Tegan and Sara
Issue #29
It’s Not Fun. Don’t Do It. (Vapor/Sanctuary)
By Megan Holmes
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
At first glance, It’s Not Fun. Don’t Do It. looks like the typical music DVD. There’s the classic live show, music videos, a photo album, and a personal documentary from the band. In fact, if all you did was watch the live part of the DVD, you could miss everything that is great about it. If you’re buying It’s Not Fun, it’s because you’ve seen Tegan and Sara live, and love them, so bypass the live stuff and cut straight to what is great. Watch the photo-album segment — it’s hilarious. Following the idea implemented by Spike Jonze, the Quin sisters take an alternate approach to a slideshow with a stack of photos, and a lot of commentary (you know their humor and banter could actually be a show in itself).
Many music DVDs fail at making the personal connection between the audience and the artist by including a mediocre live performance, a mundane photo slideshow, and some video footage. Some lame creative director forgets the whole reason people buy music DVDs: to see a visual side of the band they haven’t otherwise seen. This is where It’s Not Fun. Don’t Do It surpasses all those junk videos and enters into the realm of great music DVDs, like the Flaming Lips’ Fearless Freaks.
As documented in “So Jealous,” there are ups and downs of the recording industry and intense pressure to feel like you’re not wasting everyone’s time creating music. But Tegan and Sara are not wasting anyone’s time. Just like their music, It’s Not Fun is a great representation of who these siblings are: honest musicians navigating their way in this business. And that is why we love the artists we do — because they are not afraid to be stupid in front of the camera.
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