Hot Hot HOT!

December 9, 2005 9:38 AM

Appalachian State University is HOT, HOT, HOT. An analysis of a promo video for Appalachian State University that was apparently intended to make students want to come to their school.
posted by XQUZYPHYR (49 comments total)

I spent about a year at the University of Louisville, an urban campus in which students come to attend classes, wordlessly shuffle out of their seats, race-walk to their cars while steadfastly staring at the pavement so as to avoid any eye contact that may occur, and drive away.

That's my college experience!
posted by geoff. at 9:46 AM on December 9, 2005

It is interesting to note that ASU remains HOT, HOT, HOT even when the weather is cold, cold, cold. I think that's an important point to remember. Plus, they have a black guy.
posted by mds35 at 9:51 AM on December 9, 2005

Do I get a free banjo if I am accepted?
posted by fenriq at 9:55 AM on December 9, 2005

good lord... I went to UofL for all of a year. He described the experience there quite well, except for the whole "attend classes" part. Most people would trip over that part.

I honestly thought ASU was going to be in Kentucky, where I live, and - as per our state slogan - "where education pays."
posted by MysticMCJ at 9:56 AM on December 9, 2005

The male back-up singer who comes in at the end is great.

I concur about UofL (they actually spell it that way). Quite the non-campus.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:58 AM on December 9, 2005

phpwebsite keeps me warm, warm, warm all night, night, night.
posted by the aloha at 9:58 AM on December 9, 2005

The best part is how the website has the forest borders a la reason number 7; brilliant.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:00 AM on December 9, 2005

I wish I was at an institution that was proud as a peacock
posted by allen.spaulding at 10:01 AM on December 9, 2005

Can anybody mirror the content? I can't get to the video.
posted by rachelpapers at 10:01 AM on December 9, 2005

I also cannot get the video, but I did have a college room mate that wound up at App State, and she was at least moderately hot. Is that what we're talking about?
posted by mikrophon at 10:02 AM on December 9, 2005

Sign me up for the dancing and looking pretty major.
posted by drezdn at 10:04 AM on December 9, 2005

Now that the video has downloaded (finally) let me just state:

Hahahahahahaha.

The video was MUCH more amusing than the analysis to me.

I'm trying to imagine the recording session for the song...
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:06 AM on December 9, 2005

I find stuff like this puppy-dog charming.
posted by jonmc at 10:06 AM on December 9, 2005

I couldn't stop thinking "Jefferton Alive!" during that song.

Also, I've apparently been mispronouncing Appalachian all these years. ::sigh::
posted by drezdn at 10:09 AM on December 9, 2005

I couldn't see the video, but that shreddin' guitar solo was hot hot hot.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:12 AM on December 9, 2005

OH. MY. GOLLY.

And, before anyone else jumps on it;

Metafilter: Sign me up for the dancing and looking pretty major
posted by Outlawyr at 10:16 AM on December 9, 2005

My son had been accepted to MIT and Stanford but, seeing this film with me, decided it was the school for him. I hope he has an experience that is hothothot...
posted by Postroad at 10:19 AM on December 9, 2005

not, not, not
posted by CynicalKnight at 10:24 AM on December 9, 2005

I gotta have more cowbell, baby!
posted by smcniven at 10:31 AM on December 9, 2005

That's what I get for letting Playboy pick my school for me. Damn. Missed out again.
posted by Zorro on Doughnuts at 10:35 AM on December 9, 2005

There's an awesome optical illusion near the start of the movie and you have to be really clever to realise how it's done: when you see the three-abreast kids walking down the corridor, the photo is enlarged slightly to give the impression that these people are really COMING AT YOU!! Down the corridor!!! But they're not!!! Because IT'S JUST A PHOTOGRAPH!!!!
posted by nylon at 10:43 AM on December 9, 2005

Where is the bouncing ball?
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:50 AM on December 9, 2005

That is one rockin' song.
posted by graventy at 10:51 AM on December 9, 2005

MetaFilter: We assemble into large crowds of people on occasion.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:54 AM on December 9, 2005

Despite being spun upside down in a still photo, the sax player didn't get dizzy and was able to lay into that "hot" sax solo.
posted by jca at 10:58 AM on December 9, 2005

I think this is my favorite post of recent memory. Thanks XQUZYPHYR.

(Pronunciation of "Appalachia" depends on who you're talking to, and where. Feuds are fought over it. Neither side has any shred of credible evidence that their way is correct. Appalachian speech patterns in general are a very tangled & interesting story.)
posted by Wolfdog at 11:08 AM on December 9, 2005

Dammit. That stupid jingle is stuck in my head now.
posted by schmedeman at 11:12 AM on December 9, 2005

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

MetaFilter: FAT GUYS IN DIMLY-LIT ROOMS WITH KEYBOARDS
posted by Wolfdog at 11:20 AM on December 9, 2005

that was a great FPP, made me laugh!
posted by analogue at 11:21 AM on December 9, 2005

Huh, Wolfdog, I was under the impression that people in Appalachia generally pronounce it to rhyme with right-back-atcha. I've never heard otherwise in the Appalachian (mountain folk actually) branch of my family — but the word doesn't come up often, & I'm afraid I can't actually consider myself to be mountain folk...
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:48 AM on December 9, 2005

