Did Zooey Deschanel rip off Britney Spears and/or Feist in her new music video?
Published on Wednesday 3/10/2010 @ 8:48 PM by the ALT REPORT Robot
Zooey Deschanel is in a band called She & Him with some bro named M Ward. For some reason, they have indie credibility, I think because she has cute bangs, and because she is married to the Prince of Indie Music, Benjamin Gibbard. In She & Him’s video for “In the Sun”, you can tell that they are jonesing for mainstream traction. They utilized several different visual gimmicks to attempt to subconsciously appeal to the mainstream music fan.
Even though the song itself is sorta honky and her voice is ‘interesting’ in a way that you could say might be negative, it seems like it is in the perfect position to ‘cross over’ and end up on the mainstream radio. Feel like there are a few flaws with the video. They should not have let the bro from the band play the love interest because he looks like he is a 40 year old high schooler. In addition, the dancers aren’t graceful enough.
Sorta feel like this video ‘ripped off’ the contextual setting of Britney Spears’ hit debut video “Baby One More Time.”
Do yall prefer skanky backup dancers?
Or some bro in a lil scarf?
Video: Britney Spears – “Baby One More Time”
I think the ultimate goal of this video might be to brand the band as something similar to Feist. The video for “1-2-3-4″ confirmed that cute indie girls also have to be whimsical dancers who are just looking to be ‘free spirited’ in a some what surreal context.
Circular imagery + crane shots seems important.
Feist’s pre-iPod brand was definitely aided by her desire to ‘just dance’ [via Lady Gaga]
Does Zooey Deschanel need to go for upmarket Feist audiences, or ’shorten that skirt’ and go after the Britney Spears fans?
Is She and Him a ‘good product’?
Is Zooey Deschanel a relevant alt female?
Did Joanna Newsom teach us that “they can’t all be Feist”?
Will Zoey Deschanel have a Britney Spears-like breakdown and bitter divorce from Ben Gibbard that alt blogs use to fuel content for 1-2 years?
Is She & Him’s target audience male or female?
Hit Me Zooey 1 more time.
71 comments to “Did Zooey Deschanel rip off Britney Spears and/or Feist in her new music video?”
March 10th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
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March 10th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
a kafiyah round her neck/
fahrenheit 451 in her right hand/
a smug look on her chubby lil face/
that’s who will be playing this on their ipod
and feeling good about it.
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//////////Reply by shooshoo
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
@generk witty cmmnt, i bet u had a smug look on ur face when u wrote this LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
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//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 12:03 am
@shooshoo, LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL IAWTC
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//////////Reply by a troll
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 2:54 am
@jjj, luv this thread
March 10th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
“Do yall prefer skanky backup dancers?
Or some bro in a lil scarf?”
lol
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
@Tigger,
AnCo recruit?
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
looks like rory gilmore
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//////////Reply by hai
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
@cousins, good times in stars hallow
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
this vid seems like a 1960s child pred’s ultimate fantasy [via zooey looking like an 'alluring' yet 'demure' 14 yr old wanting to tug a 43 yr old bro]. worried about the message young entry-lvl alt skanks could be receiving.
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//////////Reply by badpenny
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 11:20 am
@lykk, it is sending exactly the correct message: never stop tugging the old
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
After watching this, is it still Alt to want to bang Zooey Deschy?
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//////////Reply by triangle
//////////Posted March 14th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
@Dave, yes, as long as she still has kewt bangs. i wonder if Zooey will ever ‘pull another Britney’ and shave her head? is it alt to mimic mainstream?
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Think she was going for more of an authentic ’80s PSA vibe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOWtGAQRLO4&feature=related
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//////////Reply by dan-onymous
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
@dan-onymous, red shirt kid in the video grew up to be lil scarf guy.
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March 10th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
This should only be heard on NPR.
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//////////Reply by shooshoo
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
@jimmm, “car talk”? LOL
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//////////Reply by mrsbuttons
//////////Posted April 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 am
@jimmm, ha – that’s where I first heard it…one guy liked it – the other hated it. Zooey is NOT channeling britney but covering Linda Ronstadt and Dusty Springfield, and 1960’s hooks…
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March 10th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
‘o babie babie’
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March 10th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Zooey Deschanel is the kewtest babe on the planet [Earth]. If she was my ‘girlfriend’ my life would be awesome. :-(
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March 10th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Barf…I’m so sick of this song already and never really liked it much in the first place. Funny you mentioned NPR because they play this song all of the time on the new NPR/alternative station here in Dallas, TX and I’m not that big of a fan. I love Zooey but the song is just way too campy and boring. Think she might be becoming a sell-out following the footsteps of Death Cab. Say Cheese!!!
