadcast here. I am sure that British TV has it share of dogs as well.

Doctor Who? ****sigh****

by **San Fran Sam** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:02 pm UTC

Also, they really need to do something about that TV set. It is way too low. She's going to get some neck pain looking down at the TV at that angle. The TV needs to be higher so that when you look straight ahead your line of sight is near the top of the screen.

"I'm not a chiropractor in real life. I just play one on radio."

by **Sprocket** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:32 pm UTC

I feel I've never really learned how to use the internet properly.

by **radtea** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:39 pm UTC

Elipongo wrote:
rigwarl wrote:Methinks some people are working their way towards being grumpy old men or cat ladies.

Some of us are already there, but I thought this comic was funny because it made me think, "This is what normal people must feel looking at the typical XKCD that I think is hilarious..."

by **Oktalist** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:49 pm UTC

webdude wrote:Sigh - meh. But I had the same question about the "Downtown" name. I also wonder if there's a corresponding Uptown Abbey. If the town is so small that a manor in the middle of nowhere constitutes "downtown," is the town likely to have another abbey?

Sigh.

eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

It's more unrelated than you think, as Downton isn't even a BBC show.

philsov wrote:(Or they're in some sort of paradise location that is immune to American pop music)

We're there, dude.

by **Willinoise** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:51 pm UTC

Being a hipster is fun and all, but that doesn't stop this comic from being really funny.

I guess you have to know the song. It's nice to actually burst out laughing again from an xkcd strip. Good work, Randall.

by **Puck** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:00 pm UTC

Wow. Randall, I don't know what these people are on about, I thought it was hilarious. As my wife loves both Downton Abbey and the song (thanks to this Boston Terrier-themed video), I plan to attempt this IRL, next time it's on TV.

If it helps, "Sexy and I know it" (the referenced LMFAO song) is basically a total spoof of the modern music scene. It's bad on purpose. Y'all can stop hatin' now.

by **cool110** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:04 pm UTC

San Fran Sam wrote:
eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

They aren't. It's just that BBC America tends to show only (what they consider to be) the best of them. Look up any young British actor at imdb and see all of the TV series they have been on that have never been broadcast here. I am sure that British TV has it share of dogs as well.

Doctor Who? ****sigh****

On average I find most BBC programmes to be better than the ones on the commercial channels. Being owned by The Crown and having fixed income (£145.50 per household per year) and no adverts does allow the BBC to take more risks.
But BBC America does show programmes from the other side such as Downton Abbey.

by **marketdoctor** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:31 pm UTC

If it helps, "Sexy and I know it" (the referenced LMFAO song) is basically a total spoof of the modern music scene. It's bad on purpose.

I always thought LMFAO was self-parody; kind of like the 1960's Batman or (sometimes) Ke$ha. That helps me get out of bed in the morning. It's even better that lots of people aren't in on the joke, especially if they hear the song a lot.

I'm guilty of occasionally pronouncing "Downton" as "Down-town"; I apologize to the entire actually-English speaking world.

by **Adam H** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:32 pm UTC

I have heard neither of Downtown Abbey nor LMFAO.

Apparently 24 is the new 60.

by **Tomlidich** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:37 pm UTC

i am surprised how many people have never heard of this song.

here in the la area, you cannot turn on the radio without hearing this at least once.

by **undeadoranges** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:43 pm UTC

Augh, this has caused me to have that song stuck in my head all day. Could be worse, I guess. I enjoy LMFAO's music in the context that it was meant to be enjoyed, i.e. a dance party, but not as much outside of that context. I think that this comic could have used a different song, in order to increase the humor while lowering the confusion.

by **eran_rathan** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:44 pm UTC

San Fran Sam wrote:
eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

They aren't. It's just that BBC America tends to show only (what they consider to be) the best of them. Look up any young British actor at imdb and see all of the TV series they have been on that have never been broadcast here. I am sure that British TV has it share of dogs as well.

Doctor Who? ****sigh****

Hey, I grew up watching the old Dr. Who (on Maine PBS)! When you've only got three channels, and two of them are PBS, you watch what you get.

by **Adam H** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:14 pm UTC

Tomlidich wrote:here in the la area, you cannot turn on the radio without hearing this at least once.

I find it highly improbable that every single time you turn on your radio, the song is playing.

Oh that's not what you meant? OK, then I find it highly improbable that every single station in LA plays this song frequently.

Oh that's not what you meant? OK, then I find it highly improbable that everyone in LA tunes their radios to the stations that play this song.

