Cool Things

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Revision as of 18:08, 4 September 2005

What in Pete Sampras is goin' on here?

Homestar tries to do something constructive. Strong Sad gets a date. Marzipan forms a band with Strong Mad and The Cheat. Bubs decides to stick it to the man.

Cast (in order of appearance): Homestar Runner, Marzipan, Bubs, Strong Sad, Strong Mad, The Cheat, Strong Bad (Easter egg)

Places: Marzipan's House, Bubs' Concession Stand, The Field, Strong Bad's Basement (Easter egg)

Date: August 15, 2005

Running Time: 4:00

Page Title: Sittin' with a kitty...

Transcript

{COOL THINGS appears on Marzipan's carpet. We tilt up to see Homestar and Marzipan sitting on the couch. Marzipan is reading "Peter Threadbare", while Homestar just looks bored.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {sighs} Sitting on the couch is zero amount of fun when there's not a TV or hang glider in front of it.

MARZIPAN: Well, why don't you do something constructive? Like read a book, or write a novella.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Nah, I already did some writing today. And then I read what I wrote.

MARZIPAN: Yay! Good for you. Can I see it?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: It's right over there. Check it out!

{Homestar looks at the left wall. The camera view changes to show that "Cool tapes" is roughly written on the wall.}

MARZIPAN: {offscreen} Why did you write "Cool tapes" on my wall?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Uh, hello? {Cut back to the couch. Marzipan and Homestar both look annoyed.} Maybe because I like cool tapes?

MARZIPAN: Well, I hope you like "cool" painting, because this has got to go.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {imitating a trombone} Mwah, bwah, bwahhhh.

{Cut to Bubs' Concession Stand. Bubs is inside, looking bored. Three cans of "yella paint" are stacked next to him. Homestar walks up to the stand.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Say there, old Bubs! I need three cans of yella paint, and one pair of cool shades.

BUBS: Sorry, customer, I'm closed.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: But you're standing right there. And I see the yella paint right next to you.

BUBS: But I'm closed! Cutbacks, layoffs, downsizing, you know the drill.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {He looks over his shoulder, then looks back at Bubs.} Hey, Bubs, can you steal three cans of yella paint for me?

BUBS: I never pass up a chance to stick it to the man! Here you go! {He gives the cans of paint to Homestar.} I slipped the cool shades in the can number two.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Thanks, Bubs. Power to the people!

BUBS: I heard that!

{Cut to Homestar's silhouette walking away from the stand. We then cut to a close-up of Homestar walking in the field.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I think I'm gonna bust out my new cool shades. {He kneels down, opens one of the paint cans, and pulls out a pair of cool shades that are completely covered in paint. He puts them on.} Coool! Everything's yellow and drippy.

{Strong Sad enters.}

STRONG SAD: Hey, Homestar.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, hello, Dripping Yellow Madness!

STRONG SAD: What? I'm Strong Sad! Dripping Yellow Madness moved away after fifth grade!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Look, I'd love to stay and argue that you are in fact Dripping Yellow Madness, but this paint and I {He kicks one of the cans of paint} have a date with a wall!

STRONG SAD: I wish I had a date with a wall.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Go for it! Here. {He gives the paint cans to Strong Sad} You'll need these.

STRONG SAD: Oh!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: And, uh, good luck tonight.

{He makes a clicking sound with his mouth, then walks off. He lands in a small hole. There is a sign next to it that says "death hole" in Strong Bad's handwriting. Homestar screams while falling in and continues to scream after he's stopped falling. He's standing in a hole up to his neck.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {gradually getting quieter} Aaaaaaaaaaah...I'm at the bottom of a giant piiiit...

STRONG SAD: Homestar, take off those stupid cool shades.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yeah, I should probably return these things.

STRONG SAD: {walking offscreen, singing} Oh, getting lucky tonight...

{Paint runs down the screen. When it is gone, we see a close-up of Homestar, still wearing the cool shades.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey, friend. Lemme get my money back for these cool shades.

{The camera pulls back to reveal Homestar standing a bit too far away from Bubs' Concession Stand. Bubs is inside, and there's a banner on the stand that says "UNDER OLD MANAGEMENT!!"}

BUBS: Little bit closer, Homestar.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh. {He walks closer, and walks past Bubs a bit. Bubs moves in front of him.} Lemme get my money back for these cool shades.

BUBS: Sure! You got your receipt?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Um, no. {He takes off his shades.} The sales representative I dealt with gave them to me...free of charge. I believe...his name was Stan.

BUBS: Stan?! I fired that guy after the fifth grade! Without a receipt, I can only exchange them for something of lesser or much lesser value. And the only thing that qualifies is this! {He holds up a bag with four grapes in it.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {He takes the bag} These'll do! These'll do juuust fine!

