live your life out loud
This YouTube video was made by another local a cappella group, The Richter Scales (who are, well, slightly more established than the one I sing in). Not only does it feature the lovely voices of its talented members (many of whom work in high-tech), it but also pretty much sums up startup culture (as experienced by the lucky few and dreamt of by many more). To get an idea of how savvy you are when it comes to what’s going on in web 2.0 these days, see how many of the references you understand.
Soulja Boy. It’s sweeping the nation. The song, the dance, the rapper. As a former student of Anthropology, naturally I’m fascinated by what fuels a trend like this. Is it the catchy tune? The lyrics? The dance? His style? Some unknown element that touches the heartstrings of humanity?
My first introduction to Soulja Boy was in my bar where, recently, some of the customers started doing this crazy dance. Totally clueless as to what “crank that soulja boy” or “supaman” was, I went home and got on YouTube. Turns out that not only has the song/dance/video become exceedingly viral, but now there are a plethora of home videos as well as clips spliced together from animated movies/tv shows inspired by Soulja Boy. Whether you’re into SB or not, some of the copycat videos are worth checking out.
Warning: If you actually click on all the following links you will SO be sick of the song by the end of this post. (Either that, or you’ll know the dance and have become one of “them”.)
But, first. Who is this Soulja Boy character?? Born DeAndre Way, the rapper/producer who has become an internet sensation with a growing cult following is only 17 years old. Though from humble roots, his beats, style, and personality quickly got him noticed by Interscope Records and his career is rapidly gaining momentum. Read the rest of his bio and more on the official Soulja Boy website. Or on his MySpace.
Now, for the videos. To search for more of his stuff, check out his YouTube profile. But, here is the original video. So ya, that’s what started all the hype (actually SB and his buddy A-Rab posting clips online was probably what started it originally, but you know what I mean). What I’m more interested in are the spin-offs! Here are some highlights:
There’s Winnie the Pooh, Lion King, Sponge Bob, Family Guy and obviously Superman for starters in the animated category. Next, we have the home videos by people of all ages and from all walks of life. No, seriously. Like these kids. Or University of Wisconson basketball coach, Bo Ryan. Or this dance class. The Miami Canes’ mascot even. Oh and these little dudes are not bad. Not to mention the random hot girls (3 separate links). Everybody’s doin’ it…
Some are clearly more accomplished dancers than others. But hey, gotta love the enthusiasm! There are too many to list from the “goofy white boy” category, but here are a few: sample 1, sample 2, sample 3.
Speaking of goofy, this is my favorite:
Yuuuaaaaaaaaaaa.
Live looping is pretty darn cool. As is beatboxing flute. Here’s an example of both:
If you like the beatboxing flute concept, apparently this guy is one of the masters. His inspector gadget remix has only been viewed like 8 million times on youtube…no, seriously. 8,795,136 last time I checked. Check out which other song he mixes in at the end.
Not everybody likes the flute though. This one time, at band camp…Anyway. If you’d rather watch a baby laughing adorably at its dad beatboxing, click here.
Something every company should encourage.
For those of you who obsessively read comments, there are over 700 of them here, where it was originally posted.
Amanda, the girl at the beginning, explains “We did this video one night after work. We are a company called Connected Ventures, a group of friends who work for: Vimeo, CollegeHumor, Busted Tees, and Defunker.”
We all like to get a little funky sometimes. Especially when no one is watching. You KNOW you dance around the house in your underwear à la Risky Business.
Of course, many a candid camera show has achieved success thanks to the unsuspecting victims who thought no one was watching. Not to mention the stuff caught on camera phones and posted on YouTube these days. Yikes.
But, really, when you’re feelin it you’re feelin it. And ain’t a damn thing gonna stop you. Kinda like this guy:
