GameJew stalks Miyamoto, sings him a song

by John Bardinelli { Mar 12th 2007 at 10:26AM }

Most fans stalk their role models for a handshake, an autograph, or a quick photo. Not Jonathan Mann, a.k.a. GameJew. Sporting a full Mario costume and carrying a guitar, Mann tailed Shigeru Miyamoto at this year's GDC hoping to get a chance to sing him "his song." It took five days and several brush-bys, but in the end Jonathan got his wish. Check out the video and pray to the gods on Mt. Olympus that the song doesn't get stuck in your head.

Although it is kind of catchy.

Tags: gdc07, miyamoto, music, video

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Panadero @ Mar 12th 2007 10:55AM

We met GameJew at the Wii launch at Universal Citywalk last November. He's a cool guy. Frighteningly dedicated to his cause, but a cool guy.

ck @ Mar 12th 2007 11:02AM

I think most people might laugh at this video, but, I mean, this guy did probably the most frightening and exhilirating thing in his life. Most people never get to meet their idols, let alone sing to them. So kudos to Jonathna for seizing that opportunity. That video makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Great vid for a Monday morning.

Slaziman @ Mar 12th 2007 11:08AM

Well DAMN, that must take huge balls. Still he looked like a major loser :( oh well at least he is dedicated.

sheppy @ Mar 12th 2007 11:37AM

Trying to see the appeal of this video. So.. sad..

When he's nearly crying at the end, I'm just sitting there thinking "What?"

Muku @ Mar 12th 2007 11:44AM

...and this is why people think those who play video games are losers, nerds, and just stupid overall.

Jojo @ Mar 12th 2007 11:56AM

I'm fighting the urge to be a typical internet poster and call him a huge loser..... soo... I'm trying to think of all the things I like in life. Baseball, Football, videogames ect... and I can't imagine ever having the desire to go up to someone and sing them a pretty bad song. "Oh Tom Brady, let me sing you this song." Umm no. And he didn't get off singing to Miyamoto, he got off from the attention it brought him. So yeah, I would classify him as a huge loser. Damn, I knew I would slip back into the role of a typical poster...

GameJew @ Mar 12th 2007 12:08PM

I can't speak to whether this makes me look like a loser or not. And if you think the song sucks, then that's also your opinion BUT before you judge the song, go to my website's audio section and listen to the full version. You may still think it sucks, but at least then you'll have a more informed opinion.

And listen: It's been a dream of mine to sing that song to Miyamoto from the moment I wrote it. It sounds like some Joystiq readers aren't totally clear on the impact that Miyamoto has had on this industry and it's people. Or maybe you do know, but just still don't get my idolizing him. I like having an idol, someone that I can look up to, and, yeah, I wanted to sing him the song I wrote for him. And it was an amazing experience. Period.

Phil @ Mar 12th 2007 12:20PM

Between this and all the other crap going on at GDC, I ended up making this web comic....

http://www.shamoozal.com/nerdlog/2007/03/11/my-thoughts-on-gdc-this-year/

sheppy @ Mar 12th 2007 12:26PM

"And listen: It's been a dream of mine to sing that song to Miyamoto from the moment I wrote it. It sounds like some Joystiq readers aren't totally clear on the impact that Miyamoto has had on this industry and it's people. Or maybe you do know, but just still don't get my idolizing him. I like having an idol, someone that I can look up to, and, yeah, I wanted to sing him the song I wrote for him. And it was an amazing experience. Period."

Translation: Sluurp, sluurp, sluuuuuurp, gulp.

Seriously. I don't understand this hero worship thing some people have. I've met David Jaffe (pre GOW), John Carmack, John Tobias, and even Cliffy B. Never once did I suddenly fawn. Nope, shook a hand and moved on. Maybe slipped in a "god, I loved this game." Then again, never really had hero worship about anyone. Even met HR Giger (people who know me personally know how much of an influence he, Jhonen Vasquez, and Chris Bachelo were on my art style) and while I've always wanted to see his nightclub, it's never been a "defining" moment for me. Hell, maybe I'm just too jaded by this point.

I guess No More Heroes would be the perfect game for my ass.

Kizzle @ Mar 12th 2007 12:32PM

"It's been a dream of mine to sing that song to Miyamoto from the moment I wrote it."

...why?

Congrats on meeting who I assume is your idol. I just hope you don't look back on this in a few years and think "of all the stuff I could have asked or said to him, THAT'S what I did." I don't think I'd dress up in a silly costume and sing a goofy song to my idol I got to meet them. Unless my idol was a member of GWAR or something.

