YMMV / Jack Stauber

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • In the full version of "The Ballad of Hamantha," the doctor tells her he has a cure for her, but after she dies, he eats part of her face when confusing it with the actual ham next to her. Was this truly an accident, or was he actually talking about a different type of "cure" the whole time? Doubles as Fridge Horror.
  • In "Day Job", did the man take in lost dogs just so he could return them to their owners, or did he take them only so he could get the cash for finding them? It's a large debate in the fandom over which is true.
  • In "Mr Backwards", is the titular character hiding his pain due to his "reversed" nature forcing him to, or is he consciously hiding it so people won't worry about him?
• Alternative Joke Interpretation: In "peenids", one of the swearwords the girl lists is Peenids. Was it a made up swear she heard from someone, or did she mishear someone say penis?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees:
  • At live performances, Jack keeps a gallon of water on hand labeled "Clear Milk", Clear Milk is a real drink, albeit an alcoholic one.
  • Dippy Eggs are a kind of soft boiled egg that's popular in Pennsylvania (where Jack lives) that have liquid yolks that you can dip things in, hence the name.
• Applicability: "Rain" is widely applicable to any situation that's unfair despite taking the necessary steps to prevent said unfairness.
• Ascended Fanon: A fan once asked to name the man that appeared in the video for "Today Today", and when they recommended the name "Crispy Johnathan", Jack agreed.
• Awesome Art: Jack uses actual VHS tapes in his work, giving it an accurate 80s-90s feeling to it, uses many different mediums for his work (Digital 2D, Claymation, Basic CGI, and Cel Animation), and everything combined makes it seem like something out of the late 80s or early 90s.
  • The art on his "Plopscotch" account is also really good.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • "Getting My Mom On", is mostly about Jack doing motherly things, except for the beginning where he sells the knife to a bee as part of an agreement that the bee wouldn't sting Jack.
• Crosses the Line Twice: In "Day Job", the fact that the man is implied to kidnap lost dogs and hoard them in his house till he finds their owners. Special mention goes to the brief shot of him dumping 3-5 dogs out of his backpack onto the floor.
• Common Knowledge: It’s widely believed that Hamantha was eaten by the doctor, but the lyrics actually say that her family ended up eating her, with the doctor saying that the cooked ham was for “the bereaved” (her grieving family).
• Diagnosed by the Audience: Many fans believe that Robert from “Work” has ADHD due to his short attention span and fidgeting.
• Epileptic Trees: People theorize that the woman in "Hope" is in some way connected to Opal; either the woman is Claire's mother or she's Claire herself, the latter having grown up to take on her mother's bad habits.
• Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: It's a common activity for Jack Stauber fans to make theories and find the meaning behind his songs. His surreal music style and Word Salad Lyrics make them well-suited for fan interpretations of what they represent. Examples include "Peppermint" being about a broken relationship or "Cooking with Abigail" being about sexual abuse.
• Fandom Life Cycle: Currently hovering around a stage 2 or 3.
• Fridge Horror: In "Trent the Baby's Christmas", Trent's dad explains to Trent that Santa uses the food he eats to make toys that he poops out for the kids (using his magical digestive tract). Imagine what would occur if a child asked for a bike or a similar large present...
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: There seems to be a somewhat large Brazilian fanbase surrounding some of Jack's content.
• Growing the Beard: Jack's first album, Finite Form, feels like your average indie/techno album, while Viator is an experimental folk album with many improvised songs. Then comes Pop Food, which is essentially the introduction to Jack's current style with songs like "Buttercup" and "Oh Klaholma". By the time HiLo came out, his overall style had been established with many experimental songs and Genre Shifts. On a funny note, he grew out his iconic beard by the time he got into his current style.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: In his Live Improv Show, he performed "Let It Be" for his fans, and fast forward to September, he performed the similar song called "Let It B(K)" (which is about Burger King giving him shelter)
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • In the weeks leading up to ''HiLo's'' release, Jack would post a few pictures and a trailer depicting him as the father of his album. Who else did that...?
• I Am Not Shazam: Due to it becoming an animation meme, some people think There's Something Happening is called Close Up instead.
• I Knew It!: Many fans correctly guessed that "There's Something Happening" would be among the songs extended in his February 2020 Micropop releases due to it becoming a very popular meme.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Many of his songs (usually the aforementioned "Buttercup", "Oh Klahoma", "Two Time") are played in videos featuring Trevor Henderson's art, and the results are both amusing and unsettling. It helps that not only do both creators have a Retraux theme, Henderson made a picture of Stauber's Nurpo◊.
  • Several of Stauber's songs have found popularity among animators, and they're especially prominent in Animation Memes.
  • There have been many memes regarding the Indecipherable Lyrics in his songs, claiming that he "sings in cursive".
  • Many jokes have been made about his apparent fixation with teeth, with teeth being constantly referenced in his work and a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he asked his fans to send him their teeth, never saying what he would do with all of them.
  • The audio for "Rain" is fairly popular on TikTok, mainly due to its content being easily applicable to lots of different situations.
  • It’s a common joke on the Subreddit to say something nonsensical when asked about Jack’s current whereabouts (ex: He’s living in the walls of the local Goodwill).
• Quirky Work: Most of his work is this trope, whether it be due to the VHS tapes his work is put on, the Word Salad Lyrics, or his surreal art style.
• Rewatch Bonus: "video man" relies on this to show just how horrific the titular character's situation is.
• Signature Song: "Buttercup". "Peppermint", "Dead Weight", and "Oh Klaholma" are strong contenders.
• Squick:
  • While "Bug Bite" isn't a gross song, the Tumblr thumbnail image for it is a photo of inside someone's mouth (likely Jack's). It was to the point where it was taken down by Tumblr Staff
  • "five" is about an old man teaching his grandson how to wash his hands, and while we don't get to see the process in it's entirety due to his grandson eating the soap, the first step is to get your thumb wet by covering it in spit.
  • Trent asks his dad how Santa uses the bathroom in "Trent the Baby's Christmas", and his dad responds that he has a magical digestive that allows him to make toys out of food, basically saying that Santa poops out the presents he gives to kids.
  • The love meat from the Cupid music video, which is represented by a large mass of ground beef getting gripped by the Cupid creature.
  • The Tumblr cover art for "Broken Record" is an odd photo of someone using a urinal to strain a container of pasta.
• Stepford Smiler: Mr Backwards from the titular song is implied to be one of these. However, whether it's a permanent part of his personality due to his condition or if he's genuinely trying to hide it is unknown.
• Ugly Cute:
  • Nurpo is as weird-looking as he is strangely adorable.
  • Opal can be this as well, with her bug-eyed face and strange expressions.
  • Dougie from "hot dogs" is one ugly wrinkly baby, but he's still adorable in his own way.
• The Woobie:
  • The Lima Bean Man can qualify as one, due to his desperate cries to Sabrina begging her to return him to his wife, who he fears is dead.
  • The man in library is implied to have lost his Mom, and can't remember her face.
  • Hamantha. Good Lord where do we begin with her? She was born with a ham for a head and is miserable about her condition. Her father in a rage about his daughter's pain shoots at the sky to curse God for her condition. Then Hamantha's doctor calls and tells her to come over for the cure he found for her condition.But on the way to the doctor's office, she gets killed by the bullet her father shot. And to put salt on the wound, the doctor accidentally eats her head thinking it was the ham he cooked.
  • The protagonist of "Rain". The look on his face at the end is enough to melt even the coldest heart.

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