Decemberists / Colbert headed for a showdown! (1 Viewer)

[Pasty]

It all started on Wednesday, when Stephen Colbert called out the Decemberists for riding his coattails with their own replica of his Green Screen Challenge. It promises to be a war like we've never seen.

Stephen Colbert took a swipe at our favorite Japanese-folk-tale-loving indie proggers when he premiered a new segment called "Who's Riding My Coattails Now?" on last night's "Colbert Report". After showing a fake GQ cover placing him next to Jay-Z in the magazine's "Men of the Year" issue and then accusing Alex Trebek and "Jeopardy" of stealing his ideas, Colbert pointed out Colin Meloy and co.'s previously reported "Re-Animate the Decemberists" contest, which asks fans to take green screen footage of the band performing and add animation to create the video for "O Valencia!". Apparently, it's strikingly similar to his own "Green Screen Challenge", which featured green screen footage of Colbert with a light saber.

How did Colbert respond to this act of plagiarism? He issued a "Second Green Screen Challenge": "to edit me into the Decemberists' green screen challenge... Let's see how well they perform their trademark brand of hyper-literate prog rock when I'm slicing off their legs at the knee." In order to make this happen, he is offering his green screen footage for enterprising fans to use in their entries to the Decemberists' contest, which must be in by December 15 to be onsidered.

The Call-Out

And then, the Decemberists struck back:

"We are asking our fans to help us win this epic battle. That's right, we want you to help us defeat Stephen Colbert in our video! Show us how you would 'Mulch' him, take him down to the banks of the Ohio, put a cap in his Dockers. ...

"Furthermore, we'd like to announce the very first 'Decemberists vs Stephen Colbert Guitar Solo Challenge'. Put down the pen, Colbert, and pick up the axe! Let's see what kind of a man you really are-- let's SHRED. Let truth and good music prevail!!!"

The Counter-Call-Out