AKA Io questo l’ho già visto, è famosissimo!

Quando nacque nel Novembre del 2005, YouTube era essenzialmente un sito per uploadare e visionare video clip amatoriali, filmini delle vacanze e quant’altro, ma dal momento in cui il fenomeno esplose la gente cominciò a caricare di tutto: videoclip, spezzoni di programmi televisivi, pubblicità, trailers, documentari, e molto molto altro. Ma cosa ha reso davvero famoso YouTube, tanto da far decidere i dirigenti di Google di puntare sull’acquisto della piattaforma? Cosa gli ha fatto fare il salto di qualità rendendolo uno dei siti più visitati del web? I motivi sono molti e in larga parte imperscrutabili, certo che questi 5 video hanno fatto la loro parte…

5. Guitar

E’ forse l’esempio più eclatante di come You Tube possa diventare una vetrina per talenti sconosciuti. Il titolo del video è semplicemente “Guitar”, ma il contenuto è impressionante. Il precursore dei cosiddetti video “Webcam guitar solo”

4. Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend”

Il video che ha dato vita alla genere “Poptastic”. Anche questo ha un embed ballerino. E’ il video più visualizzato della storia di Youtube, al centro di polemiche varie sulla attendibilità del contatore e l’uso smodato di link sparsi a pioggia nel web…

3. OK Go, “Here It Goes Again”

Semplicemente uno dei video musicali più innovativi e divertenti caricati su You tube, dovete vederlo, a tutti i costi (Presto anche fra le chicche di Alt(R)a Fedeltà).

2. “Hillary 1984”

Creato e postato da Philip De Vellis, il video contiene un discorso della signora Clinton inserito all’interno di una famosa pubblicità della Apple, datata 1984 (Che gioca appunto con il binomio Orwell-Clinton). Dopo che la sua identità fu rivelata da HuffingtonPost.com Den Vellis fu licenziato in tronco; la signora Clinton ha davvero uno sviluppatissimo sense of Humor…

1. Saturday Night Live’s “Lazy Sunday”

Realizzato da Andy Samberg e Chris Parnell è il primo nella Greatest Hits di Youtube. Gli avvocati dell’NBC chiesero a YouTube di rimuovere il video dopo che questo aveva raggiunto 5 milioni di visualizzazioni. Naturalmente è stato ripostato e ricancellato diverse volte, quindi, è difficile trovarlo e se lo trovate l’embed vi durerà poco.

I can’t believe I haven’t linked to this already…

Ok Go – Here It Goes Again

I know this is a bit of an oldie. I’m sharing it again for those of you who missed it during its first trip around the internet. It always makes me giggle and the words are so perfect!

I don’t like living for the future. You know what I mean, “If I can just make it ’till the weekend” or “Tomorrow will be a better day.” There are times in my life when I look at my calendar and don’t see a free moment for days. “Just hold on until next week Thursday.” I hate it when life gets like that.

And then I think of the Rosanne Rosannadanna skits. It’s Always Somethin’. And it is, isn’t it? We’re always running two steps ahead of disaster. Choices that seem to make or break us.

And then I was reminded of this song by Ok Go. Not only do I love the video; I love the lyrics.

“Just when you think you’re in control,
just when you think you’ve got a hold,
just when you get on a roll,
Oh here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.” – Life was going smoothly. But crazy, as usual. And my in-laws were in town. I had carpool for the entire week because of a mistake I made the week before. But things were slowing down and I was about to get my house back after my in-laws left in a few days.

“I should have known,
should have known,
should have known again,
But here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.” – Now, I couldn’t have predicted what would come next. Who could have? The day before my in-laws were to leave my daughter’s boyfriend dies. Tragedy hits our house heavier than I would have ever expected.

“It starts out easy, something simple, something sleazy, something inching past the edge of reserve.
Now through the lines of the cheap venetian blinds your car is pulling off of the curb.
Hey!” – Blindsided. Completely caught off guard. Not the kind of thing most people run into as far as life’s detours go. But it was our own house of pain for a while.

“I guess there’s got to be a break in the monotony, but Jesus, when it rains how it pours.” – No kidding. Wait, that’s not strong enough……No s*#t!