{Cut to Homestar's silhouette walking away from the stand. The sun is lower than before, and the sky is a purplish color. Cut to a view of Homestar walking into Marzipan's house, then cut to Marzipan's living room, where Marzipan, Strong Mad and The Cheat are standing in front of the wall with "Cool Tapes" written on it. Strong Mad has an electric bass, The Cheat has a drum kit, and Marzipan has Carol.}

MARZIPAN: All right, boys. From the top. {Homestar's silhouette appears in the foreground.} One, two—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: What in— {Cut to a close-up of Homestar's face. He looks angry.} —Pete Sampras is going on here?!

{cut to a close-up of Marzipan's face.}

MARZIPAN: Well, you took too long, so Strong Mad, and The Cheat and I formed a band called Cool Tapes. {She smiles sheepishly.}

{Cut back to a still-angry Homestar.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, really?! What kind of...music do you play?!

{Cut to a wide shot of Marzipan, Strong Mad and The Cheat.}

MARZIPAN: Well, here, we'll show you. We only have one song so far, and it's not quite finished, but here goes. Ready, boys?

{Strong Mad, The Cheat and Marzipan all play their instruments.}

MARZIPAN: One, two, three four!

{singing}
Cool tapes are cool, 'cause they're where it is at,
Cool tapes are cool, and we like it like that!
Cool tapes! Cool tapes!
We like to get it down with the cool, cool tapes,
We like to get down with ...um... {the music stops} um...

HOMESTAR RUNNER: A bag of four grapes?

MARZIPAN: {music starts again, singing} A bag of four grapes!

{We hear an audience cheering. Homestar pops up from the bottom of the screen and shakes the bag. A cassette tape appears in the foreground that reads "THE END." Homestar peeks through one of the holes in the cassette.}

Easter Eggs

• Click on "THE" on the cassette at the end to see a conversation with Strong Bad and The Cheat.

{Strong Bad is lying on the couch in his basement, watching TV.}

TV: ...same truck that tried to kill my dad!

{The Cheat enters, carrying his drumsticks.}

STRONG BAD: Hey, The Cheat. We catch anything in the Death Hole today?

THE CHEAT: {Makes The Cheat noises}

STRONG BAD: What? There's no way he could've been in there. He moved away after fifth grade!

• Click on "END" on the cassette at the end to see a T-shirt for Cool Tapes.

Fun Facts

Explanations

• A novella is a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel.

Trivia

• The crowd cheering sound effect is taken from the end of Everybody to the Limit (Live).

Remarks

• This is the first time Marzipan's teeth are shown.
• None of the paint remains on Homestar's face after he removes the cool shades.
• Paint appears to drip from Homestar's glasses into his mouth.
• The tape at the end is the same shade of yellow as the yellow highlights that appear around buttons when the Tab key is pressed, slightly obscuring the Easter egg highlight over "The" and completely obscuring the highlight over "End." Since the tape was grey during the song, this may have been intentional.
• Carol looks like a classical guitar, but is apparently an electric-acoustic guitar, capable of producing a distorted tone.

Goofs

• When Marzipan closes her eyes and sings "...a bag of four graaaaapes!", you can see her closed eyes distort for a brief moment. This is because she and Homestar always blink every three seconds, and with her eyes closed, she attempts to blink over her closed eyes. The effect can also be observed if the toon is paused while her eyes are closed.
• The amp that is behind Marzipan when she's about to play her song disappears in the next scene.
• The phrase "Cool Tapes" changes position slightly during the toon. To see this better, focus on the bottom of the "p" in "Tapes" and the lighter part of the yellow wall.
• When Homestar goes to return his cool shades to Bubs, in the second wide shot, Homestar is suddenly standing to the left of where he was in the first wide shot.
• With the Yella Shades on, the paint drips off the lens over his right eye, but the drops fall in front of the left side of the mouth.
• When Homestar is returning the Yella Shades at the concession stand, the paint suddenly stops dripping between the close-up and the wide shot.
• As he walks back from Bubs' with the bag of four grapes, Homestar's walkcycle doesn't quite fit the speed at which he is walking.
• After the scene with Marzipan singing in front of the blue and red tapes, the Cheat's drumming is one beat off, that is, he is hitting the snare drum when he should be hitting the bass drum and vice-versa.
• In the easter egg with Strong Bad on the couch, note there is no patch.

Inside References

• The show Strong Bad is watching is the "killer truck" show The Cheat watched in privileges.
• The amps that Marzipan plays through are from different town.
• Strong Mad playing the bass was mentioned in guitar, but this is the first time we've actually seen it.
• Strong Sad patting his belly makes the same dodgeball noise it made in modeling.
• Strong Sad mentions that he likes to talk to walls in his character video.

Real-World References

• The title of the page, "Sittin' with a kitty," is a lyric from the Sonic Youth song "Kool Thing."
• Pete Sampras is a retired professional tennis player.
• "Stick it to the Man" and "Power to the People" were common phrases used during the Student Protests in the 1960s and '70s.
• Strong Mad's bass is the same shape as a Hofner 500/1 violin bass, the same kind Paul McCartney plays.
• The amplifiers that they play with very closely resemble Marshall Amps.

External Links

• watch "Cool Things"
• view the Flash file for "Cool Things"
• forum thread re: "Cool Things"