But seriously, I hear Boone is a nice town, and the only ASU kid I ever met was an amiable southern-nature-lovin'-hippieish kid with a delightful tobacco-country accent who played a mean version of "Cripple Creek"... otoh I met him because he wanted to study ancient Greek (a plan of learning not likely to be fulfilled while remaining on the App. State campus). From the video, looks like he must have been relieved to be on furlough from dorkville.
posted by Zurishaddai at 11:56 AM on December 9, 2005

I agree with Zurishaddai about the pronunciation and with MysticMCJ about the video: much funnier than the analysis. I'd love to see some student reaction, but I'm too lazy to search for a student newspaper.
posted by languagehat at 12:21 PM on December 9, 2005

This is great.

I know an ASU alum who's a delight. He's a minister now. I once went to a gun show with him on a visit, and right outside the convention center was a bus of Appalachian students.

He said hello. They said hello back. That's my exciting ASU story.
posted by Sticherbeast at 12:26 PM on December 9, 2005

How it is pronounced depends on where you're from. Really. Exhibits A, B, and C (scroll down a bit), not to mention that I grew up near a dividing line and heard both pronunciations from natives all the time. You may say it either way you like, but assertions that one or the other is correct are futile.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:44 PM on December 9, 2005

Zurishaddai- Boone is a great town, and everyone I know who went to ASU are really mellow, together people.
posted by moonbird at 1:45 PM on December 9, 2005

if you don't live in NY or SF, you deserve to be mocked.
posted by keswick at 2:14 PM on December 9, 2005

well, L.A., Chicago and Boston are not that bad either
posted by matteo at 2:21 PM on December 9, 2005

welllll, okay.

but the rest of the country is a bunch of low-brow, inbred morons. no, really.
posted by keswick at 2:23 PM on December 9, 2005

Does IQ diminish in a linear fashion the further one lives away from these cultural centers? See, I'm about 70 miles south of San Francisco and I need to know if I should be wearing the "I'm with stupid" shirt or my friend who's from the city?
posted by fenriq at 2:38 PM on December 9, 2005 [1 favorite]

sarcasm, meet fenriq. fenriq, meet sarcasm.
posted by keswick at 2:41 PM on December 9, 2005

My family goes with the "apple atcha" example from the Wikipedia link. Though, when it showed the alternative pronounciations, all I saw was some odd symbols. I reckon the darn website done gone broke. Feh.
posted by Atreides at 2:41 PM on December 9, 2005

was, were...bah, my ancestral bloodlines curse me yet!
posted by Atreides at 2:42 PM on December 9, 2005

I grew up in Boone, although I did NOT go to ASU. But I can chime in here and say that although it's a pretty place to live, there's not much to do other than outdoor sports (which get old after a bit). I live in California now. Much better.

Also, the accepted pronunciation amongst locals is "apple-atchin'."

And lastly, I find it amusing that some other MeFites actually have ties to Boone. I'd be willing to bet we have common acquaintances. Small world.
posted by Micah at 4:03 PM on December 9, 2005

What I wanna know is where are they gonna put these kids? ASU had already pretty much taken over the town five years ago (the last time I was in Boone). There's not much room to grow, unless they take out the touristy stuff (Horn in the West, Dan'l Boone Inn, etc).

item: there's really not many other places to live in Boone, unless you live on top of the mountain. There's very little that isn't mountainside that's not already developed. And even the mountainsides are getting developed.
posted by jlkr at 5:07 PM on December 9, 2005

I can double ditto Zurishaddai. I am of the mountain folk, four generations that I know for sure. We say it like "back atcha." Boone and parts all around are very beautiful.

It's super-secret beautiful so please *don't tell any more of them "Appa-LAY-shun" sayin' cityfolk about us.

*If you do, tell them they can camp in my sideyard.
posted by maggieb at 10:40 PM on December 9, 2005

Y'all are making me miss my mountains. maggieb, if they tried camping in the sideyard of our family property back home in southeastern KY, they'd either be sleeping at a 35 degree angle or roll down the hill and end up in the creek. :)

wolfdog, you need to get away from your keyboard more often and get a little fresh air. Not all MeFites are male.

item, I happen to like second-run movies and tie-dye. Tie dye is colorful and it amuses me. A hundred years from now, no one's going to give a damn about whether or not you saw a particular movie on opening night along with the rest of the sheep.
posted by keptwench at 7:27 AM on December 10, 2005

Wow. You know, I wonder if Kim Jong Il took over Appalachian state and forgot to to send a video camera. It certainly looks like one of the Tangun's videos.

(Tangun means "great leader" or somesuch)

If not, congrats, ASU communications dork! Either you're underfunded or Kim Jong Il is better than you are.
posted by bugmuncher at 8:16 AM on December 10, 2005

Love the video bugmuncher.
posted by matkline at 11:08 AM on December 10, 2005

i was already cracking up from the video/commentary. when i read smcniven's cowbell comment i did an actual spit-take. snot, snot, snot!
posted by poetloriette at 8:47 PM on January 5, 2006