Well what did you mean!?!? *shakes fist at young rapscallion*

by **Webzter** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:31 pm UTC

eran_rathan wrote:Hey, I grew up watching the old Dr. Who (on Maine PBS)! When you've only got three channels, and two of them are PBS, you watch what you get.

Last month we ditched cable in favor of just using an antenna. 5 channels, 3 of which are PBS (PBS, PBS Create and PBS World). The quality of what we watch has gone up dramatically.

by **TheMaskedGecko** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:37 pm UTC

Adam H wrote:I find it highly improbable that every single time you turn on your radio, the song is playing.

You missed the possibility that residents of the LA area are required to listen to this song before turning on their radio by law.

Eran_Rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

On the flipside, CSI Grimsby never took off. And I've yet to see anything match the awfulness of The Only Way is Essex. (Warning to anyone who doesn't know about TOWIE, you're immesurably better off without this in your lives)

by **addams** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:39 pm UTC

eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

There is a very good reasonable answer to your first question.
There are experts.
It has to do with the Mission Statement or some such thing.
The BBC is not perfect. But; Those people put out some darned good work.

The Human Carbon Foot Print was amazing.

The part that floored me was clear glass balls hanging from foliage over still water. The clear glass balls each had water in them. The narrator spoke of human tears. The why: Dust removal, keeping the eye wet, sadness, joy.
Then, went on to explain that all the tears from one person in a lifetime was represented in the amount of water that was in the clear glass balls.

Moving. I found it moving. They do good work.

by **wst** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:47 pm UTC

TheMaskedGecko wrote:
Eran_Rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

On the flipside, CSI Grimsby never took off. And I've yet to see anything match the awfulness of The Only Way is Essex. (Warning to anyone who doesn't know about TOWIE, you're immesurably better off without this in your lives)

How about Desperate Scousewives?

The advert is bad enough, with the highly affected Scouser narrator of the advert inducing quite a lot of rage in me. I daren't turn on the actual programme for fear of destroying my TV by accident.

by **eran_rathan** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:53 pm UTC

Webzter wrote:
eran_rathan wrote:Hey, I grew up watching the old Dr. Who (on Maine PBS)! When you've only got three channels, and two of them are PBS, you watch what you get.

Last month we ditched cable in favor of just using an antenna. 5 channels, 3 of which are PBS (PBS, PBS Create and PBS World). The quality of what we watch has gone up dramatically.

we gave up cable a few months ago for Netflix.

and I love PBS.

by **Joran** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:03 pm UTC

Mambrino wrote:
chemicalfan wrote:Downton Abbey is rubbish!!! I cannot understand how anyone under the age of 50 can sit through it, it's SO dull!

...and I thought the target audience was the generation ADHD. There's always at least dozen plotlines going on, none of which is properly concentrated on, and all of them are full of (unintentionally) hilarious melodrama.

I'm 20 years old, and I couldn't stand it: Downton Abbey certainly isn't dull enough for me.

To be not totally offtopic, I think I got the joke. It wasn't an excellent joke, I think. Not necessarily a bad joke, but just... not an excellent joke. I guess my perception is biased, and most of the XKCD comics are so awesome that "merely good" ones stand out and look worse than they really are.

It starts off slow, but Mambrino is right; Downton Abbey is a period soap opera on amphetamines. I've watched 10 episodes and they've managed to jump 6 years in time, from 1912 to 1918. An entire season's worth of drama for a normal soap opera is loaded up in an one hour episode of Downton Abbey. That said, much of the action happens off-screen, like the jump from Season 1 1914 (war were declared) to Season 2 1916 (war, huh, what is it good for?). The show even made a joke with Maggie Smith saying, "Oh that's a relief. I hate Greek drama. When everything happens off stage."

However, I love the characters; each character gets their own little storyline even amidst the jumble of the other plot. There's quite a bit of appealing eye candy for both genders, the actors and actresses range from very good to legendary, and there are only 7 episodes per season, so it's not a large time commitment. It's really a good period drama, but sped up to absurd speeds.

by **Cairns824** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:15 pm UTC

If it helps, "Sexy and I know it" (the referenced LMFAO song) is basically a total spoof of the modern music scene. It's bad on purpose. Y'all can stop hatin' now.

This.

by **neoliminal** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:32 pm UTC

Hey Ya...

by **Adam H** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:57 pm UTC

TheMaskedGecko wrote:
Adam H wrote:I find it highly improbable that every single time you turn on your radio, the song is playing.

You missed the possibility that residents of the LA area are required to listen to this song before turning on their radio by law.

I find that highly im-

Hmmmm, LA does have some screwy laws. :wink:

by **bmonk** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:30 pm UTC

sjorford wrote:
TheMaskedGecko wrote:Extrapolating from other towns would lead me to think that Downton was half of a pair of towns, the other one being Upton situated on a hill.