“Oh here it goes again.
I should have known, should have known,
should have known again,
but here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes, here it goes.
Oh here it goes again.
I should have known, should have known,
but here it goes again.” – But things are better here. Every day gets a little better for my daughter. Yesterday, while checking in with all of you I overheard her laughing a good belly laugh on the phone with one of her friends. I’m so glad she taking back those moments of joy. But me? I’m just bracing myself for the next detour. Hopefully, we’ll be spared the more life altering ones for a little while.

(When you click on the video below you’ll see a message directing you to Youtube. Click the “Watch on Youtube” and it’ll take you right there!)

….never fails to put a smile on my face. Well needed this week.

I love this song! Great for exercising to too! I wonder if they had that in mind when they made this awesome video with the treadmills. Probably one of the cooler music videos I’ve ever seen. I do wonder how many times they had to do it before they got it.

Years ago, before this song came out, G & I saw them open for They Might Be Giants. I remember them being a lot of fun then too!

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Squeeze
• The Strokes
• They Might Be Giants

I also suggest the music genre:

• Power Pop

Click here for more info on OK Go – Oh No – “Here It Goes Again”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

OK Go - Oh No

Este grupo que me ha recomendado David me encanta, no sólo por la música sino también, por cómo han preparado la coreografía, unos auténticos atletas…

Even if you don’t know Ok Go, chances are you know Ok Go. They’re “that treadmill band,” the one that got big based on the absurdity of  their choreographed video for “Here It Goes Again,” which quickly became one of the most watched videos on the Internet when it was released in 2006. While they write catchy pop songs, their work has always been just a little too complex to gain any serious radio play, but this hasn’t stopped the band from becoming an act that can draw sell out crowds to clubs all across the country, as shown by their current national headlining run. Their two shows in Northhampton and Boston Mass. proved that fans can expect great things from their forthcoming record, but it also proved that there are some drawbacks that come with the fame the band has achieved.

Wednesday night saw the band play the Pearl Street Ballroom in Northhampton, a small college town in Western Mass. The openers Openhiemer and Longwave were greeted unenthusiastically by the crowd that packed the aging, VFW Hall-esqe venue. While Longwave is slated to support big name acts such as Bloc Party and the Presidents of the United States in the coming months, it was often difficult to distinguish one of their songs from the next, and the band did nothing to engage or interact with the crowd.

Ok Go, or more specifically lead singer Damien Kulash and bassist Tim Nordwind took the stage and started their set on a rather unusual note. Nordwind, sans base, hammered out a beat with two mallets on a large drum, while Kulash performed a new song with an acoustic guitar. Mid-song, the duo was joined by guitarist Andy Ross and drummer Dan Konopka, and the band transitioned into more familiar territory with “Get Over It” and “A Million Ways.” Between songs Kulash would joke with the crowd and talk about the band’s new record, creating a connection with the audience that neither of the openers had. Among the topics discussed by Kulash included an upcoming Woodstock movie he has a part in, an e-mail from a church choir hoping to perform the band’s songs, and the time the band has spent sequestered in the studio as of late.

The band would follow “A Million Ways”  with two more new songs, which sounded very good but didn’t garner much of a reaction from those in attendance. The rest of the show would follow a similar pattern, with the band mixing almost equal parts new material with older material as a disappointingly quite and disinterested crowd stared on.

While it seemed like some in the crowd would rather be doing other things with their free time, it became apparent what the members of Ok Go had been doing with theirs. The band performed “What To Do” not as a full band or acoustically, but instead using hand bells, and not just one or two hand bells, but a collection so large a special velvet-draped table was needed to hold them. The band somehow managed not to break out in laughter during the song, but the crowd wasn’t so successful in containing theirs. It was obvious that if there were ever an award to be given to the band with the most free time on their hands, Ok Go would win in a landslide.

The band would finish their set with “A Good Idea at the Time” having played five new songs, thrown out multiple Ok Go tambourines, and shot off a confetti cannon twice. They returned for an encore and began with a new song that was heavy on bass and featured Kusash screaming “I couldn’t breathe” at the top of his lungs. “A Good Idea at the Time” was then played, and the band ended the show with “Invincible,” and a lot more confetti.

