The Great iamamiwhoami Guess-a-thon
March 9th, 2010 by Forest
I’ve racked my mind trying to draw lines between the disparate odds and ends present in the iamamiwhoami video series. If you’re reading this, then you probably have too. Between the animals, strawberries and vague Scandinavian references, it’s been confusing, sometimes rewarding and pretty much insane.
We’re expecting another video, or two, but I agree with ReMyky22 that this is probably going to end soon – if only because people are going to start losing interest. When the new video drops, I’ll be all over it.
However, until then, I’m interested in what all of you think.
I’ve combed through the iamamwhoami posts and pulled your ideas on who this might be. Below, I’ve created a massive poll, where you can vote for your top choice. Below that, I’ve included a video – or song – from each of the artists mentioned.
If you’re not as familiar with the iamamiwhoami lore, see this past posts:
Unraveling “iamamiwhoami” (with videos)
New iamamiwhoami Video Defines the Species
iamamiwhoami: Huldra + Mandragora
Welcome to iamamiwhoami (The Fifth Video)
I’d love to say we have a prize for those who guess correctly (unless we’re all wrong and it IS a Coca-cola ad …), but I’m afraid the only prize is sanity – hopefully in time.
Loading ...Christina Aguilera (better video ReMyky22?)
Little Boots
Ladyhawke
Lady Gaga (Jayvee’s pick)
Goldfrapp
Karin Dreijer
Lykke Li
Royksopp, with Karin Dreijer
Aphex Twin
Heather Marlatt (S4lem)
Golden Filther
Margaret Berger
Robyn
Sia
Anneli Drecker
Stephanie Dosen
Tags: huldra, iamamiwhoami, mandragora officinarum, reader poll
March 9th, 2010 at 10:08 am
I’m sticking with Royksopp at this point – go team!
March 9th, 2010 at 11:05 am
All the evidence long ago pointed to it being Christina Aguilera. Don’t even know why people are guessing at anyone else
March 9th, 2010 at 11:25 am
It’s Christina. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1dJcarz98rU/S5YQWC-ifPI/AAAAAAAACOo/MNXyvlgdEOo/s400/AguileraOnline+Copyright.PNG
March 9th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Reminds me of Christina’s “Fighter” video.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Ha! It’s nice to see the Aguilera contingent is still alive and well.
Since I’ve flip-flopped more than a politician during election season, I won’t give myself any credit by saying that I thought it was her at first – still, I am going to be very pleased if it is!
Until then, I’m going to chain myself to the Royksopp flag, if only to maintain some consistency amidst the confusion.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
It might be Tata Young?
March 9th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for the alarmingly creepy image that pops up on my screen each time I refresh theroundtableonline. She has never creeped me out in any of the videos, but congrats to that photo for doing the job.
I think in terms of American interest, Christina Aguilera makes the most sense. The photo of her wearing the shirt of strawberry-covered cakes is interesting as well. At least I have something new to think about every time I eat breakfast (Special K w/Redberries is amazing). While she would make the most sense for mainstreme fans in the U.S., I have to think that Royksopp is a better match. It especially makes sense given their album release date. The timing is right to release the sixth viral video later this month (keeping with the theme of the No. 6) right before the album becomes available. What about the idea of Royksopp attempting to become more relavent in the U.S. by collaborating with Aguilera? I do agree, though, that if it is anyone other than Lady Gaga (not in consideration) or Aguilera, it will be a huge disappointment to a lot of people.
Now, excuse me while I try to get Gaga’s “Bad Romance” out of my head. “Ra-ra ah-ah-ah, roma ro-ma-mah, Ga-ga oh-la-la…”
March 9th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Hahaha, dude, you were under no obligation to watch it – they are simply there for reference!
And you’re creeped out? I had to cut that picture out and mod it last night. How do you think I slept?
March 9th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Wow, Xtina is just dominating this poll – my boys are just getting embarrassed.
March 9th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Dude, Xtina is dominating… interesting.
March 9th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Everything seemed to point to Christina… but that voice in the last video is just not her.
Although, to be honest, I’m not even sure that girl is the same. She looks much different in the earlier clips.