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 12th 2007 12:43PM

Although I love Angry Nerd more than GameJew that was interesting to see.

GameJew @ Mar 12th 2007 12:46PM

@ Phil, I haven't gone through half the footage I've shot yet, but I will be posting some more serious videos over the next week. I did an interview with Danny Ledonne. I'll be posting a piece about the "One Laptop Per Child" project. There's this: www.gamejew.com/?q=node/26
@Sheppy, That's totally your way of existing in the world: Not having any idols. And that's cool. I have a few. An idol to me is someone whose worldview seems to so closely match your own that you find yourself just looking up to them. And I know all the bull**** about hero worship, they're just people, etc, etc, but for me, it's nice to have someone to look up to.
@Kizzle, What should have been clear (maybe I didn't make it clear enough) from the video is that it's not easy getting to Miyamoto. And once you do, typically you have less then 5 seconds to say something. I could have told him how much he has inspired me, I could have told him how much I love his games. But, instead of telling him, I wanted to show him by singing him a song.

Thanks for the feedback though, and that webcomic is kind of funny. I find it doubly funny because in your comments on it (Phil) you mention a certain Robot that is a mortal enemy of this very website.

Max Vest @ Mar 12th 2007 12:55PM

Chalk me up for the "What's wrong with having heroes?" side. Look at what Miyamoto has accomplished in his time on earth. Now look at what you or I have accomplished. Not much of a comparison, is it?

Also, to those who say singing a song is not much of a homage: have you been to GameJew's site? It's what he does. He expresses himself through song, among other things. I feel as though people who don't respect anyone enough to have an emotional response upon meeting them are either hopelessly jaded or hopelessly self-important. Neither is particularly attractive.

NintendoFanbot @ Mar 12th 2007 1:07PM

I think we are all stupid if we couldn't admit we have our personal heroes or inspirations.

I don't believe GameJew was taking his antics seriously until after the letting the moment sink in, but it was all in the good nature Mr. Miyamoto seems to exude and something fun to watch. Thanks GameJew. :)

Sheppy lists names like Carmack, Tobias (LOL), but Miyamoto's impact is beyond compare in all honesty. There are people who have done some things at one point or another but Miyamoto is doing what he's always done to this day. No hype is needed, he just does what he wants, and nearly, if not always with incredible execution with lots of people enjoying his games.

Morder @ Mar 12th 2007 1:09PM

GameJew is a really cool guy. Very pleasant to speak with a very dedicated to his cause.

With that said...this is what he reminds me of http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=114 (NSFW)

funky @ Mar 12th 2007 1:49PM

GameJew, just keep doing what you're doing, man. It's good to know that there are people who are still kids at heart in this world.

Also, I think singing Miyamoto a song is an appropriate way to pay an homage to a guy who has devoted his life to games that make people smile. You singing him a song made him and a bunch of other people who watched it smile, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hava Nagilah, baby!

John @ Mar 12th 2007 1:49PM

I love GameJew...he is so original and so real. His reaction after singing to him was priceless.

Macroy @ Mar 12th 2007 2:17PM

GameJew wrote the damn Mario Rock Opera, which has the best opening song ever. I say we all agree with him because it is seriously awesome.

sheppy @ Mar 12th 2007 2:20PM

"Sheppy lists names like Carmack, Tobias (LOL), but Miyamoto's impact is beyond compare in all honesty. There are people who have done some things at one point or another but Miyamoto is doing what he's always done to this day. No hype is needed, he just does what he wants, and nearly, if not always with incredible execution with lots of people enjoying his games."

Okay, I'm going to be the bastard here. I know I am because I'm about to tread dangerous ground, covered in broken glass, disposed syringes, razor blades, under a constant lemon juice rain. But I have to blaze this ground because no one else has the guts.

Fuck Miyamoto. There, I said it. Once upon a time, Shiggy was blazing a new trail. He was inventing games that were fun to play. Shiggy, teamed up with Gunpei, were assured architects of pure gaming fun. But Shiggy has been off his game for a while, religated to executive producers and spending more time in his garden than in the industry. He's spending more and more time talking about how he intends to impact nongamers (Seriously, Wife-O-Meter?) and nobody calls him out on this shit? I mean, seriously. With Shigeru Miyamoto, are we truly applauding his future or his past? If it's his future, then by god, I'm right there. But his past speaks more of him then he ever could. Hell, he's starting to talk about hardcore gamers like they're a virus.