The next night the quartet would head east to Boston to play a show at the sold-out Paradise Rock Club. The band would perform the exact same set, displaying just as much energy as they had the night before. However, the crowd seemed even less interested this time around, if that’s possible. Many simply stood and stared at the band, even during their biggest hits, while those who were actually into the show stuck out like sore thumbs. The Paradise, for all it’s supposed charm, is a pretty terrible venue, with polls blocking what would be prime viewing locations and a staff that  could be described as “unfriendly” at best. While these elements did detract somewhat from the show, it wasn’t hard to see just how good Ok Go is in a live setting. Most impressive was guitarist Andy Ross, who juggled a handful of different instruments, including an 18 string guitar and a large set of hanging bells. Overall, Ok Go certainly catered this tour to the band’s most dedicated fans, offering an extensive preview of their new record before a release date has even been confirmed. Those in the crowd who knew the band only from their treadmill antics seemed unimpressed, but for the trained ear, the band’s performance hinted at big things to come.

Setlist:
New Song (Shoot the Moon)
Get Over It
A Million Ways
New Song (White Knuckles)
New Song (I Want You Here)
Oh Lately It’s So Quiet
New Song
Don’t Ask Me
Here It Goes Again
What To Do
New Song (Damien solo)
It’s A Disaster
New Song (When The Morning Comes)
Do What You Want

Encore:
New Song (I Couldn’t Breathe)
A  Good Idea At The Time
Invisible

El pasado mes de diciembre, Informe Semanal emitía un reportaje acerca de la creciente presencia de los medios digitales en nuestras vidas. En éste se incluían algunos casos de músicos que han obtenido gran parte de su fama gracias a una adecuada presencia en Internet. Mediante el uso de este medio, el mundo está hablando un nuevo lenguaje y el ciudadano medio ha adquirido un especial protagonismo en el ámbito de la comunicación en la Red. La ‘revolución 2.0′, basada en la interactividad, ha dado voz, en definitiva, a quienes no la tenían, y ha amplificado la resonancia de contenidos que, de otro modo, no habrían llegado a un número tan elevado de personas. El mundo digital influye en nuestra vida, en nuestra forma de pensar y comunicarnos y, cómo no, también en nuestra música.

A modo de ejemplo, he aquí una lista con 10  casos significativos de canciones y músicos que han alcanzado  la fama a raíz de su aparición en Internet:

1. Russian Red

Como ya apunta el documental al comienzo de esta entrada, Lourdes Hernández, cantante de Russian Red, alcanzó la fama a raíz de unas simples grabaciones caseras y el uso de la red social Myspace para promocionarse. Actualmente, sus canciones han servido de banda sonora a las películas El rey de la montaña y Camino.

2. Nina Kinert

Esta joven sueca  inició su carrera musical en 2004, pero no alcanzaría notoriedad hasta el año 2007, cuando la compañía automovilística Saab lanzó una campaña publicitaria a escala global que incluía una canción llamada Through Your Eyes. Desde ese momento, la presencia de Nina Kinert en la Red se disparó, con el consecuente beneficio tanto para la autora como para la imagen de la marca anunciante.

3. Ok Go

La agrupación musical Ok Go consiguió hacer de su tema Here It Goes Again un verdadero hito en la historia de Internet. Todo comenzó en el verano de 2006, con la puesta en circulación de un sencillo vídeo en el que la agrupación musical realizaba una coreografía sobre cintas andadoras. Actualmente, el clip cuenta con más de 44 millones y medio de visitas en Youtube, número que no deja de ascender. El fenómeno se ha extendido a lo largo de todo el Globo, y ha generado numerosas parodias e imitaciones. En España, el programa de televisión El hormiguero (Cuatro) realizó en directo una versión de la coreografía, a la que se puede acceder aquí.

4. El Koala

Manuel Jesús Rodríguez, conocido actualmente como ‘El Koala’, es un malagueño que hasta hace poco trabajaba ayudando a su padre en un cortijo familiar. En el año 2006, el canal 40 Latino emitió un videoclip de su canción ‘Opá, yo viazé un corrá’, que inmediatamente pasó a la Red, desde donde se articuló la verdadera difusión del tema, con más de 18 millones y medio de visitas en Youtube.