I was kind of on a ChristinaCollaboration thing too. At this point I’d say with Royksopp or Goldfrapp maybe.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Couldn’t help but notice that you left Trent Reznor off the voting polls. I wouldn’t count him out.
March 10th, 2010 at 1:23 am
Damn, Reznor! Can I update this … just a sec …
March 10th, 2010 at 5:49 am
If you google “meaning of the name Chag” you’ll get a link to a baby naming website, which says it means ‘Moisture; goat’ in sanskrit. That’s a direct link to two clues from the first prelude ‘educational’ post. I tried to find other sanskrit connections with the other clues (like owl, whale) but I couldn’t find translations or meanings that made much sense. Can anyone see something I’m missing with the Sanskrit connection? Or maybe it’s name meanings?
March 10th, 2010 at 10:34 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn0Q7bOsVFg
This song shows versatility of her vocal. Listen to it and you won’t recognize her voice. Don’t forget that her vocal may be even more edited on new album!
Anyway, I’m sticking to Christina. Too much coincidences point at her. Not only she’s similar to the girl in the videos, she also has a song called I Am on album, wore the strawberry shortcake T-shirt on the same day third video came out, said that she was inspired by her pregnancy, she was doing album promo shoot month before first video came out, and her album isn’t even finished yet… And her manager said that marketing on album started and we’ve been exposed to it. What could it be if not these videos? She hasn’t got single out and there’s no talk about album from her side. I could name on and on.
Royksopp are my second guess, but they said their album will be instrumental, so I won’t even bother thinking about them. GaGa, Fever Ray, Goldfrapp, Little Boots and The Knife have different projects they are working on right now. Lykke Li started working on second album two weeks ago, and these videos have been around since December. The Golden Filter already have different viral campaign, and they are just coming out with debut album so I doubt they have enough budget for making two parallel viral campaigns.
Also, don’t forget that woman in last video sounds like Sia, and she collabed with Xtina on new album. It would be pretty smart for Xtina to put up the song with different artist on it to take us to wrong trace. Only fact against Christina is that her stylist said that it’s definitely not her. But why would he admit it? What is the point of these videos if we already know who is behind them? So lying here was a smart option.
Anyway, behind this videos is established artist who can afford himself to keep his name in silence. The Golden Filter can’t do something like that – they are new artists and they need all promotion they can get. But Christina never cared about possibility of loosing fans. That’s why was she making complete reinvention with every one of her albums, always risking to loose fans. I can see her being brave enough to pull out something like this.
March 10th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Sia may have let the cat out of the bag. In this interview she mentions one of the songs she wrote for Xtina is called “I AM,” formerly called Lullaby. http://idolator.com/5437682/sia-interview-christina-aguilera-we-are-born-bionic
March 10th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I just had a horrible idea to go along with all of the other ridiculous predictions. Sorry to break the news, but it’s Heidi Montag.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
[...] this story. This is Morgan’s and Gavin’s 3rd and 5th minute of fame, respectively. References The Roundtable [...]
March 11th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
and here we have a remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzcegwuLMuQ
March 12th, 2010 at 7:01 am
Hi. I just posted this on the YouTube page but had to split it into separate messages so it might not make sense!
I don’t know if this cracks the code, but the only connection I can see between the mandrake plant and all of the different clues is this – they can all be used as aphrodisiacs.
- “The best-known of all aphrodisiacs of the ancient world was the MANDRAKE or mandragora plant.”
- “OWL meat can be eaten as a natural aphrodisiac.”
- “In Jamaican culture, GOAT soup is known to be an aphrodisiac.”
- “LLAMA SPIT is highly treasured as a powerful aphrodisiac.”
- “WHALE SHARKS are considered as a delicacy and an aphrodisiac.”
- “To the ancients, BEE HONEY had an aphrodisiac reputation.”
- “MONKEY BRAINS are popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac.”
Also, strawberries (which appear in several of the videos) are also an aphrodisiac, and a new study has demonstrated the properties of an aphrodisiac in rats (another clue word in the tags is ‘rodent’). And two of Vanuatu’s most popular local exports – kava and vanilla – are also aphrodisiacs.