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March 10th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
i hate this bitch and her music
if i wanted to listen to nondescript pop from the 60s sung by some slut with a frog in her throat, i’d pick up some from my local record store’s bargain bin, or better yet a stoop sale, which i believe warrants mad alt points
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//////////Reply by HeyThatsMyShoe
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
@altruism,
Whoa dude! Cool off on the Haterade. U seem like an ‘ass hole’ and, like, kind of pathetic. Idk u, but I’m skilled @ ‘reading’ character and by reading yr post, I ‘deduce’ u must definitely be a whiny b*tch who ‘has sexual issues’ [so hates on women, calling them 'sluts' and such] and a sh*t vocabulary. To be honest, bro, you seem like kind of a dick.
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//////////Reply by altruism
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
@HeyThatsMyShoe,
I’m a woman!!! don’t talk to me like that!
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//////////Reply by HeyThatsMyShoe
//////////Posted March 10th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
@altruism, Oh. I just saw yr avatar and had the impression u were the bro from Toro Y Moi. ‘Ooops!’
So sorry for calling u an ‘ass hole’/'dick’/'whiny b*tch’: I was just kind of ‘wigging out’ because u called Zooey ‘names’ in yr post. If I’d known u were a girl, I would’ve ‘chilled the heck out’ before I posted.
Lesson learned. I’m ‘kind of ashamed’/wish HRO had a ‘delete post’ option. :-(
//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 12:07 am
@altruism, DUDE, CHILL
//////////Reply by altruism
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 12:07 am
@HeyThatsMyShoe,
No hard feelings, bro. I’ve been told i have a very masculine online presence.
Maybe I could have ‘chilled the heck out’ 2, but i feel like Zooey is trying to steal Jenny Lewis’s thunder (my alt girl rolemodel) via wearing vintage-inspired pieces, being ‘romantically involved’ with BenGay and having bangs :’(
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//////////Reply by mrsbuttons
//////////Posted April 3rd, 2010 at 2:40 am
@altruism, what is her style besides linda ronstadt 1960’s? retro west los angeles(does she shop jet rag?) ? tarjay? (and what’s with the leggings?) somebody even said the gap! I think she mentioned marc jacobs in an interview but I don’t see the influence…
March 10th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
this song sucks.
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March 10th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
I actually like Zooey’s voice (though not always how she uses it) and a few S&H songs, but that video should be sterilized against its will so it cannot spawn any offspring.
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March 11th, 2010 at 12:02 am
this was rll cute.
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//////////Reply by DAMES RULES!
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
@jjj, Yeah, it’s cute.
It’s like Cesar (Dom Deluise) said in History of the World Part 1: “nice, not thrilling, but nice.” In other words “meh”.
The dancing is very Busby Berkeley, it’s no “Dames” though. OMG that movie kicks SO much ass.
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March 11th, 2010 at 12:12 am
terrible
this is “indie” jumping the shark
crap song, crap dancing
cuteness cant save the sell out
we wont honesty, not glam with cheese pop
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//////////Reply by HeyThatsMyShoe
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 12:26 am
@anti-corporate, You need coolin’, baby, i ain’t foolin’
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//////////Reply by teh
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Quick thought: How many indie girls that have “made it” but aren’t very cute? How about indie guys? That’s right, draw your own conclusions.
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//////////Reply by paige
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
@teh ayn rand, gertrude stein, sarah vowell
hot bithcez of indie.
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//////////Reply by teh
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
@paige, shh don’t give it away to all the plebs/ entry levelers (rational self-interest ethos is the 2nd wave of ternative.)
March 11th, 2010 at 12:52 am
fuck the world
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March 11th, 2010 at 1:27 am
I still don’t understand why the indie scene as a whole practically whacks off to She and Him (literally AND figuratively?!). Not to be a hata, but I find every song on Volume One to be highly irritating. They should just stick to what they do best, she with acting, and M. Ward with being M.Ward, not the ambiguous Him.
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//////////Reply by altina
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 10:00 am
@Oh Heartland, I hear ya bro.
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//////////Reply by Bipster
//////////Posted March 13th, 2010 at 6:37 am
@Oh Heartland: M. Ward’s a chill bro. Listened since ‘the beginning.’ He deserves better than this. WE deserve better than this…
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//////////Reply by mrsbuttons
//////////Posted April 3rd, 2010 at 2:03 am
@Oh Heartland, I agree -I think both think of this as a giant kinda joke experiment and just want to see how far they can take it for they’re outed ..like sheer bragging rights. I can’t believe they take it seriously. Although I saw them on Letterman tonight (kiss of death for sure hahaha) and she looked like a deer in the headlights till she got to the hook then turned into Karen carpenter or somebody. Her backup singers were really bad.
When did she go brunette katy perry anyway? Why sould someone want to look like someone’s twin? Maybe cause she looked like a stewardess as a blond?
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March 11th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Wait was this music vids or fap materials?
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March 11th, 2010 at 2:15 am
is this the new iron man 2 trailer?