5. Amo a Laura

La agencia publicitaria Tiempo BBDO, trabajando para la MTV, lanzó esta conocida campaña viral en Internet en 2006, consiguiendo cotas de notoriedad inesperadas. El tema ‘Amo a Laura’ pertenecía, supuestamente, a un grupo de música llamado ‘Happiness’, que actuaba por cortesía de la ‘Asociación Nuevo Renacer’, una asociación ficticia que luchaba contra medios como la MTV. El sitio web de la campaña, actualmente inactivo, llevaba por nombre ‘NomiresMTV.com’.

6. Canon in D is everywhere

Rob Paravonian es un modesto músico y cómico estadounidense que frecuenta los clubes de comedia de Nueva York. Alcanzó la fama en Internet tras aparecer un vídeo en Youtube en el que realizaba una parodia en torno al Canon en Re de J. Pachelbel. Actualmente, continúa trabajando como cómico, sin que el fenómeno que se desarrolló en torno a él haya afectado a su carrera profesional.

7. Alex Mitchell

Armado con un violín eléctrico y un generador de efectos, el músico Alex Mitchell realiza composiciones que actualmente han dado la vuelta al mundo. Algunos vídeos de sus recitales fueron colgados en Internet, superando en apenas unos meses los cientos de miles de visitas. En 2007 grabó su primer album, después de que varios internautas contactaran con él para pedir versiones de mayor calidad de sus temas. En la actualidad estudia en Fordham University, Nueva York, compaginando sus estudios con su actividad como músico.

8. Stringfever

Stringfever es, tal y como reza su eslogan, el primer ‘cuarteto de cuerda genéticamente modificado’, que une la música clásica con instrumentos eléctricos. El vídeo History of music marcó un antes y un después en la historia de la agrupación, dada la enorme fama que alcanzó en la Red. Su ’show’, una mezcla de humor y música, da ahora la vuelta al mundo.

9. Por una cabeza

Es quizá el fenómeno más reciente de los listados. El tema Por una cabeza, de Carlos Gardel, ha aparecido en películas como Esencia de mujer o Mentiras arriesgadas, incluso en una versión del español Andrés Calamaro de dicho tema. Actualmente, se ha recuperado su vigencia gracias a Internet, con la puesta en circulación en Youtube del anuncio emitido recientemente para el nuevo Seat León. La música que aparece en dicha campaña es una versión del tema original de Gardel llevada a cabo por la agrupación Gotan Project.

10. Alamedadosoulna

Los 10 miembros de Alamedadosoulna practican una mezcla de ska y reggae, una suerte de ‘música espectáculo’ que también vio en Internet un filón que aprovechar para su promoción. Esta agrupación es, en realidad, la unión de dos grupos de música madrileños: Cabeza de Canoa y Güernika, que definen sus actuaciones como un “espectáculo con corazón”. Su llegada a Internet se produjo mediante un vídeo que inauguraba un nuevo formato llamado trainacting, consistente en una grabación llevada a cabo exclusivamente entre dos estaciones de tren o metro. Se pretende así generar cierta viralidad, haciendo que otras personas suban sus vídeos, basándose en esta práctica, al correspondiente canal de Youtube.

Fuentes: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 - 7 - 8

It’s ok. It’s all ok. It’s not as if it can get any worse, right?

My mantra for god knows how long has been that worse things have happened at sea. Worse things have happened at sea. It’s true. People fucking die at sea. People freeze and drown and get eaten by octopus. Worse things happen at sea than 6000 words to be written in under a week. Oh, did I mention the lecture I have to give in three days? No? Well there we go.

Oh damn I’m having a freak out aren’t I? It’s angsty and it’s something a teenage girl would say but I’m having trouble breathing. Douglas Adams comes to mind with his everlasting advice of “DON’T PANIC” but I’m not panicking I’m just freaking the fuck out.

But worse things have happened at sea.

I have a lot of drafts. My blog is a drafty place. Here they are.

