If you're reading this on Friday (which comes after Thursday and before Saturday), there's a decent chance the song that might forever ruin the day we thank God for is buzzing in you brain. (If not, it probably is now – sorry.)
"Friday," the YouTube video that's made 13-year-old singer Rebecca Black a star for our odd times, surpassed 40 million views this week. The inane earworm of a tune has earned her many teenybopper fans and perhaps an even larger group of detractors, some of whom have hurdled over the top with their scorn.
In less than a week, Rebecca has gone from defending herself on "Good Morning America" to singing on "The Tonight Show." The prospects of her staying power and the song's profitability are mysteries – The New York Times notes that published estimates range from $40,000 to $1 million. But in a DIY age where YouTube can bring instant and sometimes lasting celebrity (see Justin Bieber), “Friday” can be seen as a case of the best and the worst of Internet-driven fame, depending on your view.
It would be too bad, though, if "Friday" overshadows other YouTube gems, including a couple creative music videos posted this week that are well worth a look – and listen.
We stumbled onto (via Gizmodo) a brilliant mash-up of various homemade YouTube music videos stitched together to create one haunting, enthralling tune called, "My Favorite Color." A riff played by a middle-aged mom on an old-school Lowery-type organ provides the backbone of a song that melds, visually and musically, with a melody sung by a teenage girl, accompanied by folks playing saxophones, drums, French horns, cellos, a triangle, among other instruments.
The video, assembled by a YouTube user who goes by "kutiman," seamlessly weaves the music and faces into what is not only a credible composition, but digital art.
We're also getting a kick out of another clever mash-up of sorts, one that might appeal to the crowd that actually likes "Friday."
The title, "One Man Disney Movie," basically of says it all: singer Nick Pitera appears on a screen split six ways, in near-"Brady Bunch" style, singing and acting out various parts (the heroine, the villain, etc.) of numbers from Mouse House classics ("Be Our Guest" from "Beauty and the Beast" is a highlight). The wonderfully sappy short, which got a nice shoutout from Mashable, is finding an audience, surpassing 1 million views – which isn’t bad, even if it’s not close to “Friday.”
So take a break from "Friday" and check out the videos below:
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.