I mean, I hate to break it down into a "what have you done for me lately" but seriously. But everyone goes "Well, but it's shiggy" which is okay, fine. Just don't expect me to jump on this happy train until he recaptures the magic of Super Mario 64 and Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. Because since those, he's just been sitting back, watching the industry, and becoming a literal figure head, showing up at R&D studios just to say "Hey, how's Eternal Darkness coming along? Fine? Fine? Okay, gotta go."

You never hear about people going apeshit over meeting Ralph Baer who, without him, we would NOT have gaming today.

Panadero @ Mar 12th 2007 2:30PM

Sheppy:

While I don't agree with your point as a whole, I understand your concern about his progression from in-the-trenches designer to a more managerial role.
However, even then his role has been much more than "How're things working? OK? Bye". Miyamoto is still very much involved in day-to-day decision making processes with game designs and not just left to his own playground. The Escapist did an issue a while back about how he came down on Retro like a ton of bricks a number of times during the development of Metroid Prime. ( http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/39 )

I see nothing wrong with a little hero worship because people like Miyamoto deserve to be praised for their histories as much as for their current work. Ralph Baer not being worshipped is neither here nor there because he's largely a transparent individual compared to the likes of Miyamoto, Will Wright, and the like. It's not just about being the first, but what you did as the first and how you did it.

Muku @ Mar 12th 2007 2:34PM

Sheppy, just because you don't like his recent games, doesn't mean others don't. But from sound of it, wasn't Shiggy pretty involved in Twilight Princess production?

The non gamers are the people you want to reach out to. That and those who have quit on gaming. You want to reach back out to them because you want to expand the market. What better way to expand the market? I think the "Wife-O-Meter" was a fun little thing to add into it. Having watched the keynote video, it's good to see he has a sense of humor and lets it come out. If you don't want to take it seriously, fine.

I think some people on here just like to argue for the simple fact they can.

Fred @ Mar 12th 2007 2:35PM

Sheepy is a hell of a loser :~~

FrankTheCrank @ Mar 12th 2007 2:48PM

gameJEW??

Wow, is their any place on this f-ing beautiful blue earth that we can get away from religion?

Even in the game world, religion peaks it's ugly, and I mean fugly, big head!

GameJew, go screw!

NintendoFanbot @ Mar 12th 2007 2:50PM

Nah Sheppy, I can understand the Miyamoto criticism and I would actually welcome it. People can name Super Mario Bros. as innovative and the most fun game of all time but often can't recall why it's so important. :P

Shiggy spends the majority of his time telling other developers how to make THEIR games better these days. He's spending his days training his successors. The Wii was engineered to his ideas. That alone will impact all the games that come out for it, on top of his own.

He isn't talking about hardcore gamers as a virus. He's only mentioning what the non-gaming public sees in gamers and that a point of his keynotes portrays that neither having changed for better or worse. I'm sure if he were here he would like to have a long discussion about it as well. In fact I would LOVE to do this sometime in the future for real.

The difference between Cliffy B., Carmack, Will Wright, and even Gunpei who are all good in their own right (especially Gunpei) was that Miyamoto was one of the first to be recognized for the artistic side of videogames rather than the code engineer. In a way he carries on what Yokoi taught him.

Miyamoto isn't entirely end-all, be-all either. If anything, Yokoi should be given equal, if not more credit for his influence on the Wii. If there was no GameBoy, there would be no DS, and there would be no Wii, and there would not be the Nintendo we have today.

People don't know who Ralph Baer is because his contributions to the industry has been minimal since the big one. I bet more people would recognize Nolan Bushnell for arcades, Chuck E. Cheeze and his recent venture with "uWinx(sp?) Media Bistro". It doesn't degrade their huge contributions, but people aren't reminded of them either.

It doesn't change for Miyamoto because he HAS stayed active, however 'remotely' he might be.

Slaziman @ Mar 12th 2007 3:00PM

It's cool you sang the song and shit, but it made me feel awkward just by watching the failed attempts, and the look on his face when you got to sing. Judging from it he was just like, what the fuck is going on, and probably barely understood the lyrics. But since it was a dude in a Mario suit playing guitar, he probably figured out what's up and gave you a hand, then went on with his life thinking "What the fuck just happened?"

Rubang B @ Mar 12th 2007 4:51PM

Yo GameJew, that was awesome!