-Untitled
So you see there’s this guy, right, and he’s with his girlfriend on the bus (where I seem to encounter a few interesting people these days) and they’re having an argument or a discussion or something. I can’t tell from where I’m sitting. What I can tell, right, is that the girl’s mad at the guy or concerned at the guy or something. Basically she’s the one that’s in some form of distress. Now, this damsel is doing the works; concerned frown, short, quick gestures with her hands and a little bit of hope lingering on her lips. The guy though – this swooping knight in shining armour that’s supposed to rescue her or something – he’s just like sitting there confused. He’s got a little frown too, right, but it’s a frown like he doesn’t know what to do.

I can sympathise.

Anyway, so this girl who’s talking to him about her parents or her problems or her choices or whatever, she gets a little mad. Like, angry mad, right?

—

-Untitled
So, I’m a room. It’s a big room, a little too big for my

—

-Because anything else I write is riddled with too much feeling
Films! I’ve been holed up in the flat sick as a dog for the past few days so I thought I’d recount some of the films I’ve watched. And other things. Like TV.

First up is the much too short Afro Samurai which I will let people borrow as soon as I make my way through the special features. The only problem that I’ll highlight first would be the appalling lip-syncing. It’s as if Samuel L Jackson looked at his characters and said “Fuck it, I don’t want no mother fuckin’ restrictions on my mother fuckin’ lines” so there’s the occasional weird jarring when the character is shouting and good old Samuel is whispering something. Other than that everything was seamless. I watched it over two days and I really wished I could’ve watched it in one. The animation was seamless, the action was perfect, and I only saw a single example of a reused scene. And the teddy bear! I liked him better when he didn’t take off his mask but still he was awesome all the same. It was brilliant.

Another on the anime list would be the second series of The Big-O which I’ve laughed at so many times just because it’s slang for orgasm. It’s a classic series, made by the same people and (roughly) at the same time as Cowboy Bebop, and it’s occasionally very ridiculous. The age on it shows in its story and characters, but it’s made up for by the style and the overall feel. The main guy’s car is pretty awesome, and Big-O itself thankfully spirals away from the generic design of most mecha-suits. It’s surprisingly easy to get into for a second series. Usually shows require in depth knowledge of the previous series before moving on to a new one, but this one sits you right in without missing a beat. Though, saying that, I do wish I had seen the entirety of the first series; I have vague childhood memories of watching it and becoming perplexed at the surreal stage sets at the beginning and end. Still, it’s a good show.

Took another bash at Lucky Number Slevin the other day and by God I forget how much I love that film. I think it’s the amazing cast really (with the exception of Josh Hartnett, but he actually manages to pull off a good show this time round), but just the overall art nouveau style and Noir-ish sentiment going along with whip crack dialogue makes it phwoar. I know that previous sentence made no sense but hey ho.

—

-Untitled
Right now I’m a little annoyed and very tired but mostly just feeling annoyed at myself for making the silly promise of not stalking people. See if I stalk people then I can justify feeling sad right now, because then shadowy thoughts are confirmed and

—

-Untitled
I have a new bus now. It’s better than the old one, in that it’s ten minutes faster and doesn’t go through the area that makes me ashamed to be human.

The part I like most about this new bus route though would be the walk I get when I step off it. My old bus deposited me in the centre of Glasgow, right beside a newsagent that sold my brand and a cash machine if I was low on change. And a bakery. That was nice too I guess. But this new bus deposits me a good five minutes away from my old stop, right in the middle of the merchant city.

—

-You’re barred, mate
“That guy is a fucking wank!” he yells, slurring but eloquent. He takes a drink from his glass (his ninth pint that night, lying to his girlfriend beside him when he whispers it’s his third) and slams the bottom back down on the table. He’s a dick. He’s a complete and utter dick, but somehow I like him. He was at least more interesting than anyone else sitting at the table.

“Yeah, but why is he a wank?” I ask too flippantly, too casually, realising as soon as I said it that it was the wrong thing to say. I had mistaken him, just in that single moment, for someone else.

—

-Untitled
Lets take a second here, shall we? Just a second.

I had a good day yesterday (if you take away the sole reason which made it not a good day, but we won’t go into that)

—

-This post definitely isn’t about you
Unless you’ve found me somehow which I doubt

How do you do it? How do you creep under my skin so easily?

