A band called Final Placement is getting a lot of attention for the video of their song Shine - but it might not be the kind of fuss they were anticipating.
The general consensus is that the song isn't very good. OK, most people think it stinks. And a lot of people are saying things that even we can't print (yeah...that bad).
As for the video, the reactions run along the same lines: "WTF were these guys thinking?" might be a polite way of summing up the comments on YouTube and other Internet sites hosting the clip (which, of course, you can see below)
Still, the energetic, cheery four-piece from Midland, Texas are winning a handful of admirers. There's a Facebook campaign to bring them to the South By Southwest Festival. And some truly obsessed fans are already trying to cop the Final Placement sound, as seen in this video:
If that weren't enough, a tape loop of the guitarist's ill-advised solo is making the rounds. Don't be surprised if this short blast of lackluster shred rivals Eruption for guitar store play in the near future - as in this weekend.
But the question is this: What makes something so bad that it magically transcends its blatant awfulness and actually becomes good? In their own bizarre, train wreck sort of way, Final Placement, whether they know it or not, have risen above their meager talents and created a song and video that approximates art. The painfully earnest, out-of-key singing; the relentlessly limp musicianship; and yes, that epic fail of a guitar solo (so absurd, but hey, the guy owns it) - it all comes together and sucks you in, and resistance is futile.
They're average, but they're average in a way that is uniquely theirs. So let us now praise Final Placement. Think of them as stars...at least, for the next week or so.