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//////////Reply by NICKELBACH
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 9:14 am
@dl hart, lol
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March 11th, 2010 at 4:55 am
obviously this is a satire of “Glee”, you obtuse morons.
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//////////Reply by grody brody
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
@jack e savage, cant tell if your response is sarcasm (a satire of sincerity) or if u r sum weird bro with dumb opinions
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//////////Reply by Jacke
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
@grody brody,
okay, maybe I’ve never seen “Glee”, since I don’t have a “TV”, but the posters in the subway for the show look pretty similar to this video…song is cute, tho!
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//////////Reply by grody brody
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
@Jacke, song is mad keut, yo. white ppl keep gettin keuter and keuter
//////////Reply by Jacke
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
@Jacke,
agreed. as Richard Nixon once said of The Carpenters, “[they're]…the Best of Young America.”
March 11th, 2010 at 6:49 am
feel like zooey deschanel is making a play for the hornie bro market with this video via being cutesy. it doesn’t work.
this is the kinda song a tween would show their mnstrm friends 2 attempt 2 be cool. it sucks y’all
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//////////Reply by teh
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 10:16 am
@torbro y moi, true dat. i wish the “indie world” could just call a turd a turd, there are hardly any legitimate critical voices.
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//////////Reply by Alex
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
@teh, pretty sure its the opposite and indie bros just assume everything is a turd then if your more alt bro says it is not a turd then you are like oh yeah it is not a turd, i liked it since 2k___
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//////////Reply by teh
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
@Alex, ya i guess so. im just hatin, kinda sick of the whole cutesy indie scene. feels like it’s a lot of people that haven’t really lived a very hard life trying extremely hard to “make art for the sake of making art” (the worst kind of art).
is anyone else feelin that or am i the only 1?
March 11th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Peyton Reed who directed the video also Bring it On. So no it’s not a rip off, but it is the director’s style. Also, a girl in a school-like uniform can clearly only be traced back to Britney Spears
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//////////Reply by solid bros
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@Heather, having the bring it on guy direct your ‘indie’ vid doesnt make this any less GHEY and MNSTRM, via having a GHEY and MNSTRM style. this shit sucks.
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March 11th, 2010 at 11:18 am
I’m filled with a bizarre urge to buy clothes from the Gap after watching that…
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March 11th, 2010 at 11:25 am
i can’t fucking watch that trash – does she extol the virtues of cotton in that one too? “The touch, the feel
of cotton” [INT: ZD browses used vinyl] “the fabric of our lives” [EXT: ZD looks wistfully at clouds]
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//////////Reply by solid bros
//////////Posted March 11th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
@badpenny, browsing used vinyl is alt, so via the transitive property cotton and ZD are alt?
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March 11th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
@smoke meth, don’t ask me for shit
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March 11th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
THIS IS SO FUNNY AND SO TRU L0L
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March 11th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Zoey is the perfect woman, period.
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March 11th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Wondering if Zooey will tarnish her brand w/ overt sexuality. Hating Ben Gibbard more every day.
Also, wondering how S&H promotion will interface with Deschanel/Nat Portman/Jamie Franco/Kenny Powers altgasm film releasing in Fall ‘10.
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March 11th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
I really feel like this wasn’t really ripping off Spears, but it did look a little like it ripped off Sarah Palin with the hula hoop followed by the big wink.
Either way She & Him is kinda being forced on us when they are a total niche market type of music – like the over 50 crowd that remembers music from the era that everyone died in plane crashes.
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March 11th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Well this is just… weird. i’m not a musician or anything… and i dont think i like her voice. is she good? she sucks right? maybe she’s better acting
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March 11th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
I love Zoey Deschanel as an actress – totally adorable – but I kinda hate her voice. Makes me feel like *I* should start by own band – I wouldn’t suck anymore than this to be sure. The song is cute (me likes), but I think the video doesn’t work with it. Especially since neither She NOR Him can pass for high schoolers. ;)
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//////////Reply by Bipster
//////////Posted March 13th, 2010 at 6:48 am
@fancfl: Let’s start a post-relevantwave band. You in?
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March 13th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Leslie Feist has the perfect mindie breasts.
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March 18th, 2010 at 3:44 am
The Spears homage is obviously a joke. As for the Feist one, if I’m not mistaken, the two have worked together in Broken Social Scene. They have indie cred because M. Ward is an amazing independent musician and not because of Ben Gibbard (in fact, Deschanel married Gibbard after the release of She & Him’s first album).
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//////////Reply by mrsbuttons
//////////Posted April 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 am
@foldered, the smartest thing she did was hook up with him – she’d be faltering in a sea of indie muck wannabes otherwise-he is the one with the serious chops. She is a lightweight but is a delightful one at that. She has an enjoyable sound for some strange reason – can’t put my finger on it – an innocence?
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April 4th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
this makes britney genius-like
the backlash on “ironic” alts. will be brutal
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