Unfortunately, I can’t link that theme directly to an artist. But I can make some guesses. If – and I admit it’s a big if – the connection is aphrodisiac, then could the identity of iamamiwhoami have something to do with Aphrodite? She was known as the “lady of the mandrake”, the “personification of the generative powers of nature”, “the mother of all living beings”, so it clicks with the main theme.
Another key word that must be important is ‘disciple’. Aphrodite had many of those (still does) so that might be the clue in itself. Or the mystery name could be a disciple of Aphrodite (like Sappho)? Or the mother of Aphrodite (Dione)? Or a daughter of Aphrodite (Harmonia, Adrestia)?
Still lots of guesses and no answer, I know. Hopefully it will help someone solve this!
Oh. Apparently the name of Kylie Minogue’s new album is… Aphrodite.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Sorry. Kylie’s album title is unconfirmed but a track on it is called Aphrodite.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Posting here because my iamamiwhoami youtube posts keep disappearing!Still pursuing the aphrodisiac connection that links together all of the clues so far. The package to MTV made me think maybe it’s the aphrodisiac parts of the creatures we need to add up, like this?
Goat’s Head Soup – HEAD
Owl meat – MEAT
Whale Shark fin powder – FIN
Bee honey – HONEY (or POLLEN)
Llama spit – SPIT
Monkey brains – BRAINS
To me, those word all go nowhere fast but someone else might see a connection? I still think everything points to Aphrodite as the last clue to decipher – she is “the lady of the mandrake”. But I just can’t see the final answer yet! Anyone got any ideas?
March 12th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Wow, good find! I mean, honestly, aphrodisiacs make as much sense as anything else I’ve found. And it’s a different approach too – I’ve been working on discovering a theme that’s building up.
But maybe each video is simply confirming a theme, instead of continuing to build it up?
Interesting …
March 12th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Posting here because my iamamiwhoami youtube posts keep disappearing! Still pursuing the aphrodisiac connection that links together all of the clues so far. The package to MTV made me think maybe it’s the aphrodisiac parts of the creatures we need to add up, like this?
Goat’s Head Soup – HEAD
Owl meat – MEAT
Whale Shark fin powder – FIN
Bee honey – HONEY (or POLLEN)
Llama spit – SPIT
Monkey brains – BRAINS
To me, those word all go nowhere fast but someone else might see a connection? I still think everything points to Aphrodite as the last clue to decipher – she is “the lady of the mandrake”. But I just can’t see the final answer yet! Anyone got any ideas?
March 12th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Another youtube repeat…
OK. This is one guess. Every clue, from the llama spit to the whale shark, is an aphrodisiac. The Greek Goddess Aphrodite is known as “the lady of the mandrake”. Aphrodite is synonymous with the Roman Goddess Venus.
The Roman Emperor Caligula, according to Google, liked to grotesquely costume himself as Venus and order people to worship him.
Caligula is Latin for Little Boots.
March 13th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
seems like the guys finished their remix, it’s worth watching, pretty unique audio editing and an interesting musical approach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzcegwuLMuQ
March 13th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Not bad man – thanks for sharing!
Unplugged, your Caligula tangent blew my mind. I would love to go with that, but I doubt whoever is behind this is that clever. You should be writing these scripts dude!
You aren’t writing the iamamiwhoami scripts, are you?
March 14th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Obviously Lykke Li. I love that all of the Christina stans can get out of this guessing game now.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:13 am
NEW VIDEO!
People are turning to Jonna Lee now, but I still think it’s Christina
March 16th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Yeah, that Jonna Lee … but her music is so different. I mean, that would be like a COMPLETE departure for her.
She is Swedish though … hmm …
March 24th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
[...] well, ReMyky22 – and all those who voted for Xtina in the great iamamiwhoami guess-a-thon – it was a good [...]
March 30th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
[...] pop readers, here it is. Pretty safe to say that we can officially lay Christina Aguilera as “iamamiwhoami” rumor to rest. Right, I’m aware that mystery was somewhat cracked a few weeks back [...]