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I AM A GOLDEN GOD

2016-05-20 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:23 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Projects) · mode: Personal essay · tags: on location, self promotion

In a vlog from his 2016 tour, Hank worries that image-building and online scores (likes, views, pins) push people to value what is easily quantifiable over less measurable but more valuable things: people, pride in one's work, community.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Shouted 'Good morning John, it's Friday' opening

00:00:25 — Hank explores the venue's backstage 'dungeon': wet room, motor-oil smell, a canoe, a hole

  • ★ Hank explores a backstage area he calls a dungeon: a gross, wet room, a room smelling of motor oil with a canoe in it, and a hole. (playful) — 00:00:25

00:00:54 — Touring is strange: stage performers seem cool, less glamorous in person; hard and boring parts but an honor and privilege

  • ★★ Hank says touring is strange: seen from the front for a long time, people on stage seem undeniably cool; in person it is less glamorous but still cool. — 00:00:54
  • ★★ Hank says touring has hard-work and boring elements, but it is an honor and a privilege to do it with people. — 00:01:12

00:01:17 — Footsteps in the dungeon turn out to be a 'saxophone monster' practising

  • ★ Hank hears someone coming, fears a monster or an employee telling him to leave, and finds someone practising the saxophone, whom he calls a saxophone monster. (playful) — 00:01:17

00:02:05 — Rainy, non-ideal drive on the way to Austin

  • ★ On the way to Austin, Hank reports a rainy, non-ideal but luckily short driving day. — 00:02:06

00:02:16 — Image-building in music and online; being scored by likes and views; quantifiable metrics may crowd out what is more valuable

  • ★★ Hank says it is easy and financially advantageous to make musicians look cool, and that building an image like a brand around an artist is vital to their success. (hedged) — 00:02:16
  • ★★★ Hank says this is becoming how everybody presents themselves on the internet: showing their best moments and cutting out all the unpleasantness. — 00:02:24
  • ★★★ Hank says that more than ever we are scored on our performance, through Instagram likes, Snapchat views and Pinterest pins. — 00:02:33 · Instagram
  • ★★★ Hank worries that, as school focuses on what is easily quantifiable, life may too; beyond dollars, new metrics might make us forget less quantifiable but more valuable things. (hedged) — 00:02:40
  • ★★★ Hank names the more valuable things: having great people in your life, taking care of them, doing things you're proud of regardless of the masses' opinions, strengthening communities, being part of something bigger. — 00:02:58

00:03:09 — Driving through the country has been wonderful; thanks to show-goers; sign-off and 'I AM A GOLDEN GOD'

  • ★★ Hank says driving through the country has been wonderful and thanks everybody who has come out to the shows. — 00:03:09

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description calls the video a tour vlog from the first leg of Tour Because Awesome 2016 and lists upcoming shows in Tucson, LA, Anaheim, San Diego and San Francisco. — video description · Los Angeles

Humor (significant)

  • Hank wanders off into the venue's grimy back rooms with the camera. — 00:00:25

    “Hey, found a dungeon.”

  • Touring the gross, wet backstage rooms that smell of motor oil, Hank points out an unexpected object. — 00:00:40

    “and there's a canoe! 'Cause, you know”

  • Terrified by footsteps in the basement, Hank waits to see whether it is a monster or an employee; it is a musician practising. — 00:01:37

    “It's a saxophone monster.”

  • Right after his sincere thanks and sign-off, Hank shouts the video's title. — 00:03:19

    “I AM A GOLDEN GOD!”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: McNamara fallacy

Also: Austin, Texas · brand · Instagram · Pinterest · Snapchat

Only in the description or credits: Anaheim, California · Los Angeles · San Diego · San Francisco · Tour Because Awesome · Tucson, Arizona

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