I’ve complained about my bad memory before. I’ve been so angry at myself for saying things and then forgetting them so I can’t apologise. In a sense it gives me the ultimate freedom, that I can say and do pretty much anything I like and within a week I’ll forget I ever thought about doing it. But it comes at such a cost when someone reminds you of you’ve said and done, when they tell you meaning to be a funny little anecdote and it sounds like something you would say and so it’s likely that you did say it (but sometimes you are reminded in hot headed revenge, which sucks really).

So I have a horrible memory. Truly horrible. But then why can’t I forget on command? No, lets be specific, why can’t I forget you on command? Yes you

—

-This post probably is about you
If you still read here

I’m gonna pull you in close,
Gonna wrap you up tight,
Gonna play with the braids
that you came in here with tonight.
I’m gonna hold your face,
and toast the snow that
fell.

I can’t remember the last time I got high. I just have this one memory of one fantastic time. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe from laughing. I danced and some people faced my selotape. I woke up with cotton mouth and a cut on my forehead.

—

-Tiredness kills
And maims and injures and hurts. But mainly it kills. It kills a lot of good people.

It’s worse than alcohol really. Alcohol is bad, I know, but it’s not as bad as being tired. When you’re drunk you’re loud and obnoxious and you do things you wouldn’t usually do, but when you’re tired your mind shuts down. Completely. The biggest regrets I can list in my life are things I’ve said or done when I’m tired.

But let me define this tiredness. It isn’t the eyes burning sluggish tired. It’s a whole different tiredness altogether. It’s a tiredness that takes hold when you’re about to fall asleep, or when you’ve just fallen asleep, and someone disturbs you. You say and do so many things because you are so tired. You can’t think. Images blur in lust.

—

-Untitled
Oh lord oh lord you’ve made it.

You wanna drag your hearse in? You wanna rush your-?

Be my fucking guest.

I love the smell of my urine after I’ve had a few cups of coffee.

The thought of a girl having an orgasm makes my stomach twist and my mind cloud pink.

I once ripped my banjo string during sex. It hurt.

I can’t work a condom.

I often smell of shit.

The slightest thing can put me into a horny frenzy. An example of this would be glimpsing the top of some girls stockings.

I think about my ex’s when I masturbate. Sorry to any of them who read this.

I love the word cunt.

My Dad is ashamed of me, and I am ashamed of him.

I lie about things before I can stop myself.

I use people as a means to an end.

I learned how to do this from TV.

I know my dreams will come true.

I can find nothing to blog about anymore. Yes, this is a phase, yes, it will be over. But will it be over in twenty-one days?

I like making things cyclical. Whenever I start a notebook I try to finish it a year after it was started, or after some big event. Notebooks signify a beginning and end for me. Blogs are the same. Things begin, things end, and I like recording when they do.

I have a notebook lasting my entire first year of university. One page at a time I budgeted and doodled and left myself scathingly witty comments. And a year to the day I started it I finished it. Another notebook was started the day before my relationship with Charlotte began, and I finished it the day after it all ended. Four previous blogs also stand testament to this.

And so I have twenty-one days. What should I write about?

Lets put it this way, inaction is more preferable than action. So much more preferable. If you have the choice of doing something and doing nothing at all then it’s going to be a good bet that you’re not going to anything. You’re just going to sit there. But the problem of sitting there is that, while it is easier, it’s worse. If you just sit there you get bored. You get hungry. It’s like a slow torture really. And everything kind of builds up around you. The dishes don’t get done, you don’t shower, you don’t even go to bed. You just sit and you don’t do a thing.

I think I’ll get up now.

amazing clip! more than 40,000,000 views on youtube. i also put the lyric below. but i bet you’d rather watch this video than sing this song. ^o^ note: don’t try this at gym! ~lolz~ xD

OK Go – Here It Goes Again

It could be ten, but then again, I can’t remember half an hour since a quarter to four.
Throw on your clothes, the second side of Surfer Rosa, and you leave me with my jaw on the floor.
Just when you think you’re in control,
just when you think you’ve got a hold,
just when you get on a roll,
here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.
I should have known,
should have known,
should have known again,
but here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.
It starts out easy, something simple, something sleazy, something inching past the edge of the reserve.
Now through lines of the cheap venetian blinds your car is pulling off of the curb.
Just when you think you’re in control,
just when you think you’ve got a hold,
just when you get on a roll,
here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.
I should have known, should have known,
should have known again,
but here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.
I guess there’s got to be a break in the monotony, but Jesus, when it rains how it pours.
Throw on your clothes, the second side of Surfer Rosa, and you leave me, yeah, you leave me.
Oh, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.
Oh here it goes again.
I should have known, should have known,
should have known again,
but here it goes again.
Oh, here it goes again.

