# Polyphonic Spree - WTF!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063 "2005-03-05T08:05:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/1 "2005-03-05T08:05:47Z")
I never thought that I was tone deaf but… :rolleyes: I think they suck, and I don’t mean it in a good way! 😛 So what’s the attraction in what they’re doing? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/2 "2005-03-05T08:30:13Z")
The arrangements are just dandy, from what I’ve heard of them on Austin City Limits and a couple of recordings. The singing really turns me off, though. Their gowns sort of give me wiggins, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/3 "2005-03-05T09:06:11Z")
Eh, I like them. I heard an interview with the guy behind it all who said that the gowns were just their bands theme, in the same way that hair metal bands have big hair or blink 182 pretend they’re skaters. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/4 "2005-03-05T09:50:30Z")
They give me the creeps. They’re just a little … uh … **too** happy. I mean unnaturally so. When they have hit the CNN headlines, I hope that lead singer at least came up with something a little more creative than Kool-Aid. I keed… i keed. 🆒 Or do I? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/5 "2005-03-05T10:33:10Z")
They are a musical group who create interesting and somewhat original music, which many people, myself included, find to be “good” That’s the attraction. Good music. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/6 "2005-03-05T11:53:41Z")
I saw them live last autumn. The energy is just great, a really feel-good, happy vibe. I had a big grin on my face all night. They all looked like thay were having a blast- there are cute little actions to most of the songs. The robes are probably because everyone in the band are different shapes and sizes and it’s an outfit that all the 20 something members can wear. It’s just happy, fun music without any angst or deep meanings- the way pop used to be before it became manufactured and evil. They gave away a big bag of stuff (a robe, t-shirts, posters CDs etc) to the audience member who looked like he was having the most fun (the guy was obviously completely stoned, but he WAS having fun). Honestly they just seemed like a bunch of sweet hippies having a good time, not any sort of creepy cult. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/7 "2005-03-05T12:02:19Z")
I’ve seen them a few times on Leno, Conan, etc… and not sure what to think. I do like their music I’ve heard, and wonder if they can carry it thru a whole album. How can anyone be that happy is another thing I wonder about. I do love their robes though. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/8 "2005-03-05T13:06:25Z")
As a big PS fan, I have to come to their defense. Their first album was better than should be expected from having been thrown together in just three days. It did feature a lot of repetitiousness, but it had a nice vibe to it and featured one amazing song called “Reach for the Sun” which you might have heard on a iPod commercial a while back. They had a lot more time to produce he second album “Together We’re Heavy” so it’s a little more complex and the production values are a lot tighter. Yeah, it’s feel good music. Nothing wrong with that. The robes just came from an idea by the groups leader, Tim DeLaughter because he had such a mass of people onstage that he wanted something to stand out more than just street clothes. So they’re not any kind of cult. In fact, DeLaughter says that many of the band members never see each other except when they’re putting togtether an album or touring. It’s pretty remarkable when you have a band differentiate from the norm nowadays; when you can’t tell one group from another, they do stand out and put out some pretty decent music as well. Some that you can’t help but sing along with in your car with the CD player on full blast. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/9 "2005-03-05T14:44:15Z")
Everytime I hear them, I wonder for a few seconds if I’m listening to a bad commerical for something we should all be ecstatic about like whitening toothpaste or the newest wonder-drug. No sir, I don’t like 'em. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/10 "2005-03-05T16:35:21Z")
I have to agree with \*\*Eutychus on this. I am also a big fan of the Polyphonic Spree. With some of the crap that is being put out now it is refreshing to have a band that is not afraid of doing something outside of the “norm”. They always make me smile. The first time I ever heard them, I stumbled upon their website and listened to an audio clip. It gave me goosebumps and I immediately bought everything by them that I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/11 "2005-03-05T16:41:38Z")
I like them, I don’t love them, but they do put me into a good mood when I listen to their album. Hopefully, I can see them in concert because that looks like a lot of fun. It’s weird how some folks like some things that some folks don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/12 "2005-03-05T16:43:37Z")
If you want a Polyphonic Spree WTFITSTISFWD!\* moment, watch the video for Light and Day on the DVD extras for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. Then when you go to sleep you can have nightmares. \*What the FucK Is That Shit That Is So Fucking Wrong Dude ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/13 "2005-03-05T17:53:15Z")
> [@sweepkick](#): > > I hope that lead singer at least came up with something a little more creative than Kool-Aid. True trivia nuts know that it was [Flavor Aid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavor_Aid), not [Kool-Aid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool-Aid), at [Jonestown](http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/JonestownReport/Volume6/tapeyohnk.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/14 "2005-03-05T18:11:25Z")
I love tnhe Spree. Best feel good music ever. I was hoping they’d play Coachella this year so I could watch them followed by Nine Inch Nails. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/15 "2005-03-05T18:20:57Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > If you want a Polyphonic Spree WTFITSTISFWD! If you can hold off on the potty-mouth language, could you explain to us what is wrong with the video? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/16 "2005-03-05T20:50:07Z")
I’m not sure I can. I’ve contemplated a pit thread but that video is so _wrong_ on so many levels. First off it’s just a bad idea. After seeing it for three seconds they should have stopped and done something else. But they persist and it’s just so wrong. The music video is a collection of clips from the film. Fine but after the music intro and the singing starts, they use digital manipulation to make Jim Carrey sing the song. King of like that Conan O’Brian gag. The mouth is a little too big and sometimes off center and sometimes it looks a little low or a little ‘in front’ of Carrey’s head. Then it gets weird. Like the shot where Jim is on the train and he isn’t singing but his reflection in the window is. Then when they make Kate sing it just is the wrong lighting on the mouth so it looks like a spotlight is on her mouth and her teeth are a weird luminescent white. Then they make other stuff sing the song. Like a building or the radio or an elephant. It was a real shock to me as I was expecting the regular video of the song so now that you know it’s there the shock value won’t hit you. It’s just **plain wrong**. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/17 "2005-03-05T23:19:12Z")
That sounds awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/18 "2005-03-06T00:17:02Z")
I feel like I should take acid or something in order to watch or listen to them. They are just too hippy for me. But, I’m a metalhead, you know. No happy music allowed. ('cept Allman Bros. and Sheryl Crow, shh, don’t tell the other Hessians) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/19 "2005-03-06T00:23:38Z")
I just watched the video, I think it’s pretty neat. [Here](http://music.yahoo.com/ar-303665-videos--The-Polyphonic-Spree) ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063/20 "2005-03-06T00:29:48Z")
It’s silly to try to defend an artist, in my opinion. Either you like them or you don’t, and I doubt I could say anything to change your mind. Or if I could, that’s probably been said already. So I just want to chime in and say that I’m a fan as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polyphonic-spree-wtf/293063.md?page=2)