I saw you with the Mario Opera at the Arena Interactive Gaming Lounge and at that one big gaming show at the Knitting Factory. I was the guy dressed as a Goomba. I always thought your Miyamoto song was the bomb and the perfect intermission between Acts 1 and 2. Don't worry about the haters. They don't like good games anyway.

You go Mann!

OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Mar 12th 2007 5:12PM

Seriously, GameJew, if you don't understand how creepy it is to be on the receiving end of this, you didn't think this through at all.

Yeah, you like Miyamoto and all that. Great. I can understand that...I can even wrap my head around writing him a song. But, to have your singular goal be to stalk him and play the song to him is a bit loony.

My gaming hero is Sid Meier. I met him. I neither felt the need to write him a sonata or scuplt him. I had a brief conversation, and I let him go on his way. He's busy. I don't exist in his world, and to me having a stranger just walk up to me and start a conversation is a fairly weird experience.

How do you think Mr. Miyamoto felt when you asked him to sing him a song? Sure, he politely accepted, but he probably thought you were bat-shit insane.

What if he didn't like your song, and what if you were boring him to death, and he didn't understand all of what you were singing? What if he thought you were insulting him?

Yeah, it was your goal, and you did it. Congrats. I'm saying it was quite selfish on your part, and in all likelihood, you put the guy in a weird situation, this guy you supposedly idolize, just so you could fulfill your own selfish desires.

Yeah, I really, really want to bang Scarlett Johansson. I think you can understand that while this is an extreme example, it still drive home the point. There's more than one person to consider in an interaction, and to be hell bent on doing something in spite of the other person's wishes is wrong.

Next time you get the urge, send a CD, it's the DECENT thing to do. He can listen to it, he can not, but now you're not FORCING him to.

Aktrez @ Mar 12th 2007 6:13PM

No matter whether or not you care about Miyamoto. No matter whether or not you like/hate Jonathan's music. No matter whether or not you think that what he does is stupid ... Jonathan did something that very few EVER have the chance to do. He was able to showcase his creativity infront of the muse that inspired him to create.

For one moment, think about a person you would do anything in life to meet. Now think about having the opportunity to not only meet them but present them with something created JUST for them.

I think that what Jonathan did was EXTREMELY noble and I am very proud to have been a part of it.

I would like to invite everyone to step back for a moment and think about how much respect Jonathan deserves for doing this. No matter what your personal opinions are .. I don't think anyone can argue that what he did deserves a little applause.

Capt. Castellanos @ Mar 12th 2007 9:19PM

try meeting jonathan Mann in person.
he's actually a really cool guy.
i've met him at several occasions and just talked about videogames and music.

his actual song Shigeru Miyamoto is very neat to listen to.
catchy, yep.

i see nothing wrong with trying to tell the people you look up to how you feel about them.
if i had the balls i'd give miyamoto a hug,
high-five Quentin Tarantino,
shake hands with Tim burton,
and slow dance with Don Hertzfeldt.

if you got a hero, try to meet him.
just don't get too creepy.

Rubang B @ Mar 12th 2007 9:51PM

Jonathon Mann singing to Miyamoto has inspired me to make a video game for David Bowie.

Skwurl @ Mar 12th 2007 10:57PM

You know what's funnier than a singing Jew?

A bunch of Internet pro stars that write 5 paragraph rebuttals on why the singing Jew is an idiot.

You guys rock - hard.

Hoffy @ Mar 12th 2007 11:20PM

Dude. GameJew kinda freaks me out.

Halorin @ Mar 12th 2007 11:42PM

GameJew, I can truly appreciate your effort in singing that song to him. In my opinion, I do think it was a little.. I don't know, 'over the top' to try as hard as you did to sing him a song. At the same time, though, I have respect and appreciation for the effort you put into it. It's something you wanted to do, and it made you happy, and you reached fulfillment out of it. That's not something a lot of people can say, so be proud of that.

Don't let the people who say anything negative get you down. You seem to be a pretty mature guy, from your response, so I doubt that even needed to be said. I can't say that I liked the song a whole lot, but as a fellow musician, I can appreciate the work put into the song so to that extent I like it.

Keep doing your thing, man.

Rubang B @ Mar 13th 2007 12:23AM

My favorite part of Sheppy's rant was when he was listing some of his heroes he's met, and he said "and even Cliffy B" like we're supposed to care. There's a reason you didn't suddenly fawn when you met Cliffy B. His games are derivative and known only for the Unreal Engine. Unless of course, you're some sort of diehard Jazz Jackrabbit fan.