I can imagine that seeing someone have huge success with a viral video using your music must be both pleasant and annoying.

Pleasant in that the popularity of the video gets your music out to people who might never have heard it before. O-Zone’s Dragostea Din Tei comes to mind — a lot fewer people ever heard of it before the Numa Numa guy came up with his Youtube video. (As an aside, I really find him annoying.)

Annoying in that it has to bite just a bit that someone else has more success with your music than perhaps you did.

If you’re smart (or lucky), you manage to create the most viral video yourself, like OK Go and their treadmill video for “Here it Goes Again“.

As a regular punter, I’m happy for viral videos because, without them I would never have heard some of my favourite songs.

I was looking at my Youtube updates today and decided to look at the featured videos on the Youtube home page. One of the videos today was Corey VIdal’s video of him lipsynching in four-part harmony to comedy a cappella group Moosebutter’s Star Wars song, a tribute to John Williams’ soundtrack work:

He does a pretty credible job of it. What’s funniest — and why the video works so well — is that his appearance fits many of the voices, and his lipsynching is really good. So it really looks like it’s all him.

Moosebutter’s page for the song includes the lyrics, radio-quality streaming audio of the song, and the option to purchase a copy of the song. You can also browse their other songs. I was going to buy a copy of this song but, you know, I like this enough that I think I’m going to just go for the whole enchilada and buy all of their stuff. The MP3s are DRM-free, which is a bonus. (Shh, don’t tell anyone that I’m actually paying for music. )

(As an aside, how bizarre is it that anyone, let alone a 21-year-old from Ontario, can manage to ‘do Youtube “for a living”‘. I realize that a lot of work can go into making videos to post on Youtube but the idea that you can make a living doing it is just surreal.)

Ok, I have a stick in my hand. It’s long and pointy. No, it’s sharp. Really sharp. It’s so sharp that it’s got blood on the tip. I don’t really know who’s blood though. Probably the poor fucker before me.

Anyway, here I am. I’m on my island again by the way. I’m just on my island with my stick and a hulking organism in front of me. I say hulking, but it’s quite small, it’s throbbing in a way that seems justified to call hulking. It’s small and it’s slimy and hard but soft. I sometimes forget it’s there, you know? Like how sometimes you forget you’re on a bus; you still know it, but you’re not thinking about it, so you’ve forgotten about it. Anyway, now I remember it’s there, and it’s there right now and I have this stick in my hand. So I poke it. I poke it really hard. It makes a farting sound and the point of the stick is shining again with more blood. I poke it again and again and it just farts and slowly tries to crawl away.

I reach down and pick it up and it seems to shrink in my hand. It’s cold, but I don’t know if it’s just cold because my hand is so hot. My skin feels like it’s burning with anger you see, I forgot to mention that. Everything’s so angry about me recently. I was wandering by a bridge and found myself wanting to demolish it, just punch it into dust. Anyway, so I’m holding this thing in my hand is trying to get away, but at the same time it’s trying to stay because it’s warming up. I poke it with the stick again and the farting noise sounds more like a snarl, so I bring the thing up to my ear and I can hear it whispering. It’s whispering gently, but the pace is so rapid. There’s this long string of obscenities, constant and flowing like a silent, angry river. I poke it again and it snarls, but it sounds hurt. So I poke it again and again and again but the little bastard won’t die.

Siempre que veo este clip se me pone una sonrisa en los labios. En 2006 se convitió en un auténtico boom en la web, y generó multitud de “imitaciones” y variantes entre los internautas. Estos americanos nos demuestran que las cintas de correr de tu gimnasio tienen un uso mucho más divertido.