Strong Bad Takes On Record Store Day In New 'Homestar Runner' Clip

About 10-15 years ago, the Homestar Runner cartoon — and, moreover, its spin-off series centering on sassy lucha libre Strong Bad — were the talk of the e-town, responsible for all manner of iconic clips and characters that have since endured in online culture history, from Trogdor The Burninator to Teen Girl Squad.

Then, sometime around 2010, as new contenders flooded the market to vie for our attention, the site went quiet, embarking on a four-year hiatus that would remain unbroken until April Fool's Day last year, at which point its creators, brothers Matt and Mike Chapman, brought everything back to life, albeit on a less regular basis.

We tell you all this because, in the context of their most recent clip, it provides an interesting parallel between the life of the site — rise, dominance, dormancy, resurgence — and that of vinyl records, which still tend to form the centrepiece of most Record Store Day activities… and which just so happens to be the topical focus of the Homestar Runner team's newest video, in which Strong Bad chastises forever-put-upon sibling Strong Sad over camping out for an obscure Record Store Day release.

In true Strong Bad fashion, the video pokes a friendly finger at the perceived elitism of Record Store Day releases, from the ludicrous claims of obscurity ("Aren't all of Sloshy's releases obscure? As in, they make enough copies for themselves and their girlfriends, knowing full well that their girlfriends are gonna throw them away?") to the seemingly unnecessary exclusivity ("All Limozeen's doing for Record Store Day is releasing a cassette maxi-single of their seventh final reunion tour brunch. It's just them at some restaurant, talkin' about escrow and knee surgery").

The clip also pretty mercilessly skewers the giant mark-ups on "rare" or "limited" releases that tend to get hidden among the generous discounts across the general offerings on the floor — Strong Sad pays $400 for a "B-side only" — and even goes so far as to include an early demo by fictional band (and object of Strong Sad's retail affections) Sloshy for authenticity's sake. If lyrics like "This track is so elusive/A UK exclusive/Japan-only import/ bootleg of the in-store" speak to you on a spiritual level, then hang around after the cartoon for some surprisingly passable DIY-core shit-rock to cap off your day.