Almost certainly. But this is England. Downton was probably named about 1000 years ago. Upton might as well be an archaeological site by now.

Perhaps not. Abbeys in England, historically speaking, as elsewhere, tend to last on average (mean) about 50 years. Fifty years before Henry VIII, the most likely time for an abbey to become a noble's manor house, would be back in the 1400s. Meaning the name would have been given perhaps 1000 years ago, but more likely about 600 or 700.

Still, the name of the series and its manor house can't help but remind me of the English Reformation.

by **shirosuzume** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:48 pm UTC

BentFranklin wrote:Quadruple pop reference non-getting. Sigh.

+1

At least I know I'm still uncool?

by **SpringLoaded12** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:00 pm UTC

Puck wrote:If it helps, "Sexy and I know it" (the referenced LMFAO song) is basically a total spoof of the modern music scene. It's bad on purpose. Y'all can stop hatin' now.

It is?
...
If what you say is true, I just gained a lot of respect for LMFAO.

Adam H wrote:I have heard neither of Downtown Abbey nor LMFAO.

Apparently 24 is the new 60.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Everyday I'm shufflin'"?
If so, you've heard LMFAO, even if you haven't heard of them.

The Moomin wrote:I think we should thank LMFAO for providing employment for people with boxheads.

Previously they had to dance on youtube to Daft Punk songs to raise awareness of their plight.

You are a champion, my friend.

by **San Fran Sam** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:01 pm UTC

Puck wrote:
If it helps, "Sexy and I know it" (the referenced LMFAO song) is basically a total spoof of the modern music scene. It's bad on purpose. Y'all can stop hatin' now.

Is that the one that goes...?

If you're sexy and you know it clap your hands!
If you're sexy and you know it clap your hands!
If you're sexy and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're sexy and you know it ...

Just wondering.

by **bigjeff5** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:34 pm UTC

Willinoise wrote:Being a hipster is fun and all, but that doesn't stop this comic from being really funny.

I guess you have to know the song. It's nice to actually burst out laughing again from an xkcd strip. Good work, Randall.

Ditto!

I do "the wiggle dance" whenever I can, so Sexy And I Know It is pretty much my theme song. Party Rock was only good because of how easy it was to shuffle to (which they featured in the video - post-apocalyptic zombie style).

I love all the trashy/shitty techno-pop, like LMFAO and Ke$ha, and it drives my roommate, a techno DJ, absolutely nuts.

by **bigjeff5** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:41 pm UTC

San Fran Sam wrote:Is that the one that goes...
Just wondering.

Not quite. You should probably just watch the video, since the image really enhances the satire. It's worth it, IMHO.

by **lesmith11** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:58 pm UTC

eran_rathan wrote:
Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

Just been in NYC for a month and I was suprised how many shows are originally from the UK... I would think it would be the other way round.

by **Aikanaro** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:38 pm UTC

This should have been a "My Hobby" one, because I'm totally going to try to do this to people now. :twisted:

by **MathUhhhSaurus** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:24 am UTC

I-I work out!

by **Lode** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:41 am UTC

Elipongo wrote:
rigwarl wrote:Sure, some pop culture was referenced, but the joke is still typical xkcd-theme.

Can someone explain why so many people think referencing pop culture here less xkcd-ian than the following? I don't get it
http://xkcd.com/805/
http://xkcd.com/846/

I concur. Methinks some people are working their way towards being grumpy old men or cat ladies. Now shut off that loud noise you call music and get those kids off my lawn! LOL!

Bleh, I still prefer the more geeky ones, by a lot!

by **Venetian Road** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:06 am UTC

Adam H wrote:I have heard neither of Downtown Abbey nor LMFAO.

Apparently 24 is the new 60.

19 must be the new 60 as well..

by **bugmenot314** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:00 am UTC

Another of those US-only XKCDs.

It's starting to get a little annoying. I just counted: Among the last 20 XKCDs (not counting the SOPA thing and the "1000" thing), 9 were US-only.

What happened to general nerd-dom?

by **Thomas Andresen** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:03 pm UTC

eran_rathan wrote:As a totally unrelated aside, why are BBC shows generally so much better than American ones?

Part two of that, why do Americans seem to think that they have to make their own version of everything (generally very bad versions of said shows)?

couple more months til the new Dr. Who series....

The answer to that is simple: British comedy is the best kind. That's not a matter of taste, it's a fact. Case in point, Monty Python's Flying Circus. I've also yet to see a single British show without humour, regardless of the genre.

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